Both she and Brooklyn looked absolutely gorgeous in their matron-of-honor dresses. I hadn’t been able to choose between the two of them, so I had given them the title jointly, which had thrilled them. As had my request that they pick their own dresses. All I’d asked was that they go bold, nothing too pale or muted or neutral. I’d wanted to be surrounded by bright, happy colors on my wedding day.
They had each chosen something that suited them perfectly.
Tori was in a romantic, full-skirted blue floral gown by Marchesa that showed off her gorgeously rounded stomach. As always, she gave off a bit of a princess vibe, with a pair of cute matching shoes and her hair cascading down her back, perfectly curled.
Brooklyn looked every part the badass in a dramatic navy dress with gathered sleeves that was the ideal combination of sexy and wedding-appropriate. She too was showing off her baby bump, though hers was smaller than Tori’s, and she’d put on a pair of colorful paisley print Dolce & Gabbana stilettos which made her look even more high-fashion.
God, I wanted so badly to confess to them what had happened with Ford’s parents, but this was the kind of secret that even the Vault couldn’t contain. They’d want to run directly to my brothers and have them fix this for me, and I couldn’t let that happen. Besides, explaining the leverage the Malones had over our family would mean betraying my brothers, who didn’t want Tori or Brooklyn to know about the threat the Bratva was holding over our heads.
On top of all that, the last thing I wanted to do was ruin the wedding my sisters-in-law had spent so much time and effort planning for me. I was grateful for their help, grateful that they were here with me. I was lucky to call them my family. We had each other. That was what I should be focusing on, not my sadness over the eventual demise of my relationship with Ford.
Besides, I’d originally entered into this arrangement knowing that it would have to end. Knowing that there was an expiration date. This was simply a shift back to Plan A. No big deal.
My eyes started to sting again.
“You ready to put on the dress?” Brooklyn asked gently.
Clearing my throat, I said, “Could you two give me a moment, actually? I think I just need to…reflect. Compose myself. Before I finish getting ready.”
“Of course,” Brooklyn said, giving me a wink. “It’s a lot to take in, I know.”
They quickly cleared out of the dressing room, gathering their stuff as they went.
“Let us know when you’re ready for us!” Tori said, closing the door behind her.
And then I was alone.
I looked in the mirror again, at the girl who was about to be a bride, and took a deep breath. Today was both exactly what I’d once dreamed of having with Ford, and yet nothing at all like it at the same time. The girl in the mirror looked so pretty, so happy. Her life was simple. She was going to marry the man she loved.
The reality was a lot more complicated.
I dug a few bobby pins out of my hair, hoping it wouldn’t cause the whole updo to collapse, and sat there in my robe, feeling sorry for myself.
There was a knock and I fixed the smile back on my face as I heard the door open. Apparently, Tori and Brooklyn had decided I’d had enough time to myself.
But when I turned to greet them, I found Ford standing in the doorway instead.
Of course.
He practically took my breath away in his wedding suit. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t seen him in a tux before—he’d worn one to the gala where he first announced our fake engagement—but this was different. Everything was different.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” I said, dropping my gaze.
When I looked up again, he was grinning at me. I was glad I was sitting down because I was definitely swooning at the sight of him, all dressed up for our wedding day, smiling at me like I was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
“You know you’re not supposed to see the bride before the ceremony,” I chided him.
I wasn’t mad, though. In fact, I’d sort of been expecting him. That was another thing I’d always found charming about Ford: his childlike inability to follow the rules. I had known he wouldn’t be able to resist sneaking in to see me before we met at the altar. It was half the reason my dress was still zipped up in the garment bag.
I turned back to the mirror, pretending to fuss with my hair as Ford came up behind me. He leaned down, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and nuzzling my ear. I admired the other us, the us I saw in our reflection. The way I wished things really were. A happy bride and her handsome husband-to-be. How desperately I wanted our mirror life to be our real life.
Ford pulled back and met my eyes in the mirror, searching my gaze. “Em.”
“What?” I asked.
“Do you…love me?” he asked softly.
