“Me too. What idiot decided to force us apart yesterday anyway?”
“That would be my brother,” he says, chuckling. “And you’re right, it was idiotic, but it made my family happy, and now I’m going to spend the rest of my life making you happy.”
I smile against his chest, only one thought left in my head, and it’s the best one: I can’t wait.
Chapter 38: Luc
Cody and I are standing in a beautiful green field with blossoming sunflowers behind us, the sun shining brightly, and the photographer standing in front of us. After our talk, we went into separate rooms to change into our suits and prepare for the photoshoot.
We managed to stay on schedule. Not having to spend a lot of time on hair and makeup helped us, although I must admit, I’m wearing some of my mother’s concealer. It’s unusual for me, but it’s for a good cause. Cody and I look our best. He’s wearing a black wedding jacket as part of his wedding suit; I’m wearing a white one. There’s no particular reason for it other than that we wanted to wear different things and feel that these colors look best on us.
I feel a lot better than I did this morning. Cody helped calm most of my nerves. It also helps that we both look great, and I’m happy with the photographer we chose. Before today, I did extensive research and took my time before deciding on one, and it’s paying off. Based on her instructions and ideas, she clearly knows what she’s doing. She’s punctual but clear in her communications and expectations, and what I like most is, she takes no bullshit. When Cody couldn’t answer her questions about when she could take pictures of the wedding cake, she became annoyed, which made him nervous. I don’t like not knowing what’s going on with the cake, but it’s a consolation that Cody seems to be stressing about it just as much as I am.
The next pictures taken will be of him and me in the sunflower fields. Family pictures will follow later, which is convenient because it’s one o’clock and I haven’t seen my father yet. I don’t like that I haven’t heard anything from him. I don’t know if he’ll show, but I try not to worry by reminding myselfthere’s still time; the guests aren’t supposed to arrive until twothirty p.m.
We’re making good progress in taking pictures and pretending that everything is entirely under control for the camera. But then, as the photographer clicks away on her device, I hear a faint buzz beside me, indicating that either Cody or I have an incoming message on our phone. I don’t care about it initially and plan to ignore it as I hold my pose, but then Cody breaks position and reaches into his pocket.
He avoids my gaze as he unlocks his phone and looks at the screen for what feels like too long. He even starts typing something, and I can’t help that it annoys me. Very little is required to put us behind schedule. Okay, so that’s partially my fault because I had to talk to Cody, but still. There’s no reason for us to run behind.
“Oh,” Cody says beside me. He runs his hand over his head, and a strange twinkle forms in his eyes that I can’t place. “We should uh... take a break.”
“Une pause? Sérieux? But we’ll run behind schedule!”
Despite my grumpy response, the corner of his lips turns up. I have no idea what’s going on. “You’ll want to see this, Luc, trust me. It’s my surprise for you.”
Honestly, I’m not sure I like surprises today. “Quelle surprise?”
Cody’s smile widens. He looks beyond excited. “You’ll see, but only if we go to the parking lot right now.”
I glance at the photographer. On the one hand, I don’t want to lose even more time, but then... this surprise from Cody is something I can’t ignore. Because either it’s something great that I’ll want to see or something bad that I’ll have to stop. Frankly, I’m not sure how I feel about it, other than that my stress levels are rising again.
“D’accord,” I say, sighing. Let’s take a break,” I tell the photographer in French. She silently accepts it, nodding but not looking happy about it. I can imagine; we’re not making this easy for her. Not that it should matter, though. She gets paid either way and has to adjust to our desires.
I look at Cody. “Show me the surprise,” I tell him in French.
Despite my obvious annoyance, Cody can’t seem to wipe the smile off his face. I wonder why that is.
“Suis-moi,” he says—follow me. He grabs my hand, and I can’t deny that the gesture and the fact that he’s speaking French have a calming effect on me. What also helps is that he seems so excited, making it almost impossible to stay annoyed. It’s my wedding day, I remind myself. So why not try to be happy?
Well, if it weren’t for knowing the photographer is waiting for us, and being uncertain about so many things, I think I could be.
We’d wandered off with the photographer to the flower fields, so the walk to the parking lot takes about five minutes.
“You’re going to love this. At least, I hope you are.”
I squeeze his hand. He seems so proud of this, which could mean the surprise is something big or difficult to arrange. “I hope so too.”
When we reach the parking lot, I don’t immediately see anything unusual, just a bunch of cars on gravel. But then, suddenly, a van that says Populie Gâteau catches my eye—my dad’s van!
I grab Cody’s hand tighter, relief surging through me. “My dad’s here?”
“Oui, but not just that,” Cody replies, smiling from ear to ear. “Let’s take a closer look.”
He pulls me to the van, holding my hand and walking fast. Standing at the back of it, I see my dad and Claire unpacking a box, revealing a giant cake. It’s white and smooth, fourlayers high, and has detailed little sunflowers on the edges. It’s beautiful and literally takes my breath away.
I gasp and let go of Cody’s hand to place mine in front of my face. “Mon Dieu, c’est magnifique! C’est pour nous?”
Cody puts his hand on my back, looking both proud and relieved.
