Chapter 14
Bailey
The Wedding Part 2
Levi looks so handsome in his tux. Just looking at him takes my breath away. I almost stumble as I approach the altar when I see how incredible he looks all dressed up. Be still my beating heart!
The ceremony flies by in a blur. I’m too busy making sure I don’t lock my knees and that I don’t stare at the best man too much. Levi is so adorable when he forgets where he put the rings. Josh looks a little worried and the pastor looks a little crabby, but Levi finally locates them. There are a few seconds of angst when either the pastor or Levi knocks one of the rings to the floor. It reminds me of Levi’s scramble for my DoorDash cap when they both bend to retrieve the gold band. After the pastor comes up with it, Levi throws me a relieved grin, and I smile back.
There’s no further drama during Josh and Sydney’s vows. I tear up at how in love they both look, the words they’re saying to each other hit me right in the heart. Will I ever find my special person to say these vows to? Sneaking another peek at Levi, I wonder whether he’s my special person.
Laughter, cheers, and applause break out when the pastor declares that Josh and Sydney are husband and wife. Syd grabs her bouquet from me and waves it over her head in a victory dance. Josh sweeps her into his arms and gives her a steamy kiss. After several seconds, Nana clears her throat from the front pew and that breaks them apart, Syd sporting a blush and Josh sporting a huge grin.
The organist starts playing as the newlyweds walk hand-in-hand down the aisle. They look so happy; the sight brings more tears to my eyes. Wish I had tucked a few tissues in the bodice of my dress as Nana advised.
“Ready?” Levi asks, appearing at my side and extending his elbow so we can walk together. I smile and put my hand in the crook of his arm, and we quickly rush down the aisle before the guests start flooding into the sanctuary. When we get to the back of the church, the sprint leaves me a little breathless or maybe that’s due to the hunky best man at my side.
“You look stunning, Bailey,” Levi says as his eyes roam over me. “You’d never know that dress wasn’t made for you.”
The way he’s looking at me makes my knees weak. I feel my neck and upper chest flush from the compliment, hopefully I’m not turning red as a tomato, but my fair skin usually shows a blush pretty quickly.
“Thank you,” I say. “You clean up pretty good yourself.”
We gaze at each other with giddy looks until Syd motions for us to join the receiving line. As luck would have it, Nana is the first one in line to greet us. I brace myself for whatever matchmaking remarks she’s about to make.
"I met your hockey player boyfriend. He’s been forewarned,” she says with a frown. Her eyes narrow and she gives Levi the “I’m watching you” signal before she moves on to congratulate Josh and Sydney.
Huh? No questions about when Levi and I are going to walk down the aisle?
“Why’d she do that?” I whisper, mimicking the gesture. The last thing I expected from Nana was to try to push my boyfriend away, rather than shove us together.
Levi chuckles. “She caught me in the men’s dressing room.” When my eyebrows creep towards my forehead, Levi adds, “Don’t worry, I was already dressed.” Nana has no sense of propriety, so I’m relieved to hear this.
He grins and continues. “She warned me about your tender heart and that I need to take good care of it.”
Ugh! Nana talks too much.
“Never mind whatever she said. I’m not worried about you breaking my heart,” I huff.
A serious expression crosses Levi’s face. “Bailey, I promise that I won’t do anything to intentionally break your heart.”
I squeeze his arm. “I know you won’t.”
A little voice inside my head says, “What about when he’s drafted and moves away to play professional hockey?” Shoving that worry aside, I smile and greet guests. For now, I’ll focus on enjoying this lovely wedding with the hunky guy at my side.
~*~
After all the guests have gone through the greeting line, the wedding party is ushered back into the sanctuary for photos. Guests mingle in the back of the church where there’s snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. The dinner is at an off-site reception hall and doesn’t start until six o’clock.
“Wish I could snag some of those snacks,” Levi whispers as we watch the photographer position the bride and groom for a picture.
“Want me to get you something?”
He grins like a kid. “Sure! Nana can scold you if it isn’t proper for the wedding party to have some of that tasty looking food. I’m already on her blacklist.”
Wonder what Nana said to him? She means well, but I don’t need her meddling in my love life, especially when this relationship is so new. It’s like skating on thin ice, are we going to make it across or fall through?
The snack table is loaded with all sorts of delicious-looking goodies. Sydney ordered dozens of Emma’s cupcakes—I’m the one who tediously iced every one of them with the mint green frosting—but I forego those since I have cupcakes all the time. Instead, I raid the charcuterie boards, selecting a little bit of meat, cheese, crackers, fresh fruit, nuts, and chocolates. My mouth waters as I sneak a few grapes and a cheese cube. I didn’t realize I was so hungry until I saw the food.
“This looks terrific!” Levi says as I hand him the plate. We sit side-by-side in a pew to devour everything.
“Um, try this,” I say, holding up a cracker stacked with meat and cheese. He opens wide, and I pop it into his mouth.
His eyes close as he savors the salty combo. “So good,” he mumbles between bites.
We swap comments back and forth about the food, exclaiming over the taste sensations.
“Extra sharp,” I say, referring to a cube of yellow cheese, presumably cheddar.
“Spicy,” Levi says, referring to a slice of pepperoni.
“Kind of bland,” I add when I taste one of the black olives.
“You need to cleanse your palette between bites,” Levi says as if he’s a culinary expert.
I arch an eyebrow. “How do I do that?”
He shrugs. “Just making a suggestion.”
I giggle and roll my eyes.
Snagging one of the last items on the plate, I take a bite and exclaim, “This chocolate is to die for!”
“Is there any left?” Levi asks, making a show of searching the almost empty plate.
Putting my hand over my mouth, I shake my head ‘no’ while he laughs.
“You mean, you only left me a few cashews and a black olive?” he teases while I continue to enjoy the delicious dark chocolate.
“Maid of honor and best man! We need you for photos,” the photographer bellows as if we’re five miles away rather than ten feet.
“He’s got an excellent outdoor voice,” Levi comments as we join the bride and groom beside the altar. The photographer positions us in several poses and takes photo after photo. I feel like my lips are frozen into a permanent smile.
“You two look so cute!” Aunt Margaret says. "Why don't you two take a picture together? You look so great standing next to each other!" she says, motioning for Josh and Syd to get out of the shot. I blush as Levi puts his arm around my shoulders.
“Sorry about this,” I say through gritted teeth as I continue to hold my smile in place. “Don’t feel obligated to purchase one of these.”
I feel Levi shake with laughter. “What’s another fifty bucks? I’m definitely going to need one of these.”
We endure a few more seconds of maid of honor and best man photos before everyone moves outside for an extensive round of photos under the trees.
“Wish I’d snagged that piece of chocolate. Looks like it’s going to be awhile before we can eat,” Levi whispers to me.
“You snooze, you lose,” I whisper back with a smirk.
He pulls me close, and we laugh.