That meant… he hadn’t seen me since we had kissed goodbye. Now we’d walk down the aisle together, arm in arm. This was like prom on steroids. No, more than that. I gulped, doing my best to be strong for Penny. We held hands as I opened the door, squeezing one last time before letting go. “She’s all yours.”
“God.” Penny’s dad choked up, bringing his fist to his mouth. “Honey.”
“Dad, stop.” Penny’s voice cracked too.
“Look at you.”
“No. We’re gonna lose it.” Penny laughed.
I veered away from them, letting them have their father-daughter time. My mind wandered, briefly dreaming about what my wedding day would look like. Would I do the same holiday theme? Or something more subtle? I smiled, picturing Hayden wearing a Santa suit and Gwen in a Christmas tree costume.
She’d be the cutest, best flower girl ever.
I shook my head, scolding myself for daydreaming. Hayden and I hadn’t even talked yet, and here I was, planning our wedding. The entrance to the main sanctuary came into view, and Hayden stood there, staring right at me. He wore a dark gray tux that brought out his eyes andholy shit. Wait—could I think that cuss word in a church?
“Charlotte.” He pressed his lips together as his jaw clenched. “You are stunning.”
“Thank you.” My face prickled from his attention.
He stalked toward me, his long, confident strides so flipping attractive that I swallowed. I missed him so badly. My stomach ached with longing, and even though I knew we both wanted to be together, our conversation would still be painful.
“Baby,” he said, his voice cracking as he cupped my face, “look at you. How am I…” He stopped, shaking his head as he stared deep into my eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” I leaned into his hand, my stomach doing back handsprings and somersaults and cartwheels all at the same time. It was an Olympic performance at this point. “It would be remiss to not say how gorgeous you look too.”
“No.” He snorted. “I don’t care about me. You are… I won’t be able to look away from you. I need you to know—”
“You ready?” Penny said, joining us in the foyer.
Hayden sucked in a breath as his gaze landed on her. “Penny, you are beautiful.”
“Thanks, Porter.” She smiled wide, all traces of her nerves gone. “Now, I know you two have to figure your shit out, but I want to go get hitched.”
“AKA, move your ass down the aisle,” her dad said.
We all laughed, and Hayden held out his arm. “Ready?”
“Let’s do this.”
I looped my arm around his and took a deep breath. A different type of nerves took root. What if I tripped? Or ran into someone?
“I got you,” he whispered. “I won’t let you fall.”
“Can you read my mind?”
“Sometimes? Yes. I know every expression on your face. I know when you’re nervous or scared, or when you’re happy and excited. You do this eyebrow and lip thing when you’re anxious, like right now, and I know you hate wearing heels.”
He knows me.
He loves me.
I was dizzy with my feelings for him, however messy they were. I squeezed his bicep. “Wanna know a secret?”
“Yes.”
We were at the doors. The wedding march began. Our instructions were to wait ten seconds and then open the door.
Ten.
