I unfolded it carefully, recognising his quick scrawl in an instant.
O,
I can’t wait to see you walk down the aisle today, already my wife, then, now, and always.
I love you. Forever.
T.
My throat tightened. The earrings glinted in my palm like they carried every ounce of him in them. I placed them in each ear carefully then started fanning at my face, desperate to keep the tears from wrecking my makeup. God, I hadn’t thought I’d cry this soon. Across the room, Kate was already blotting at her cheeks.
“For God’s sake,” she sniffed, laughing through her tears. “This is all I’m going to be doing today.”
Her wobbling smile set off my own and I turned back to the mirror. I took one steadying breath, giving myself a final once over. Gwen stepped forward, her touch gentle as she settled the veil against the crown of my head. My breath caught.
God. I looked like a bride.
Butterflies swarmed my stomach, dizzy and unrelenting. A year ago, I’d met Tyler Reed and spent every ounce of willpower I had trying not to fall for his relentless charm. And now here I was, in a fairytale castle, veil slipping over my shoulders, about to walk down the aisle and marry him for the second time.
A soft knock broke through the fizz of the room. Gwen went to answer, and when the door swung open, my dad stood there.
His eyes landed on me and for a second, he just froze. His mouth parted like he’d been ready to speak but forgot how. The tears I’d been desperately holding back surged straight to the surface.
“Jesus, Orla…” His voice crackled. He shook his head slowly, eyes shining. “You look just like your mother did on our wedding day.”
Fucking hell.That did it. I covered my mouth, choking on a sob as he crossed the room. He gathered me carefully, mindful of the veil, the dress, the moment, and I clung to him like I was six years old again.
“Dad,” I whispered, voice thick with emotion. “Don’t say things like that or I won’t make it down the aisle.”
He gave a watery laugh, cupping my cheek. “You’re ready,” he said, steadying himself and me. “Come on, love. He’s waiting for you.”
Gwen adjusted the train behind me, Kate dabbed under her eyes one more time, and Dad offered me his arm. I slid my hand through the crook of his elbow, squeezing tight.
The nerves melted away, replaced by something bigger. A calm certainty. A joy I could feel right down to my bones.
With one last deep breath, I let him lead me out the door, down the corridor and towards the room where I was about to get my fairytale ending.
Chapter 66
Tyler
I’d playedfinals in front of twenty thousand people. I’d stood on Centre Court with the weight of a nation pressing down on me. But none of that had my palms sweating like they were now.
Travis leaned in, muttering, “Too late to make a run for it now, baby bro,” and the groomsmen snorted, but my heart was like an out of rhythm drum. Because any second now, those doors were going to open and the girl who flipped my whole damn life on its head was going to walk through them in a white dress.
“Reed’s shaking like he’s down match point,” Jordan murmured, smirking like the smug bastard he was.
“Don’t worry,” Malachy rumbled, clapping me on the back hard enough to nearly knock me forward. “If you faint, we’ll drag you back up.”
Even Danny, who’d spent months barely tolerating me, cracked the faintest grin. “Christ, don’t cry, yet. You’ll set her off before she even makes it down the aisle.”
“Fuck all of you,” I muttered under my breath, but there was no bite in it, because they weren’t wrong.
My heart almost stopped as the music began. It was time.
Everyone rose, the scrape of chairs echoing faintly through the vaulted room. My eyes locked on the door as it cracked open.
Then I saw her.
