Page 14 of The Ties that Bind

Stressful? I smiled at her, but I didn’t agree with what she said. Everything was coming together, and I had faith that everything that hadn’t quite done that yet would fall into place in time. In the meantime, I was just…happy. Just so happy to have everyone I loved around me, helping me prepare to marry the woman of my dreams.

Chapter Seven

Aiden

Finally, after a few days of living in a house adorned with wedding decorations, the day had arrived. Today, wedding guests would walk up the sidewalk to see flowers and balloons out front marking my home as the spot for the ceremony. Later, they would behold the most beautiful sight of all… Maggie walking down the white runner laid across the soft green grass between the rows of chairs on either side.

The groom, best man and the other men would stay downstairs where we could help with last-minute chores and take turns getting ready in the guest bedroom. Marty was already here, and he had strict orders to stay in the guest room and keep the door closed so he wouldn’t see Maggie or her wedding dress when she arrived.

“Are you ready?” Zoe asked. I turned around to see her leaning against the master bedroom doorway, wearing jean shorts and a tank top for now. But that would change very, very soon. We had decided it was best for the bride and bridesmaids to come up here to change into their gowns. The attached master bathroom was the largest in the house and the perfect place to do their hair and makeup.

“Am I ready?” I opened my arms and sat on the bed. Zoe pushed away from the doorway, flopped on our king-sized bed and laid her head in my lap, gazing up at me with her riveting blue eyes-black hair splayed across my legs. “You should ask the bride and groom that question.”

Zoe’s smile slipped a little, and she turned her head to gaze out the window. “I’m not ready.”

“What?” My heart dropped. Had she and Maggie had a falling out or something? “Baby, what’s wrong?”

“It’s just… Today, we’ll be so close, and then tomorrow everything will be different. Everyone will eventually be going their separate ways.” Her deep sigh shook her shoulders.

“Not forever,” I pointed out, stroking her hair. “We all have to live our own lives, but we can keep our ties to each other. We can come back and visit, and we can invite them to visit us in LA. You can call anytime you want… paths can separate, but they can also join again.” She met me halfway as I stooped down to place a kiss on her lips. “Many, many times. No goodbyes are permanent unless we want them to be.”

“You look like a wise college professor right now,” Zoe told me, wrinkling her nose and smiling at the same time.

“Not a professor any more, thank goodness. Wise? It’s just the glasses.” I adopted a supercilious look and gave them a little tap to push them up my nose.

The doorbell rang, and we went to answer it, still chuckling. Maggie’s mom smiled at us, the expression a bit brief and harried. “Maggie’s on her way over from the hotel. Is upstairs ready?” She didn’t wait for a confirmation before pushing past us and heading upstairs with the bridesmaid dresses held high in her hands.

Zoe and I glanced at each other and tried not to snicker. “When’s Abigail going to get here?” I asked, glancing out the still-open door to see if anyone else was coming toward the house.

About ten minutes later, I was on the back porch when a voice that definitely didn’t belong to Zoe said, “Hey, Aiden.”

I turned to see a heavily tattooed man sporting a beard with brown, sideswept hair, wearing ripped jeans and a leather jacket walking onto the porch. “You must be Al?” I guessed. This guy was the definition of a rockstar.

“Yup,” he confirmed, stepping forward and holding out a tanned hand for a shake. “I was looking for you, Zoe asked me to let you know Maggie and the dress are upstairs. She said you would tell Marty the coast was clear.” He clapped me on the back. “And I needed to meet you, anyway.”

“Agreed. I don’t really know how we didn’t manage to meet before, considering how close the ladies are.” His grip matched my own, and I decided right on the spot that I liked this man.

“Well, Vaporized has been busy arranging proper wedding music. The rest of the boys aren’t here quite yet. All they need is thirty minutes or so before the other guests arrive to get set up. We’ve learned the meaning of the word ‘organized’. It’s a necessity in our business.” Al’s gaze swept across the chairs, runner and bedecked gazebo where the ceremony would take place. “I expect the grand piano to be delivered any minute now. I got a text from the rental house. The truck is on its way.” He pointed toward the gazebo. “It’s supposed to go right there, right?”

I nodded, “That’s my understanding.”

“Al!” Abigail popped her head out of the door. “What are you doing? Get your tattooed butt back in here and help!”

I raised an eyebrow as Al grinned widely and winked. “She’s not wrong…about either of those things. Let’s go help.”

Shaking my head and chuckling, I followed the only rockstar I had ever met back into the house.

All three girls, Al, Maggie’s parents and my parents had come in within the last thirty minutes. But we still had two hours before guests would be arriving, and another half hour after that before the ceremony would start. The ladies had estimated that it would take them an hour and a half to get ready, so they would disappear in thirty minutes to be on the safe side.

Before then, though, there had been a few last-minute things that required the bride’s attention. So, I played doorman ensuring Marty was inside the guest room with the door closed when Maggie was downstairs.

I walked into the kitchen to find not Marty’s mother standing at the position of authority in the midst of everyone, but Maggie. I waited at the kitchen counter to be noticed, watching with amusement as Maggie listened to Mrs. Ellen expressing some sort of concern, looking nervous and holding a hand to her head. Maggie just calmly spoke to her for a moment, then turned away to tell her grandma not to put a certain bouquet of flowers in the wrong vase.

“Sorry,” she said when she had a moment to talk to me. “Everyone is kind of acting a little crazy right now.”

“But not you,” I observed. Maggie positively glowed.

“Not me,” she agreed. “Everything I wanted has come true, and I got to spend the whole day yesterday with my brothers and father. I’m honestly just having so much fun right now, and I’m so happy. All the odds were against us having this wedding in June… so soon… but everything is falling into place. We are so blessed… I don’t need to worry about anything. All I need to do is keep supporting and loving Marty, working my best and hardest and living life like it’s my wedding every day.”