I wished, more than anything, that my grandmother, Josie, and Bo were here. But I’d been too afraid and wrapped up in my worries to seriously consider including them and making sure that my secret didn’t get out. But they’d see the pictures. On the cover of all the magazines. And know that they weren’t invited to my big day.Ugh…
After one knock, Genevieve threw the door open. “We need tomove!” A light sheen of sweat had broken out on her perfectly made-up face. “They’re about to play your song!”
“Okay…?”
She whisked me out of the room and marched me to the entrance of the far lawn, where the guests waited. I hadn’t even been allowed to peek at the preparations that morning—Genevieve didn’t want anyone to see me, and she’d been positively militant in her enforcement. But the wedding planner wasn’t the only one sweating as I glimpsed the scene. Four hundred guests stood waiting, turned toward me. The aisle between them was a path of gray stone, bordered on each side by gorgeous wildflowers. At the front, an enormous archway waited, bedecked with even more flowers, fairy lights, and… Rhodes standing beneath it.
I could barely make out his face, but my heart still hitched in my chest. Maybe if I could stay focused on him, I could make it down that aisle.
Maybe.
Genevieve deposited me at the entrance. “I’ll be in the wings. I promise everything is going to go great. Congratulations, Rory. Start walking when they play ‘Here Comes the Bride’—it’s going to start any second. Here’s your escort.”
“Wait, I startwhen?” But she was gone, hair flying as she hustled around the perimeter of the guests, leaving me on my own.
“Come on, everybody knows the song,” a familiar voice said from behind me. “I walked down the aisle to the same tune, straight into the arms of your grandfather.”
“Grammy?!”My jaw dropped open.
“The one and only.” She grinned at me.
I burst into tears as she reached my side, clucking and cooing and telling me how beautiful I looked. She pressed a tissue underneath my eyes.
“No crying,” she admonished, even though her own eyes were misty. “We’re going to get you down that aisle in one piece. Your fiancé made me promise.”
“Rhodes made you promise?” I whispered, my voice hoarse. I was on the verge of full-on bawling, shaking as I drank in the sight of her. Grammy wore a rose-colored gown with a lace top, proper heels, and her hair and makeup were flawless.
“Course he did. He flew us up late last night. We barely had time to put Chewie in the kennel!”
She beamed at me. “He made us promise to surprise you, and also, to make sure you were happy today.” She linked her arm through mine. “Apparently, he’s good enough for my granddaughter.”
“Oh!” I started bawling.
“Rory, enough!” Grammy laughed as she blotted my eyes. “Can we please walk down the aisle now? I don’t want to get on the wedding planner’s bad side.”
“Ooh. Me either.” I let out a bark of laughter, then realized that there were four hundred guests staring at us, not to mention Rhodes, who was starting to look a little unsure. “Are Josie and Bo down there?”
“Yep.” Grammy beamed at me. “Wait till you see how cute they look. Now, come on. The lady with the headset looks like she might have a fit.”
The song was playing. I squeezed Grammy’s arm. “I’m so glad you’re here. It wouldn’t have been okay without you.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” she said, and we took the first step.
The faces of the guests blurred together until one of them started whistling, hooting, and hollering.Abigail Furst.“You look gorgeous, Rory!” she shouted, and I couldn’t help but smile.
My eyes found Rhodes as Grammy and I walked in time to the music, my heart soaring with joy. “Thank you,” I mouthed, beaming, as I held onto my grandmother for dear life.
A grin split his face.
Behind him stood Philips, Cousin Andrew, and Haruki Sato. The officiant waited in the center of the archway, smiling patiently, while on the other side stood Josie, Bo, and Maria.
I couldn’t help it—when I saw my little brother and sister, I dropped Grammy’s arm and ran to them, almost tripping on my long white gown.
“Guys!” I swept them both into a hug, crying, aware that even the most waterproof of waterproof mascara would not be able to withstand my emotions. Maria started crying, too, and that’s when I saw Little Luke standing nearby with his ring pillow. I hollered at him to come over. Pretty soon, we were all crying, laughing, and hugging.
“Phew!” Grammy said, once she’d disentangled herself. “And we haven’t even gotten to the ceremony yet!”
The ceremony.I turned to find Rhodes beaming at me, clearly moved, while the officiant patiently waited for me to remember the actual point of the day.
