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Isra hummed and Nancy looked so happy, I hated knowing I was lying. “Then you’ll have to come over after your honeymoon.”
“Oh yeah. We’ll definitely do that.”
“And the yard is so beautiful!” Nancy said, looking out the window. “It?—”
She didn’t finish her sentence as she continued staring outside.
Isra caught onto her change in demeanor and quickly joined her at her post.
“Is everything okay?” I asked. “Did the arch fall again? I can?—”
“We’ll deal with this,” Isra announced. “You need to focus on looking beautiful.”
“Even though you already are!” Nancy said.
Isra threw open the door and left. Nancy laughed nervously and followed.
“That was weird,” I said.
“I thought they were nice.”
“No, whatever’s happening outside. Maybe I should look.”
“You’re already stressed,” she said, grabbing my shoulder. “And you’re about to walk down the aisle. You should take a second before you throw up like I did.”
I sighed. I might not have felt like I was going to throw up, but my nerves were making my hands shake. “Fine. You might be right about this one.”
“And one of your brows needs some help. Give me just a minute.” She returned to working on my makeup as I tried to take deep breaths to stay calm.
It didn’t work.
My backyard had been transformedinto the perfect wedding oasis. Chairs lined a white aisle and flowers were everywhere. The slightly warm weather was exactly what any bride would want for the occasion. Whatever had gone awry was fixed now, and everything was right as Lily and I had left it.
Lily was in front of me, and seated on my side of the aisle was Sebastian. Next to him, I saw Riley with a dark-haired man and two little ones.
And then my parents.
Mom glanced at me, but quickly looked away. By the set of her brow, she wasnothappy. She leaned over and whispered something to Dad, and I had a feeling she was mentioning my brother, who was noticeablynothere.
Behind them, Emma snapped pictures on her phone as if it was the best day of her life.
At least someone was excited.
I reminded myself that this wasmyfake wedding and that my attention should be on the groom. I focused my gaze solely on Levi.
He was stunning in his suit and tie. His hair was slightly trimmed and he seemed to be playing the perfect husband, with only eyes for me.
But something was off. His lips were pursed and his hands were in tight fists at his sides.
My breath caught in my throat. What if he was regretting this?
When he saw me, some of the tension melted away, and he put on a show of a lifetime. He seemed nothing but happy to see me, but I hadn’t forgotten the tension that had just been in his features.
What was running through his head?
As I walked down the aisle, I saw the way his eyes tracedeveryinch of me. My entire body heated at his gaze. After my own parents’ lukewarm response, this was a breath of fresh air.
I tried not to think about everyone’s eyes on me, and I wondered if my family had been right the whole time. I didn’t do well with attention and this was proof.