Page 67 of Everything After (Everything Trilogy)
“This is not the time for you to try to embarrass me, Alfie,” I admonished, scowling.
He glanced at the expensive Patek Philippe watch on his wrist. “What time should I do that?”
“You’re not funny.”
“Just as well I didn’t try for a career as a comedian then, isn’t it?”
I growled. “Go in there and sit down,” I ordered, nodding toward the doors of the room where the ceremony was to take place.
“Or? You’ll spank me?” he teased, wagging his eyebrows. A chuckle left my throat, and I shook my head. “See, you’re not really mad at me, are you? I really want to kiss you right now, but that lipstick you’re wearing looks lethal.”
“Good.” I glanced upstairs. “Go inside. Holly will be coming in a minute.”
“Lucky Holly,” he replied, sounding amused. All the other bridesmaids laughed.
“You won’t be coming for months if you don’t get your arse in that room before Holly shows up,” I warned.
“Alright, I’m going,” he said, through a chuckle. “By the way, did I ever tell you that half-pissed, half-amused look you have in your eyes is one of the most adorable things about you?”
“Aw, swoon,” one of the bridesmaids blurted.
I chuckled. “Yeah, but I know him better than you. He’s trying to butter me up in case I carry out my previous threat that he won’t get laid unless he does what I ask.”
“Emotional blackmail, that’s what that was, and you’re all my witnesses.”
“They’ll be witnesses to murder if you don’t get your arse back in there,” I said, nodding at the ceremony room door again.
“Always a pleasure, Mrs. Black,” he said playfully. “And I can’t wait to strip that dress off you later and find out exactly what’s underneath.”
An instrumental of “Love of a Lifetime” by Ryann Darling began to play as the doors to the ceremony room opened and we bridesmaids filed down the aisle.
We congregated on the left, facing away from the alter.
My eyes caught Alfie’s gaze while he sat in the second row in front of me, and he gave me a wink.
His flirty gesture made my heart flutter even after all the years we’d been together.
I smiled in return as the song faded out, then we all waited in silence for Holly to appear.
I glanced over to Brett, who looked serious in his black morning wear and golden tie, which matched with the gold on our dresses.
His oldest brother, Mathew, leaned in and spoke in his ear.
Brett’s mouth twitched and a slow smile curved his lips, but when the wedding officiant stood up his face became stoic again.
The officiant called out, “Would you please stand for the bride.” Holly and Brett’s friends and relatives stood as the doors to the room opened again, and “Love of a Lifetime” played once again, this time with the artist singing the lyrics of the song.
Brett stood facing the alter for the first line of the song, the muscle in his jaw twitching.
It was his only sign of anxiety, until he turned around to see his bride and he instantly choked up.
Holly beamed as she focused solely on him, and a wave of emotion caught me in my throat because I’d never seen her look happier.
At five-foot-ten, Holly’s height was diminished by her six-foot-six, blond-haired dad. He was a mountain of a man with broad shoulders and brooding looks. I guessed his presence unnerved many, even Brett, and that was testament to how intimidating her dad looked.
Holly arrived beside her groom. Brett smiled and took her hand when her father offered it. Then her dad leaned in and muttered something to Brett, wiping the smile clean off his face.
Once her father stepped back, Brett looked tense. When Holly leaned forward and whispered something in his ear, Brett beamed, and I guessed in that moment nothing mattered anymore.
As an oil baron, Hank Myers was a force to be reckoned with.
Then again, it was much easier to wage power with a couple of centuries of generational wealth behind you, unlike Brett, who was a self-made man from managing oil fields and investing his money wisely.
Even when Holly had first met him, Brett had already had the financial wherewithal to take care of his wife in the life she was accustomed to.
The ceremony itself was beautiful with both Holly and Brett sharing their own unique vows.
When Brett had exchanged his, it had reminded me of the time when Alfie had written his.
My own vows were on the fly since I’d had no idea that I was getting married, until I was given my dress as I prepared to be Elle’s Maid of Honor.
Elle had tricked me into picking out and trying on a wedding dress for fun, as a likely candidate for my potential wedding day when we’d been shopping for her big day.
It wasn’t until we were making our way back out of the ceremony room that my eyes connected with Max. My heart lurched in my chest, mostly with irritation that I had to breathe the same air as the guy after how he’d played me while he had a girl at home.
I was glad that Will had overheard a phone conversation where Max had been talking to another girl. Next to him was a girl, not too dissimilar looking to me, with a little girl about five-years-old, sitting on her knee. Despite what I told myself, I still wondered if she was the same girl.
My eyes sought out Alfie, who gave me one of his heart-stopping smiles.
I felt the impact of that smile in every cell of my body.
Plus, the way my heart clenched when I looked at my husband reminded me, without a doubt, that Alfie was the love of my life, and anything I might have had briefly with Max was completely forgotten.