Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
ALEX
I’d only ever been to one wedding. My cousin got married when I was around ten, so I was a child and couldn’t enjoy all the benefits.
Never having had the chance to go to another before, I was more than willing to when Eli brought up the opportunity. Free food, alcohol, and dressing up for once? It was everyone’s dream.
I did not know Eli’s sister personally, and if I was being honest, I had heard some pretty bad things about her.
Still, I came anyway. Nobody seemed to care that she was marrying a guy she’d known for only four months, at just twenty years old.
Who were we to judge? Maybe it truly was love at first sight.
River was thrilled about the event. He, like me, wanted to enjoy the free catering. He was also excited to match with me.
My boyfriend’s hands worked on my chest to adjust my blue button-down, his teeth biting into his lip. “Sexy.”
His words were sudden, so my head tilted. “Who, you?”
River grabbed my shirt and tugged me to him, our chests bumping. “Of course, but I was actually talking about my boyfriend.”
I didn’t get the chance to speak before his lips touched mine. Our lips collided, and he gripped and squeezed my hair as if we had been deprived of our lifeline and only just recovered it.
I was drowning in River’s lips, all of me completely consumed and engulfed by him. It was how every kiss felt—bewildering. Unapologetically right. It remained that way until our tongues collided, and I flinched as his eyes grew wide.
Hands on each of my shoulders, River frowned. “It still hurts?”
“I bit it pretty hard,” I chuckled weakly.
The wound on my tongue was a prolonged gift of the seizure I had a couple of days ago.
It was a constant reminder that this problem would take more than a couple of sessions to go away.
Though, I also liked to think of it as a last gift from my parents.
Their way of getting back at me for screwing up their plans about my future.
He eyed me. “You feel okay enough to go?”
“I feel fine, and I need this change of scenery,” I assured him softly. “And if not, you’ll be there.”
“Damn right,” he smirked.
River and I scrambled to finish getting ready for the wedding, already running late. He just had to spray us with his favorite cologne before we left; it was nonnegotiable. I wanted to complain, but I realized it was the one I always smelled on him when I buried my face into him. It smelled like…
Home.
The venue was absolutely stunning with its high ceilings, large skylight, and a gorgeous wedding garter decorated with vines and flowers. Some guests had already seated themselves in the spruced white chairs arranged along the aisle, eager for the ceremony to start.
I searched the area for Eli and Javier, but instead of them, my eyes landed on their lookalikes.
Gabriela and Easton bickered beside the assortment of food like an old married couple.
I thought of asking them if they had seen either of their siblings, but I was not about to get in the middle of whatever that was.
What piqued my curiosity was the child beside them. She had a ruffled green dress on, and her back faced me as she stuffed her face with what I assumed were cupcakes. River nudged me in the shoulder, also noticing the child that looked oddly like…
“Millie?” I called, now behind the child.
Millie spun around, chocolate frosting coating her hands as her smile grew. “My uncles!”
Uncles. Plural. Huh, she never spoke like that with Killian. “What are you doing here?”
“Eating the free sweets!” she chirped. “Mommy didn’t say you were coming.”
In her black catering attire, my sister was on the other side of the room. She held a platter of food in her right hand, in her left was a pitcher of lemonade, and balancing between both was a full container. My sister weaved through the guests with ease to transport the food onto the tables.
Anna didn’t tell me she was catering an event today. She never asked me to watch Mills, either. No wonder the child was stuffing her face at the dessert table; she had to follow her mother to work.
Guilt ate at my chest. I didn’t want my sister to feel like she couldn’t rely on me, but it also felt nice not having to postpone plans because I had to babysit.
Had she asked me to take care of her daughter today, I probably would’ve skipped the wedding because of it.
So, maybe it was a good thing she decided not to bring me into it.
We left the cheerful child to continue drowning in chocolate once we spotted Eli and Javier, the boyfriends mingling with whom I assumed to be the groom’s family. We went to them, introducing ourselves and then stuttering when asked how we were related to the bride.
I caught a glimpse of the groom, and I could tell why Emerson was so eager to say ‘I do.’ He and the groomsmen mingled with champagne in hand, expensive jewelry decorating their wrists.
His brunette hair glistened from the amount of gel used to style it, and his rugged stubble accompanied the muscles that were threatening to burst out of his suit.
Eli told me he was in the military, and it sure showed. His chiseled jaw was sharp enough to cut through Javier’s cockiness. That was saying a lot.
After tasting the most amazing meatballs I’d ever had in my life, it was time for the ceremony. My boyfriend and I sat toward the back on the bride’s side, and I had to make sure my hands weren’t saucy before taking a seat on the white cloth.
The groom—Ryder was his name—stood with his hands clasped before him and his head held high. His best man and two groomsmen were in a diagonal formation, their matching gray suits standing out.
Gabriela stood on the bride’s side, her yellow floral dress complementing the bride’s long gown. Emerson’s hair was styled in an updo, her brown curls peeking at the top. The two of them stood happily. There were no bridesmaids.
But I would say that only made Emerson and Gabriela look even more stunning. I’d say Easton agreed despite the uninterested, brooding attitude he continuously gave off. It was gone in this moment, the bored look in his eyes replaced with mesmerization.
The bridal song gradually grew in volume as fluorescent white dragged along the aisle. There was no flower girl at this wedding, and Millie wouldn’t stop whispering to me about how she should’ve been it. She’d have to wait until my or her mother’s potential wedding, I guessed.
After the officiant spoke, he allowed them to say their vows.
Emerson’s were long and heartfelt, speaking about their future together and how she never believed it could come true.
Ryder’s were a tad short. It sounded like he had made them on the spot, but his bride swooned over it, so maybe I was wrong.
The room sounded with claps and cheers as the officiant said, “You may now kiss the bride.” I had to wipe a stray tear, and River refused to let it go that I was crying at a wedding.
But when Emerson and Ryder’s kiss turned into a full-blown tongue battle, I was crying for a different reason. Time and a place, people.
“They’re practicing for when they get home tonight,” River snickered beside me.
Ignoring my childish boyfriend, I clapped along with the rest of the crowd. Emerson and Ryder got a standing ovation as they walked down the aisle hand in hand. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the bride's twin shed a tear.
A while later, it was time for the bouquet toss. All the girls bunched up behind Emerson, eager to be the one to catch the flowers. Even Anna moved to catch it, and naturally, Millie did too.
When the flowers flew in the air, the one to catch them was Gabriela. The girl's smile reached her ears as she held the bouquet above her head, waving it around. It was the exact opposite expression her brother wore.
“You aren’t getting married next,” Javier grumbled to his sister.
Gabriela shoved the pretty flowers in his face. “Tell that to these!”
She tapped him on the head with it until his lips curled into a smile. Begrudgingly, of course.
When the ceremony was over, everyone started talking about the after-party. What wedding had an after-party? I didn’t know, but this one did. And get this—it was at my sister’s place.
When Anna signed up to cater the event, she also offered her living room for the after-party that the bride desired. It was a way to make her some extra cash, and Emerson and Ryder agreed because it was cheaper than renting elsewhere to hold it.
White and black balloons covered Anna’s living room with a tall white cake displayed on the center table. It was edible, unlike the one at the wedding ceremony.
My sister had many talents, one being a professional at mixing drinks. She worked as a bartender for some time, so she liked to put those skills to use whenever she could.
Emerson and Ryder drunkenly swayed to the music playing from the speaker, along with some of Ryder’s family members. River and I sat by the bar while Anna fixed him a drink. My sister insisted that she fix him the best Bloody Mary in the world.
My boyfriend sipped it twice. His initial reaction was unreadable, but his second was pure bliss. “I’m gonna get you to make all of my drinks.”
“I told you I’m a pro.” Anna flipped her hair with pride. Her eyes shifted. “You want one?”
She nodded at Eli, who had only just taken a seat beside me. The smile on his face wavered. It was like for a second he’d forgotten something, and the realization of it hurt.
My friend shook his head, his smile shaky. I would have stopped Anna from asking him in the first place if I could have. Luckily, she respected people’s wishes and went back to making others’ drinks.
“You predicted it.” I nudged Eli with a grin. “River and I are a thing.”
He smirked. “You’d better be after that public kiss.”
Eli wasn’t the only one who thought that.
Since Lola had something going on with Carson—something he refused to elaborate about—I saw her at River’s place often.
She loved to gush about how cute we were together and how proud she was of us.
She claimed she had a feeling we were going to get together, though I think she just wanted to be right about something and tease River about it.
“Aren’t I just the best for that?” River asked proudly.
“You stunned everyone in the stadium,” Eli cooed. “I was rooting for you two so badly.”
“Gosh, so was I!” Gabriela squealed. I didn’t even know she was there. “Everyone’s falling in love around me. You and River, my brother and Eli, Emerson and the military hunk. Can I be next?”
River leaned back, putting one leg over the other and his hand to his chin as he thought. “Hmm. You know what type of person I could see you with?”
She blinked twice. “What type?”
“Someone that no one would ever expect. The complete opposite of you, nothing in between.”
Javier, who was now beside his sister, leaned on her while he stared upward in thought. Gabi’s freshly waxed brow raised, playing with the idea River came up with.
My boyfriend’s smug grin remained. I had to give it to him; if Gabriela was going to get with anyone, it would be someone the complete opposite of her. I had a thought of who that could be, but I knew better than to share.
The chaos of the last-minute thrown-together wedding was what I needed in my boring but stressful life. Being with my boyfriend and my friends—genuine friends that didn’t use me—was a dream come true. Young Alex did not believe that this was possible.
In a way, it seemed we were creating our own little family. One that did not have to deal with controlling parents, forced relationships, or untrue feelings. This family was real.
Because the surrounding people were everything. I wasn’t close to all of them, but I was sure we’d be seeing plenty more of each other in the future.
Especially River, I’d see a lot more of him in the future.
And I loved it because I loved him.
I had always loved him. The day we met on the playground, I loved him. The days he’d sneak over to my house when my parents weren’t home, I loved him. When he ghosted me, I still loved him. When he found me again, I loved him even more.
“River,” I whispered, pulling his attention from the music and chattering around us.
With a soft smile on his face, he asked softly, “Yeah, bunny?”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”