Siobhan smiled. “Because we started getting ready too early and you’ve had too much time to pace around making up things to be nervous about.”
“Have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” Terry said. “There are some already made and cut in that insulated bag by the door.”
Siobhan already knew from the days they’d spent together that Steph’s favorite comfort food did, in fact, make her friend feel better, so she didn’t give her a chance to say no. She pulled a sandwich out of the bag and handed it to Steph. Then, after a nod from Terry, she handed her one before taking another for herself.
“Did they send you a picture?” Steph asked her mom after she’d eaten half the sandwich. “They hadn’t finished setting up when I went down to say hi to everybody who got here today. Did they get it done?”
“Nobody sent me a picture, but it’s done and Gram says it’s perfect.”
Steph beamed. “If Gram says it’s perfect, it must be.”
“When I went down to check on Oliver, Ellie said it’s beautiful,” Siobhan added.
Considering how hard they’d worked on the fairy lights just to make the walk from the lower part of the campground to the cabin beautiful, Siobhan had no doubt they’d made the ceremony site just as magical.
Of course, thinking about the fairy lights made her think about kissing Brian. Her cheeks heated and when Steph cocked a questioning eyebrow at her, she took a huge bite of her sandwich, filling her mouth with sticky peanut butter and jelly.
“How was Oliver doing?” Steph asked, thankfully letting her off the hook. “I know he hasn’t gotten to see you a lot today.”
She swallowed the lump of sandwich and took a swig of water before answering. “He’s doing great. He’s pretty happy as long as he’s with Nora, and Ellie’s been an absolute dream with him. I can’t thank her enough for watching over him like she has.”
“Well, he’s…” Terry let the sentence fade away, and Siobhan knew she’d been about to say Oliver was family. “Such a sweet boy. He’s so happy and smart, and we’ve all enjoyed spending time with him.”
“Thank you.” Siobhan looked at Steph, wrinkling her nose. “I can’t absolutely guarantee he won’t try to get to me while I’m standing next to you, though.”
“He can if he wants to. There’s a big difference between Oliver wanting to be with you and somebody in my family doing something embarrassing.” She licked jelly off her thumb and smiled—a genuinely happy and content smile. “I don’t know why I even worried. No matter what happens, I’m marrying my true love today surrounded by my ridiculous but amazing family I adore, with you by my side.”
Terry’s phone chimed, and she popped the last bite of her sandwich in her mouth before reading the message. “The officiant just arrived. The men are in the house to get dressed. Everything’s in place.”
“Now it’s time to get ready,” Siobhan said.
It didn’t take long. Because it was an outdoor wedding in August, their makeup was simple—tinted moisturizer with lip gloss and waterproof mascara. Anything more would probably melt down their faces by halfway through the reception and nobody wanted those pictures.
Also simple was their hair. Steph’s thick, dark hair was pulled into a ponytail, which they looped through itself to make a little pocket. Terry tucked some daisies and baby’s breath into that space—artificial so they wouldn’t wilt and/or attract insects—and pinned them in place. Siobhan’s hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail.
Once they’d put on their dresses, all that remained were the shoes. Siobhan wore ballet flats that complemented the floral pattern of her dress. And after many discussions within the family about high heels and grass, and the feasibility of some kind of platform or carpet, Steph had found cute summer flats with hand-painted daisies to match the ones in her hair and bouquet.
The bouquet was currently waiting in a vase—fresh daisies, white roses and baby’s breath. And Emma had made a smaller version from artificial ones. Terry had told Siobhan earlier the plan was to press and save the real bouquet and toss the artificial one, which Siobhan would walk down the aisle with, during the reception.
“Okay,” Terry said, clearly trying to hold back tears asshe took a photo of Siobhan doing a final fiddling with Steph’s hair. “Do you have the ring?”
Siobhan nodded and put her hands in her pocket to pull out the ring box. “I do, because my dress haspockets.”
“So jealous,” Steph said. “Mine doesn’t.”
“It’s my job to hold all your stuff anyway.”
“I have no stuff.” She frowned. “Am I supposed to have stuff?”
“It’s not like you need your car keys,” Siobhan said. “I’ll take your lip gloss for touchups, though.”
“The car’s coming around now,” Terry said.
The plan was for Paige to pick them up in her car—one of the few vehicles in the campground that wasn’t an SUV or truck—and drive them around to the canopy. Once they were in place, the men would walk down from the house. When everybody was ready, Johnny would start the music.
Steph took a deep breath, clasping Siobhan’s hands. “Okay. Wedding of Doom time. Let’s do this.”
Chapter Fourteen
