I laugh. “We made a special exception for Eli,” I tell Corrie. I can’t quite pull my gaze from him — he looks absolutely delicious in his suit. “The kids wanted him here.”
“Yeah, it’s not fair,” Theo chimes in. “I’m a boy and I get to come in. Why can’t Eli?”
Corrie fusses with her up-do — she looks really pretty in her yellow bridesmaids’ dress. “Well, you’re the ring boy,” she says. “That’s a really important job. What’s Eli good for?”
“Magic tricks,” Theo replies with a wide grin.
I tug at the halter of my dress. I just know my boobs are going to pop out at some point tonight — I’ve come to terms with that, and am perfectly okay with it. I beam at Theo. He looks so adorable in his little suit, and so does Emma. She’s wearing a pretty yellow dress with puffy sleeves, a flowery skirt, and a big bow at the back. She’s one of the junior bridesmaids, and she glows with pride.
Theo pulls a face, the sad pout I’m so used to seeing when he doesn’t get his way. “Why couldn’t Floyd come too?”
Eli wraps a long arm around Theo’s little body. “Because dogs are not welcome at weddings… I know, it’s not fair.”
“So not fair,” Theo says.
“He’s happy at home,” Eli assures him. “My friend is looking after him.”
“Is he at the studio?” Corrie asks. “How’s that going?”
I look off into the distance — Kayla, Marilyn (Maeve’s older sister) and Mandy (Maeve’s high school bestie) are fussing with Maeve’s dress. Maeve is a complete nervous wreck. “No worries,” Kayla says. “We have plenty of time. He’s late.”
“It’s going well,” Eli is saying to Corrie. “I’ve almost got everything set up. And my manager already got me in some galleries in New York, Montreal, Chicago… loads of places.”
Corrie fiddles with her open toed heels. “That’s great.”
“I even got him in at my gallery,” I tell her. I know it’s notmygallery, and I don’t even get paid to work there, but I’m still excited about it.
“You’re still living in your studio?” she asks Eli.
He nods. “Well, you know, we’re taking it slow.”
I smile and stare down at my promise ring, the beautiful glass stone ring Eli gave me as a promise of things to come. “We’ll be moving in together soon enough, when the time is right,” I tell her.
Corrie smirks. “So what does John think about you?!” she asks, not quite waiting for an answer. “A tall gorgeous slice of a man like you,” she says turning to me with a wicked smile. “John must be insane with jealousy.”
I laugh. “Well, yeah, I don’t think helovesEli, but he’s cool with it all. He’s busy with Amanda. It’s been going well.”
Corrie stands and takes my hand in hers. “I’m glad. I’m really happy for you, Gabs. You deserve this.” She almost brings me to tears, but then she turns on her heel, and lets go of my hand. “I need to go tinkle before show time.”
I turn to Eli, and look up into his beautiful eyes. He draws me in closer. The kids are running around us in circles.
He winks. “I told you I’d be at this wedding.”
I smile up at him. “You did.”
“This will be us, one day,” he says.
Chaos swirls around us. Sylvia, the wedding planner, is running around like a chicken with its head cut off. “One day soon, hopefully.”
He kisses the tip of my nose. “I can’t wait.”
I snuggle in closer. “And can you picture little ones running around too?”
He laughs. “We already have little ones running around.”
I pout. “But maybe one more… or two?”
A tearful smile stretches across his sweet face. “Making a human being with you is definitely on my bucket list,” he jokes. “But only if you’re up for it. I’m happy either way, Gabriella, as long as I’m with you.”
