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Chapter Twenty-Seven

T he morning of my aunt’s wedding flew by in a flurry of hanging decorations, straightening rows of chairs, and providing directions to the caterers.

After I finished arranging the flower garland on the arch, I checked my watch and realized, with a jolt of panic, that it was already time for my styling appointment.

I rushed into the house and changed into my dress before planting myself in front of the hairdresser, who had just finished with my aunt and the other bridesmaids. Twenty minutes later, she’d transformed my hair with a braided half-updo scattered through with flowers.

“It’s gown time!” Aunt Vera announced, reaching out her hands to collect me from my chair.

I clapped and let out a squeal. We went into a more private room, and I helped my aunt step into her gown then spent ten minutes lacing up the back.

I was so focused on configuring the complicated laces correctly that I hardly noticed anything else around me.

As I tied the laces into a bow at the bottom with a satisfied nod, I stepped to the side and finally looked at my aunt, who was gazing at herself in the floor-length mirror .

Out of nowhere, tears sprung into my eyes, and I covered my mouth with a hand. I had seen my aunt in her gown when she had purchased it, but seeing it now, when it had been custom-tailored to her body, emotions I couldn’t name flowed through me. She was radiant.

“Aunt Vera,” I breathed.

“How do I look?”

“Bryce is going to lose it.”

She laughed. “I’m sure he’s not expecting me to be in a big princessy dress. I never expected that either, but now that I’m wearing it, I can’t picture myself in anything else.”

“It’s perfect.”

My aunt looked me up and down. “Your maid of honor dress looks great. I think your ‘not date’ is going to like it.”

I rolled my eyes but ran my hands along my waist and hips, feeling the smooth fabric of the floor-length maroon silk. “Fits like a glove. All right, let’s get you ready to go meet your groom.”

I helped her with the delicate tiara-like headpiece—she was skipping a veil—and a few other accessories, including a bracelet that had belonged to my mom.

“Something borrowed,” she whispered, touching the silver chain.

My phone dinged, and I glanced away to look at it. The message was from Callan.

Just parked. Where are you?

Be out in a second.

The other bridesmaids filed into the room then, gasping as they saw my aunt Vera. “Don’t forget, your first-look pictures start in ten minutes,” I whispered to her.

I slipped into my kitten heels, promised the other bridesmaids I would be back when it was time for the bridal party pictures, then headed for the parking area.

My heart stuttered for a moment when I saw him.

Callan was wearing a gray suit with a burgundy silk tie that perfectly matched the shade and material of my dress.

His dark chestnut hair was expertly coiffed.

He looked like the picture of a prep school billionaire, not my date for a small-town ranch wedding.

“You made it.” I was slightly breathless from all the rushing around.

“Barely. The guy directing the parking was like a pro car choreographer. I had to get my truck within six inches of the car next to it.”

I laughed. “Yep, that sounds about right.”

“I was going to say I’m a little disappointed you aren’t wearing your plant lady dress. But… maroon is definitely a good color on you, local.” He looked me up and down, eyes seeming to briefly flick to my emerald ring before returning to my eyes, which were lidded with sparkly gold.

I sucked in a breath, caught by his gaze for a moment. I lifted the front of my dress a centimeter off the ground, preparing to move again. “I’m sorry, I have to dash off. The wedding party is doing pictures. Feel free to sit anywhere you want, and I’ll find you after the ceremony.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m a pro at these types of functions.”

I shook my head slightly and pressed my lips together as I walked away. Of course Callan would consider a wedding a “function.” He’d probably grown up going to botanical garden openings and charity fundraisers that were fancier than the biggest event in my aunt’s life.

Still, my heart leapt at the fact that he’d come at all. That gesture, more than any words, cemented for me that I meant something to him, as he did to me. Tonight, we could enjoy ourselves free of the burdens of the changes that were happening at the academy and the threat of scouting plants .

When the ceremony began, I sought Callan as I walked up the aisle to stand with the other bridesmaids and saw him sitting on the left side, near the center of the crowd. He immediately stood out. I thought my eyes would find him anywhere, especially in that suit.

He gave me a little smile and a nod as I walked past.

The ceremony went off without a hitch, and I heard more than one person comment on the flowers.

I managed to keep my makeup in place despite shedding a few tears at the sight of my aunt walking down the aisle.

There was an ache in my chest that my mom wasn’t here to see her twin get married, and I knew that my aunt carried that with her today as well.

More than once, I saw my aunt touch the bracelet she wore.

After the first kiss and the pronouncement of marriage, my aunt winked at me as the crowd cheered, and she and Bryce made their epic walk down the aisle as a married couple.

It was more like a strut, given the way Bryce was dancing and preening to the music as if he’d won the lottery.

I couldn’t blame him. My Aunt Vera was the best person in the entire world.

When I looked out into the crowd, all of whom were whistling, clapping, and cheering as they watched the joyous moment, I saw that Callan’s eyes were on me, and I couldn’t help but smile.