HADLEY
Okay, I’m doing this again.
I stare at myself in the mirror. I’m in a white dress, this time for a real-ish wedding.
My wedding.
The white dress is fitted and just long enough. The lace and silk are subtle, simple yet elegant. My hair is down except for one side pulled up slightly, with a peach rose in my hair, and I skipped the veil. I’m confident that the extravagant wedding and reception downstairs at the Dizzy Duck Inn will make up for my lack of a princess gown.
Any minute now, I will walk down the aisle to marry my husband again, with memories to replay in my head for the future ahead.
I needed a moment to myself before my dad comes to collect me and bring me down the aisle. My mom agreed a few moments of reflection would be a nice idea. Who am I kidding? She needed to go shed a tear and yell at the caterer to ensure the cupcake tower is taller.
A smile already hits me from everyone being so happy.
The gentle knock on my door puzzles me, as I thought for sure I had a few more minutes before showtime.
“Hadley, let me in.” Connor speaks low, as if he doesn’t want to be discovered.
“Connor?” I sound surprised.
I open the door, and he slides right through the crack, only to close the door and gape his mouth open at the sight of me. I steal his breath as he admires me, and I mirror his sentiment, as he always looks suave in a suit, like the man he was always going to be.
“Beautiful,” he rasps before he strides a few steps in my direction.
I already feel the butterflies, every cliché for a wedding spinning through my body. “Here we are, Mr. Spears.”
“Again… Don’t worry, everything is going smoothly. Isla is your maid of honor extraordinaire, with 90% of the single hockey players here eyeing her like crazy. My mom quickly checked on Ace.” Because we adopted him when the shelter phoned to say that he still didn’t have a family. The little dude loves his life with us, plus he’s good company when Connor will be away more and I need to cuddle in bed. “Our brothers have managed to be respectable ushers. Everything is in check.”
“Then what brings you here?” I sound very curious.
He begins to chuckle as his lips stay closed, then he waves his phone up in his hand. “I kind of have a pre-ceremony present.” Connor indicates with his head that I should follow him to sit on the end of the bed.
“Really? You want us to go at it right now? It took a solid two hours to look like this,” I feign disbelief.
He gives me an odd glance. “That’s not it. This is something…” Connor swipes his screen and shows me an email. “Significant.”
I read the email from Briggs.
Con,
Only you could get me to give you two wedding presents for two different weddings in the span of a few months. However, this is perhaps going down as legendary. We’re all idiots. You know those Elvis chapels? They save videos for six months…
…Yeah, I watched. Isla too.
Briggs
My eyes snap to Connor who has a grin. “Our… first wedding?” I’m unsure how I feel about this.
He nods. “Yep. Do you really want to watch it? It isn’t long.”
“Uhm… is it a good idea? Did you watch it?”
“No.”
I roll my lips in and debate for a millisecond. “Who the hell are we kidding? Press that play button.”
Connor laughs and does what I say. I squeeze his arm and keep him close as we sit tight to get a full view.
