Page 86 of Temporarily in Love

I groaned before I rushed into the bathroom. Kelsey and Lizzie were behind me in a flash, holding back my hair and making sure I didn’t get any vomit on my dress.

Kelsey handed me a travel-size bottle of mouthwash, and I gargled in the sink while she tapped her foot impatiently behind me.

“You okay?” Lizzie asked.

I nodded. “It’s…morning sickness.”

“I knew your boobs looked bigger!” my sister said with indignation.

I looked down at my boobs. When we did the fitting, I thought the bodice was a little tighter, but my tailor took it out to fix it. She thought maybe she had gotten the measurements wrong.

“Does Declan know?” Avery asked from the other room.

I brushed my teeth to get the taste of vomit out of my mouth. I had come prepared, but now I needed to fix my lipstick. I wiped my mouth, but Lizzie tilted my face down toward her and fixed it for me.

“You’re good. Congrats, mama!” she said and gave my hand a little squeeze.

I smiled. “Dec doesn’t know yet. We've been trying since we got back together.”

“Aw, he’s gonna be so excited!” Gemma cried.

Avery pinned her sister with a look. “You’re next.”

A look of terror came across Gemma’s face. “Hell no! You have enough babies between you all that Felix and I get to be the fun aunt and uncle.”

I rolled my eyes. Gemma and Felix were strictly in the ‘no kids’ club. Good for them, but that was definitely not something I wanted. I was so excited that I was marrying the love of my life, and we were already starting a family together.

Kelsey squeezed my hand. “Congrats, sis. Now, are you ready?”

I nodded. “Yes. I should have been ready to marry Declan a long time ago.”

“But he waited for you, so you know he’s a good one,” Kelsey said and handed me my bouquet of orange, yellow, and red flowers.

A smile broke out across my face. “He’s the best man I’ve ever known.”

“And you make him less serious!” Gemma cut in.

I laughed. I loved Gemma. She was a hoot, but she was right. My future husband could be uptight. I could only imagine what he was going to be like while I was pregnant. But I was excited to watch our child grow inside me, to see the life we created together. All my dreams were about to come true, and I couldn’t be happier.

My mom came into the room. “You all ready?”

I nodded.

Mom walked over to me and pushed a strand of my dark hair behind my ear. “Oh, Lila, you look gorgeous. It looks like a perfect harvest wedding.”

“It’s exactly what I wanted.”

She ushered us outside. We had been getting ready in the farmhouse, but the wedding was outside underneath the pretty fall leaves. I watched my bridesmaids walk down the aisle with the groomsmen while I waited for my entrance. My dad came up to me and looped his arm through mine.

“You look gorgeous, honey,” he told me.

“Thanks, Dad.”

I took a breath, and then I was walking down the aisle with my dad. Declan looked misty-eyed when he finally saw me. He was wearing his glasses and was in a nicely tailored black suit. Behind us was a trellis of fall leaves with two huge pumpkins on each side. Everything looked so perfect, and so far, the weather had cooperated.

Declan took my hands as we waited for the pastor to start the service. Despite my Irish-Catholic upbringing, I wasn’t that religious, nor was Declan, so we weren’t having a traditional wedding. The only tradition we wanted was an Irish wedding blessing read and a handfasting. I already had a Claddagh ring which I kept as my engagement ring, but we also picked out matching wedding bands.

The pastor told everyone to take their seats, and he started the ceremony. “Welcome, everyone. We gathered Lila and Declan here today before their family and friends to make a statement of their commitment to each other. We celebrate the coming together of the families of MacGregor and Sullivan with their love. First, we’ll have the mother of the bride read an Irish blessing for the wedding.”