“I’m sure they’ve seen it all.” Allie started undressing, tugging at her clothes, hopping on one foot as she tugged off shoes and jeans in one go. When she, too, was naked, she stopped.
Tarryn stood in front of her. She was glorious, her olive skin touchable like silk. Her breasts with their chestnut nipples stood erect, and the dark curls between her legs drew Allie’s look. It had only been a week since they’d done this, but she was as joyful, as anticipatory as if it were the first time all over again. Lust drizzled like melted chocolate down her spine, and her fingertips tingled with the need to touch Tarryn, to circle her breasts, to stroke down between her thighs and relearn the wetness between.
Tarryn’s eyes were dark with lust, and she leaned in to kiss Allie, her palms stroking down her arms to cover her breasts.
Allie closed her eyes and let herself be carried away by Tarryn’s touch, the fingertips stroking pathways of fire along her body. When Tarryn settled between her parted thighs and licked, Allie’s mind spun away into fractured circles until she came in a white light of orgasm. And then she stroked Tarryn, fucking her with her fingers until she, too, came with a shout.
The buzz of the intercom startled Allie out her post-coital haze. “The food!”
She leaped out the bed and buzzed the driver up, then grabbed her robe from the back of the door and her wallet from the counter. She was just about decent when she took the food delivery, ignoring the driver’s amused smile at her dishevelled state.
“I wonder where we’ll be in a few months’ time?” Tarryn asked as they sat at the counter. She wore a T-shirt and undies and nothing else. “Will we be here? In Quandong?”
Her confidence warmed Allie down to her toes. She wiggled them on the rungs of the stool. “Maybe both.”
“I hope so.” Tarryn took her hand. “I hope we have a future together, Allie. I never would have thought I’d ever say that. But I can see it with you.”
She ducked her head as tears of happiness gathered in her eyes, then raised it again so Tarryn could see her wearing her tears proudly on her face. “Me too, Tarryn. Me too.”
Epilogue
Two Years Later
Who’d have thought she’d everdo a reprise of this? Allie stood in the wings of the main stage at the Gay Bells Festival. She wore the same dress she’d worn two years ago, but this time, it was bought, not rented. Her red Vans were new.
Sophie stood next to her, looking as nervous as she’d ever seen her—including at her own wedding to Bree nearly a year ago.
“Are you sure you’ve got everything?” Allie asked.
Sophie made a show of patting down her jacket pockets. “Ring, check. Copy of your vows in case you forget them, check. Nerves enough for both of us, check.”
She tried to laugh, but it was a tremulous imitation. “Can I have a hug?”
Sophie embraced her, arms closing around her sister’s shoulders. “You’ve got this, Allie. After all, you’ve already had a rehearsal for the real thing two years ago.”
She nodded against her sister’s shoulder. They had. But this time, the wedding at the climax of Quandong’s festival was a real one.
A huge crowd milled in front of the stage. DJ Strokes was behind the curtain, waiting to launch into the afterparty—one Allie and Tarryn and their friends wouldn’t be attending. Instead, they were going to a private family-and-friends reception in the grounds of a local hotel.
And the most important thing of all, on the other side of the stage, was that Tarryn was waiting, wearing the same suit as she’d worn for the fake wedding. Will stood there as her attendant.
Allie closed her eyes as the jitters swelled and she leaned harder into Sophie’s hug.
“Okay?” she asked, rubbing her back.
“Yeah. Just need a moment.”
It had been a long road to this point. But the highlights shone like beacons over the past two years. She had secured a new job as an accountant in Sydney, in the same firm as Leila. But nine months later, once she could leave Sophie, she’d thrown it in, and made the move to Quandong. There, she’d opened her own one-person accountancy firm, filling a much-needed local gap. Now she had an assistant plus two bookkeepers, and she’d just hired Leila to work remotely from Sydney on a freelance basis.
Allie smiled into Sophie’s shoulder. The move had been difficult at first. She’d missed her friends, and Sophie in particular. But the Quandong community already counted her as one of their own, and so it proved easy in the end. They lived in Tarryn’s shouse, but over the last year, it had gradually been modified for more space and comfort. They’d added a dog to their family, and Freckles was settling in well, although his arrival had been a bit fraught for Ally and Elly. But the alpacas had adapted and were now so social that Tarryn was doing good business running guided rainforest walks with them. Her metalwork was doing better too—and the emu she’d been making when she and Allie first met now resided in Silver Creek Park, thanks to Allie and Phyll pestering the Council.
The best thing was Sophie was making a good recovery. She still wasn’t one hundred per cent, and probably would never be, but she was mostly pain-free and had regained her mobility. Her business was thriving, and the Gay Bells Festival was one of her most valued clients. Bree was still by her side. She was in the roped-off area at the front of the stage, along with their families, Kirra, Garrett, Phyll, and their other friends.
George, the wedding celebrant, strode onto the stage, wearing the same dark suit and bow tie as the last time. The music quietened.
Jason joined George on stage. “Welcome, everyone, to the real wedding of Tarryn and Allison. Conducting the ceremony is George Patterson from Your Wedding, Your Way, for anyone who wants their wedding done exactly how they want it. Over to you, George.”
George spoke for a minute about the nature of marriage and the ceremony to come, then extended her hands to each side of the stage. “Tarryn and Allison.”
