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Chapter twenty-seven

Cecilia

I’m not crying, you’re crying!

~ Wedding Day ~

“Are you ready for this?” Morgan asks as she stands beside me in front of the full-length mirror.

The ceremony will start shortly, we’re all ready to go, only doing last-minute touch-ups with the makeup artist and hairdresser. I look at my beautiful gown and can’t believe we’re finally here.

Just seven months ago, I was sitting in a restaurant across from a handsome stranger.

And now, we have a home together, a puppy, and are getting married.

It’s a lot to take in. I’m not nervous about marrying Silas, I know this is what I want, that this is the right thing to do.

But I feel like my heart is about to explode with happiness, and that makes me jittery.

“Did you feel this way when you married Clay? Like you just wanted to say fuck the wedding and run down the aisle to him, only because you can’t wait a second longer?

” I lift my hands in front of me, looking down at them.

“Like, my hands are shaking and my heart is going crazy in my chest. I don’t want to be locked in this room anymore, I just want to be with him.

It sounds crazy, right?” The words spill out of my mouth as I take a big breath in.

Morgan pushes my hair back behind my shoulders and smiles.

“It’s exactly how I felt. We had one hour still to wait before the ceremony began and I just couldn’t do it anymore.

When no one was looking, I snuck out of my dressing room and made it to his.

When I knocked and he opened the door, I tackled him to the ground and begged him to just leave. ”

She giggles to herself. “I told him I wanted to elope, and that I was tired of waiting and didn’t want to be apart anymore.

I was being ridiculous. It was only one hour .

But my emotions for him were so intense in that moment that I was losing my mind.

” She smiles, those memories flipping through her eyes.

“But instead of questioning me, Clay simply scooped me up and sat down on a bench with me in his lap, and he held me for the full hour as we made out. Then he told me he was happy I showed up, because when I knocked on the door, he was about to make his way to me. Claiming he couldn’t wait any longer either. ” Morg says in her delicate voice.

It’s one of the things I love about her. When she talks, no matter what she says, it always has a way of reaching deep inside you, of touching your soul. Her voice simply has that effect of capturing people in and making you want to listen.

“And with the way Silas acts with you, I know he’s most likely going crazy too and about to break down this door,” she adds with a giggle, then steps away toward Aubrey who is getting her makeup redone.

Aubrey is watching me through our reflections with a heartwarming smile. “You look beautiful, Cece.”

“Thank you, Brey. I’m really happy you could be here with us. I’m grateful to have you as my friend, even if it’s still new,” I say genuinely, which makes her blush. She’s still a little shy from time to time, but we’re slowly getting her out of her shell.

“Okay! Your man is really losing it out there,” Emma announces as she walks into the spare bedroom that we transformed into a dressing room for the day and closes the door, leaning against it.

I turn her direction. “What do you mean? What’s going on?” Worry starts creeping along my veins, wondering if maybe he’s having doubts.

“What’s going on is he’s been pacing in front of the door for the past twenty minutes!

He said he needed to be near you because it had been too long.

You two spent the night together and woke up together, how has it been too long!

?” She looks around at Morg and Brey before facing me again. “You guys really didn’t hear him?”

“Well, we did hear repeated noises. But we just assumed it was the guys playing music downstairs and that we could hear it through the floors,” Aubrey tells her.

I glance at Morgan, who happens to already be looking my way. With a knowing smile, she mouths over, “I told you.”

A smile spreads on my face and my heart swells twice as large. I love this man.

“All right well, it’s go time, my lovelies!” Emma takes me into an embrace. “I can’t believe my girl is getting married today!” Then she sashays away with the other two while I wait for my escort to collect me.

Once alone in the room, I observe myself in the mirror. My hair has been curled into big loops and pinned to one side with a rhinestone hair clip. My makeup is minimal yet stunningly beautiful.

“Minnie?”

My heart skips a beat at his voice.

“I won’t come in, but I just... I need you right now, Minnie...”

Oh, my heart. Emotions clog my throat as I blink the tears away and walk over to the door. “I’m right here… I need you, too.”

I take a final step and rest my forehead against the door. I feel him pressing into the door, the pull from our bodies so strong it can be felt through walls.

I hear the moment his forehead touches the door above mine, then his hand coming to the wood as he taps a finger, letting me know where it is. I set my hand there, lining it up with his and tapping my nail against the door, too.

Suddenly, we’re back to that very first night, the day that changed our lives forever. The day I met the man of my dreams . Stuck in the same position, with only a door separating us as we say goodbye, our hearts leaving with the other.

But today won’t be a goodbye, today is a see you later, a hello forever.

“Are you nervous?” he whispers.

“No, I just want to marry you,” I say with a tearful smile. It’s the only thing I want.

“Me too, baby. Soon.”

We stay silent for a moment, enjoying each other’s presence. But I know we have to get going, everyone is waiting for us downstairs.

“I love you, Silas.”

“I love you, Cecilia,” he murmurs back.

“Come on, son. It’s time for you to get down there. We’re about to start and I need to fetch the bride,” someone says from the other side.

“Yeah, I’m going. See you in a little bit, Minnie.” And then he’s gone.

Seconds later, a soft knock comes to the door, and it opens as I step away. Emma’s dad walks in and smiles tenderly. “My darling, you look absolutely breathtaking.” He wraps his arms around me while he speaks the words.

“Thank you, Mr. Mackenzie.”

“Please, we’ve known each other a long time now, I consider you like my own. I think you can call me by my name now,” he says with a chuckle.

I giggle in return. “Thank you, Lance.”

“That’s better. Are you ready?” He offers me his arm.

I place my hand in the crook of his elbow, along his forearm.

“I’m ready.”

SILAS

I make my way downstairs and out the back doors, heading for the altar where my father stands as our wedding officiant.

He got his license to wed simply for us.

When Cecilia asked him to officiate our wedding, he broke down in tears.

I’ve rarely seen my father cry, but seeing him in that moment had tugged at my heart.

When I arrive by his side, he takes me in a hug and tells me how proud he is, that he couldn’t have picked a better woman for me. I go to offer him an answer, but my emotions are so high I feel like I might burst.

Clearing my throat, I nod and take my place beside my best man, Clay, and groomsmen, Greyson and Spencer.

They’re dressed in a black tuxedo jacket with champagne-colored waistcoat and bow tie, a white dress shirt underneath.

Mine is simply a black tuxedo jacket, white dress shirt, and black bow tie.

I look around the yard at all our guests seated patiently, waiting for the bride, then gaze around at the transformation the girls have made for the wedding. The yard has been split in two, with the left side being the ceremony and the right the reception.

The ceremony section has rows of white Chiavari chairs separated in half with a white aisle runner. White roses with greenery line the whole walkway.

There are a total of fifty guests, excluding the wedding party. We wanted to keep it to a minimum, so only people close to us were invited. Behind the altar is a beautiful wooden arch with draping gold fabric and more roses and greenery.

On the reception side, a huge U-shaped table is set up. We wanted all our guests to feel included rather than have everyone sitting at different tables. Cecilia and I will be seated at the head of the table with our wedding party to our sides.

Along the parallel legs of the ‘U’, chairs are placed on both sides, having people facing each other. But at the head, no one sits in front of us, giving the bride and groom a view of everyone.

A black cloth covers the whole table with golden plates and silverware wrapped in black napkins.

Tall vases filled with glass pebbles and white rose bouquets at the top are used as centerpieces, with champagne glasses placed for every seat.

Beside the seating area, a wooden platform was built for the dance floor where Cecilia and I will have our first dance.

String lights are hung around for when night falls and the party keeps going. The whole thing looks magical. Simple yet extraordinary, and I can’t believe my girl came up with all of this. Well, with the help of Emma and Morgan.

Amanda Wilson, Cecilia’s boss, also offered her help when needed. And today, she’s taking care of making sure everything is going as planned so that Cecilia can concentrate on only getting married.

On cue, a soft melody begins to play by the string quartet we hired. The guests quiet down and turn to look toward the house. One by one, the bridesmaids descend the aisle. First Aubrey, then Morgan, and finishing with the maid of honor, Emma.

They all look lovely, but the only one I want to see is my bride. The music slows and a new song starts, ‘ Canon in D’ by Johann Pachelbel, and then my future wife appears.