“You look like you’re about to pass out,” Laine murmurs beside me.
I don’t look at him.“I’m fine.”
“You’re pale.”
“It’s the lighting.”
“It’s not the lighting.”
Across the aisle Alistair snorts quietly.“Relax,” he says.“You already got the girl.”
“That’s not the point.”
“That’s literally the point,” Skye whispers from the front row.
Everyone laughs softly which only makes my nerves worse.
The chapel is filled with people.Friends.Family.Half the town of Franklinton.The crew from House of Ink.My brothers.Her friends.Even Adam from the bar is sitting near the back looking suspiciously emotional.
And at the center of it all is the long aisle leading to the chapel doors.The doors Quinn is going to walk through any second now.
I exhale slowly.Three years.
Three years ago, I was standing in a gravel driveway outside a party watching the girl I liked cry after catching her boyfriend cheating.
Three years ago, I told her I’d been waiting.
And today ...today I’m about to marry her.
“Still breathing?”Laine asks.
“Barely.”
“You’ll survive.”
“I hope so.”
The music starts softly.A quiet piano melody drifting through the chapel and suddenly every conversation fades into silence.The doors at the back of the chapel open and for a second no one moves.
Then Quinn steps inside and the world stops.She’s wearing a simple white dress that moves softly as she walks.Not overly fancy.Not dramatic.Just beautiful.Just Quinn.
Her blonde hair falls in loose waves over her shoulders.And her smile...
God.That smile is the same one that lit up the tattoo shop the first time she walked in with cupcakes.The same one that made me fall for her long before I admitted it to myself and keeps me falling for her every day.
Except today it’s brighter, happier, and it’s directed straight at me.
My chest tightens.Three years.Three years of late-night diners, picnics by the lake, and movie nights on the couch.Arguments about pineapple on pizza, her baking experiments, and my terrible attempts at helping.
Three years of watching her slowly realize she never had to change who she was for someone else.
And now she’s walking toward me.
Laine nudges my arm.“Breathe,” he whispers.
Right.Breathing.I forgot about that.
Quinn walks down the aisle slowly, her eyes never leaving mine.Her father walks beside her looking both proud and slightly emotional.The chapel is completely silent except for the music and the soft sound of her steps.
