Chapter 41 Recite – Rory
RECITE
RORY
I was up before the sun rose. I pulled back the curtains, watching daylight break over the mountains. It was so beautiful. I cracked the window, letting in the fresh air and the early morning chirps of the birds. The sounds soothed me.
Maybe I can be happy here. Maybe there’s still a chance.
The rehearsal dinner had been so awkward. I couldn’t focus on the unending stream of guests—Philips’s words were still ringing in my head. What he’d said about Rhodes being genuinely happy for the first time, and about my judgment of him, played over and over in my mind.
Rhodes had been trying to protect me by not telling me about bribing my mother.
He had also, absolutely, been trying to protect his investment in our contract and its impact on the board’s decision.
Was this wrong? It felt wrong, but I wasn’t sure.
Hadn’t I also bribed my mother for the same reason?
I wanted her to go away so that our secret would be safe. Same thing with Gigi.
I’d judged Rhodes harshly, to the point where I’d questioned my feelings for him. But who was I to judge? I’d never been a billionaire before—constantly faced with people who wanted to take from me. What had Philips called Rhodes’s behavior? A coping mechanism.
I had a few of my own.
As soon as things with Rhodes got real and within reach, I looked for a reason to reject my feelings.
I pushed him away. I found fault instead of staying open, instead of asking him questions, instead of giving him a chance.
This was also a coping mechanism—leave before you are left.
Don’t trust so you can’t get swindled. Reject before you are rejected.
I was a textbook case.
Sighing, I stared out at the grounds. I might never belong here, and yet, I was here. About to marry the Barrington heir.
Maybe I could try, at least for today, to look at the bright side.
There was a knock on my door. “Rory? It’s Genevieve!”
The wedding planner was already here.
“Today’s the day! Are you ready to get into wedding glam?”
Straightening my shoulders and putting on a brave face, I turned.
“Yes.”
“Oh my goodness.” I stared out at the front of Barrington Manor, gobsmacked by all the cars parked on the lawn.
I turned to Genevieve. “How many guests are here?”
“Four hundred.” She beamed at me. “This is the biggest wedding we’ve ever had in the North Country. It’s going to be on the cover of all the bridal magazines!”
“Oh.” I tried to sound upbeat, but the news did nothing for my nerves. Four hundred people!?
“Don’t worry, honey—you are a glowing bride. You look stunning. Perfection!” She made a Chef’s kiss gesture, and I vaguely wondered how Chef had held up preparing food for so many guests.
“We’re going to head into the study so that you’ll be hidden from sight until it’s your turn to walk down the aisle. The groomsmen and your bridesmaids will file out first,” she instructed, shuttling me into a small library and closing the door so I was hidden.
“I don’t have any bridesmaids,” I said.
“Rory, you are so funny! Don’t let your nerves get the better of you. You don’t know how many guests there are, you forgot about your bridesmaids—”
“Because I don’t have any—”
“Of course you do, silly.” Genevieve lifted her headset and scrolled her tablet until she found what she was looking for. “It’s right here. You have two bridesmaids and two bridesmen.”
“I’m sorry, there must be some kind of mistake—”
Genevieve’s headset started blaring, and her eyes widened. “Oooh, it’s time. They’re starting the processional music! I’ve got to get out there, but I’ll come back when it’s time for you to walk down the aisle!”
“But—”
But she was gone in a blur of blond hair and a flowered dress.
I racked my brain, trying to decipher what she’d said about the attendants, but then it dawned on me.
Rhodes must’ve hired bridesmaids and bridesmen, whatever that meant.
It would look strange if I didn’t have any attendants, in addition to having no family here.
I swallowed hard. I hadn’t even called my grandmother that morning. I’d been so busy getting “glammed”—spray tanned, waxed, highlighted, straightened, and made up—that I hadn’t had time. At least, that’s what I’d told myself.
The truth was that I was ashamed that I was getting married like this, in a paid rush job. I was too ashamed to face my family’s judgment and their disappointment. Although the ceremony would be lavish, this was not the wedding I’d dreamed of as a little girl.
I wished, more than anything, that my grandmother, Josie, and Bo were here.
But I’d been too afraid and wrapped up in my worries to seriously consider including them and making sure that my secret didn’t get out.
But they’d see the pictures. On the cover of all the magazines.
And know that they weren’t invited to my big day. Ugh…
After one knock, Genevieve threw the door open. “We need to move!” A light sheen of sweat had broken out on her perfectly made-up face. “They’re about to play your song!”
“Okay…?”
She whisked me out of the room and marched me to the entrance of the far lawn, where the guests waited.
I hadn’t even been allowed to peek at the preparations that morning—Genevieve didn’t want anyone to see me, and she’d been positively militant in her enforcement.
But the wedding planner wasn’t the only one sweating as I glimpsed the scene.
Four hundred guests stood waiting, turned toward me.
The aisle between them was a path of gray stone, bordered on each side by gorgeous wildflowers.
At the front, an enormous archway waited, bedecked with even more flowers, fairy lights, and… Rhodes standing beneath it.
I could barely make out his face, but my heart still hitched in my chest. Maybe if I could stay focused on him, I could make it down that aisle.
Maybe.
Genevieve deposited me at the entrance. “I’ll be in the wings. I promise everything is going to go great. Congratulations, Rory. Start walking when they play ‘Here Comes the Bride’—it’s going to start any second. Here’s your escort.”
“Wait, I start when?” But she was gone, hair flying as she hustled around the perimeter of the guests, leaving me on my own.
“Come on, everybody knows the song,” a familiar voice said from behind me. “I walked down the aisle to the same tune, straight into the arms of your grandfather.”
“Grammy?!” My jaw dropped open.
“The one and only.” She grinned at me.
I burst into tears as she reached my side, clucking and cooing and telling me how beautiful I looked. She pressed a tissue underneath my eyes.
“No crying,” she admonished, even though her own eyes were misty. “We’re going to get you down that aisle in one piece. Your fiancé made me promise.”
“Rhodes made you promise?” I whispered, my voice hoarse. I was on the verge of full-on bawling, shaking as I drank in the sight of her. Grammy wore a rose-colored gown with a lace top, proper heels, and her hair and makeup were flawless.
“Course he did. He flew us up late last night. We barely had time to put Chewie in the kennel!”
She beamed at me. “He made us promise to surprise you, and also, to make sure you were happy today.” She linked her arm through mine. “Apparently, he’s good enough for my granddaughter.”
“Oh!” I started bawling.
“Rory, enough!” Grammy laughed as she blotted my eyes. “Can we please walk down the aisle now? I don’t want to get on the wedding planner’s bad side.”
“Ooh. Me either.” I let out a bark of laughter, then realized that there were four hundred guests staring at us, not to mention Rhodes, who was starting to look a little unsure. “Are Josie and Bo down there?”
“Yep.” Grammy beamed at me. “Wait till you see how cute they look. Now, come on. The lady with the headset looks like she might have a fit.”
The song was playing. I squeezed Grammy’s arm. “I’m so glad you’re here. It wouldn’t have been okay without you.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” she said, and we took the first step.
The faces of the guests blurred together until one of them started whistling, hooting, and hollering. Abigail Furst. “You look gorgeous, Rory!” she shouted, and I couldn’t help but smile.
My eyes found Rhodes as Grammy and I walked in time to the music, my heart soaring with joy. “Thank you,” I mouthed, beaming, as I held onto my grandmother for dear life.
A grin split his face.
Behind him stood Philips, Cousin Andrew, and Haruki Sato. The officiant waited in the center of the archway, smiling patiently, while on the other side stood Josie, Bo, and Maria.
I couldn’t help it—when I saw my little brother and sister, I dropped Grammy’s arm and ran to them, almost tripping on my long white gown.
“Guys!” I swept them both into a hug, crying, aware that even the most waterproof of waterproof mascara would not be able to withstand my emotions.
Maria started crying, too, and that’s when I saw Little Luke standing nearby with his ring pillow.
I hollered at him to come over. Pretty soon, we were all crying, laughing, and hugging.
“Phew!” Grammy said, once she’d disentangled herself. “And we haven’t even gotten to the ceremony yet!”
The ceremony. I turned to find Rhodes beaming at me, clearly moved, while the officiant patiently waited for me to remember the actual point of the day.
But since I’d already ruined everything, I threw myself at my fiancé, who wasn’t fake to me anymore.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and stared up at him. “Thank you. It means the world to me that you brought my family here.”
His smile went all the way to his eyes, even though they were teary. "It’s my pleasure, Rory. I want you to be happy. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy.”
“I want to do the same thing for you,” I said, sniffling. “For real.”
“For real,” he agreed.
The officiant cleared his throat and leaned forward. “Are you two ready?”
“Yes.” I beamed at Rhodes.
“Yes.” Rhodes beamed at me.
The guests erupted into cheers.