38. Chapter Thirty Seven
Chapter Thirty Seven
The wedding goes off without a hitch. At the end of the ceremony, we're all blessed with some awesome dance moves as the groomsmen and bridesmaids dance down the aisle to Gangnam Style. I guess Alfie changed the music.
Even if he won't admit it, I can tell Blaise is having fun. He's paired up with Meredith and he twirls her down the aisle, sunglasses suddenly appearing as the groomsmen slip them on.
Everyone is laughing, enjoying themselves, and it's easy to feel the same.
Mackenzie is a bawling mess beside me, and I hold her hand while she simultaneously laughs and cries. Lauren and Alfie dance down the aisle last, the guests cheering and yelling as they go. At the end of the aisle, Alfie picks her up bridal-style, swinging her around.
"We're going to do family photos," Mackenzie says to me, pulling herself together. "Come."
She grabs my hand, dragging me with her as the remaining guests are instructed by the wedding officiant to head to the barn for drinks and canapes.
"Are you sure?" I breathe out, alarmed. "I'm happy to sit it out."
"Nonsense," she gasps. "You're family."
My eyes widen but I don't dare say anything in case I ruin everything. She pulls me over to the bridal party just as the photographer starts giving them instructions.
"We're going to start with the bridal party over here," he shouts, his face hidden under a large wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses. "We are going to get the mountains in the background. Then, we'll do some family pictures."
I linger awkwardly next to Mackenzie, watching as he snaps pictures of the bridal party. When they are done, he turns to Mackenzie.
"Okay, mother of the groom and groom's family!"
"Come," she says again, grabbing my hand and tugging me toward Alfie and Lauren.
"Okay," I squeak, feet near tripping as my heels catch in the soft grass.
My eyes find Blaise and I look at him, silently apologizing with my eyes. He doesn't look at all bothered, chatting to Alfie with a warm smile.
"Best man, can you move over to the side?" the photographer asks but Mackenzie cuts him off.
"No, no. This lovely lady is his partner," she shouts, gesturing to me. "I want both of them in the photo. Blaise! Come stand next to Skylar."
Blaise nods, shifting over to stand next to me. Alfie is on his left, and I'm placed on his right, while Mackenzie stands next to Lauren.
"I'm so sorry," I whisper through my required smile.
He smiles for the camera, leaning down to grab my hand. "Don't stress."
When the photographer has taken a few shots, Lauren's family joins us — two families now one, before they get their own pictures as well.
"I'm going to go into the barn," I say to Blaise, moving out of the way.
Blaise nods, gesturing to a person standing near the barn entrance. "Go see Michael. He's over there with my other cousins. I'll join you soon."
I give a quick thumbs up, walking over to his cheery relative.
"Skylar!" he greets, pulling me in for a hug. "My, my. You scrub up well."
"Back at you," I laugh.
Michael looks around before spotting what he's searching for. He grabs two glasses of champagne from a server, handing one to me.
"Here's to my fabulous cousin and his bride," he says, raising his glass.
I tap my glass against his, joining in the conversation with his cousins.
Eventually, we're ushered inside to take our seats. I'm happy to find I'm seated with Blaise's family, next to his mom, at a table. Some of his cousins are with us too, along with Blaise's aunty and uncle. Once again, there's a seat saved for Robert and I take a moment to contemplate what Blaise said about his family's view on love.
True love really doesn't die. Even though Robert is gone, the Nolans make sure he's included in everything. And I have no doubt he's watching over today, proud of his youngest son.
When we're all seated, the bridal party is introduced one by one, the paired couples making their way into the barn with more dance moves. They sit at the bridal table, joined last by the newly-wed Mr. and Mrs. Nolan.
Food, Speeches, cake cutting, and first dance follow. When the bridal party is instructed to take the dance floor at the end of the first dance, I watch as Blaise guides Meredith to the floor. His warm eyes are watching her politely, a small conversation passing between them as they dance with the other members of the bridal party.
A small uncomfortable feeling hits me when I realize I want to dance with him too. It's not jealousy, rather a longing to be up there with him.
"We're going to open the dance floor now to everyone," the wedding MC announces on the microphone. "Please join the bridal party while cake is being served."
Blaise leans down to whisper something to Meredith, who nods, walking off to another table with a smile. I follow her, watching as she grabs a man to pull onto the dance floor. That must be her partner I realize, smiling to myself.
"Care to dance?"
I look up, Blaise standing in front of me with his hand out.
"Absolutely," I murmur, taking it as he leads me onto the dance floor with the other couples.
I've never been good at dancing, but I know enough at least. I hang my arms over his shoulders as he places his on my waist. We sway to the music and I grin at him.
"Your dance moves were great," I tease. "Perfect footage for blackmail."
He laughs loudly, the sound drowned out by the music. "I'm happy Alfie changed the song. The sunglasses were my idea though."
"They looked great," I say proudly.
We continue swaying to the music, until the photographer comes up to us, tapping Blaise on the shoulder.
"Hm?" he answers, sounding slightly annoyed.
"I want to grab some pictures of you two. Can you please kiss while you dance?" the photographer asks sharply.
I suck in a breath. This is it. We're done for.
Surprisingly, Blaise nods, looking back at me.
I stare at him with slightly wide-eyes, trying not to appear too alarmed.
"What do we do?" I ask in a hushed tone. "I can pretend to roll my ankle.
Blaise raises an eyebrow. "Don't be silly. I'm going to kiss you now."
His face inches towards me and my heart starts pounding against my chest. His lips press against mine softly, grazing them. My eyes flutter closed and I kiss him back, his arms wrapping around my waist.
It feels like the music is being drowned out, the sounds disappearing. All I can feel is him as he becomes the center of the room, everyone else forgotten.
Bright, white lights flash next to us, but I barely notice them, too engrossed in the feel of his lips against mine.
He's perfect.
The world melts away as it becomes just us, swaying to melodies as we kiss and embrace one another.
"Thank you," the photographer says, walking away.
I barely register his absence, not ready to let this moment go. Blaise doesn't either, not pulling back as he deepens the kiss.
We stay like this, time standing still, until finally, he slowly pulls back, and my senses catch up. Music floods through my ears along with the sound of people talking.
"Blaise," I murmur, scanning his face.
He smiles down at me. "Our first kiss has been captured."
First?
"Okay everyone. Cake is now being brought around if you can please return to your seats," the MC announces.
No!
I don't want to let him go.
Blaise carefully unwinds his arms, grabbing my hand as he leads me back to my table. I sit down, still speechless as he returns to the bridal table, taking his spot next to Alfie.
Cake is placed in front of me and I look at the square cut of red velvet cake, the perfect white fondant on one side. Mackenzie turns her attention away from her other companion, picking up her fork.
"I love cake," she muses.
"I love… cake too," I mutter, trying to clear my head.
Swallowing, I quickly compose myself, eating my dessert.
There's a few more speeches while we eat, and I can't stop myself from looking over at Blaise. It's the happiest I've seen him in ages, practically glowing as he laughs with Alfie.
After dessert, there's more dancing and drinks, until finally it's time to farewell the bride and groom.
We make our way outside, creating a pathway as servers hand out sparklers. We light them, the bridal party walking in the middle of the crowd as we hold them up in the air.
Blaise walks past me with Meredith, grinning at me warmly as he heads toward the house.
Slowly, people venture off into different directions, some conversing while others start heading to their cars to go home. I linger around outside, staring at the stars.
Deciding to check the time, I reach into my purse to retrieve my cell. I frown, noticing that I have a missed call. It's not often I get calls, so I check the log, my heart pausing in disbelief.
Jordan tried to call me.
God — I would have given anything for him to have called me before. And now, he chooses the most inconvenient time to do it.
The Universe sure has a messed up sense of humor.
I stare at the screen, wondering what to do.
What does he want? Why is he reaching out now?
I notice there's also a text message waiting in my inbox. With shaking hands, I click on it.
Jordan: Hey Firefly. I just wanted to reach out. I really miss you and have been thinking about everything. Give me a call when you can.
Looking up at the house, I see Blaise's bedroom light turn on, a faint shadow against the wall as he moves around the room.
It sounds like…
No — I can't do this. Does he want me back? The real question is…
Do I want him back?
Gazing back at my cell, the answer comes to me straight away. I click into his contact information, hitting the settings button until I find what I'm looking for.
Block.
Immediately after, I go into the next screen, hitting the red delete button, watching as his number and name vanishes off my screen for good.
A sense of release comes over me, and I close my eyes, taking a moment to process it.
It's done. I'm leaving him in my past where he belongs.
Putting my cell back in my purse, I take a deep breath, before I turn, heading back to the house.