18. Addison
Addison
# Never leave the house without your lucky shoes
“ T here we go, all in.” Chase slams Angelina’s trunk after packing all of the wedding flowers back inside, ready for us to drive to the main lodge.
Things were a little awkward at breakfast this morning after our conversation last night, but actually I feel lighter for telling him what I heard him say. Like I can finally let it go.
Today, I’ll be mostly setting out the arrangements on the tables, and that’s good with me as I could do with a little break from the constant talking to people.
It’s not that I’m unsociable, but sometimes I just struggle making small talk.
So, a few hours to myself, making beautiful flower arrangements is exactly what I need. In fact, it sounds like heaven.
Chase stands with his arms folded across his chest and a look of pride on his face over his ability to pack everything so tidily.
I have to admit I did enjoy watching him load the car, if purely from an aesthetic perspective.
Who doesn’t enjoy looking at bulging biceps and rippling forearms?
“You ready to go?” he asks, snapping me from my thoughts about his physique.
“Sure, just let me grab my shoes.”
I slip on my heels and walk out of the cabin and he gives me a once over that he doesn’t even attempt to hide this morning. I’m wearing my black heels today and I pop my leg up for him. “Do you approve?”
He nods. “Although, I think I prefer the red ones.”
“Oh, you do? Well, I’m saving them for tonight. They go perfectly with my dress.”
He mumbles something that I don’t quite catch, but when I ask him what he said, he ushers me into the car and tells me we need to leave.
Brax and Eva were waiting outside the lodge for us when we arrived and we all unloaded the car together, and now we’re standing in the huge main banquet hall, where the wedding’s going to be held, along with the rehearsal dinner tonight.
Currently, it looks bare, filled with tables and chairs but no personal touches.
Like a blank canvas—full of potential and opportunity.
“Are you sure you don’t need any help with all of this, Addie?” Eva asks me. “It looks like it’s going to be a huge job. It’s going to take you all day.”
Yes, I know it is, and that’s exactly how I want it.
“You’re going to miss the games day Eva’s mom has set up for us,” Brax adds.
Yes, I also know this! Chase catches my eye and grins and I have to look away to stop myself from grinning right back. “I don’t need any help and yes, I’m aware it’s going to take a while, but this is what I do. And I love doing it. So, can you all go and leave me to create something magical?”
“What about food?” Eva asks. “You’ll join us for lunch, right?”
I shake my head. “Just toss me some snacks and water at some point. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re sure?” Brax asks.
“Yes!” I don’t hide my exasperation any longer. “Now I don’t want either of you to see this until the rehearsal dinner tonight, so go. Scoot. Leave.”
“The hotel staff said they’ve left all the things you asked for.” Eva nods to a corner filled with folded linens and, I hope, bazillions of string lights.
“Great.”
Brax gives me a hug. “Good luck, sis. And thanks for this.” He and Eva leave, but Chase hangs back for a moment.
“Don’t you dare ask if you can help me. I am not being your pass to get out of games day ,” I warn him.
He smiles, that adorable one that makes my knees wobbly. “I would never. But if you need anything at all, let me know. Okay?”
“I will. Thanks.”
“I can’t wait to see you work your magic, Firefly.”
After Chase left, I immediately set to work, pleased that the hotel had indeed provided me with all of the extras I needed, including all the string lights my little heart desires.
Ten minutes after I started work, a waiter came in bearing a tray of water, juice, pastries, cookies and fruit, which was very thoughtful, and I suspect Chase’s doing.
The eucalyptus sprigs have been particularly mischievous today and the table centerpieces took longer than I’d anticipated, but I’ve made great progress, and the entire room looks fit for a wedding now.
I stand on the stage where the band will be playing tomorrow night and admire my handiwork.
The cream silk organza tablecloths and chair covers make the room look elegantly classy without detracting from the rustic theme of the lodge.
I don’t like to blow my own trumpet, but the flowers look truly beautiful.
The whole room is blooming with white silk cala lilies and ranunculus, with a sprinkling of ruby-red roses for just a pop of color.
“Am I allowed to come in?” Chase calls.
“Are you alone?”
“Yes.”
“Then you may enter.”
He steps into the room, already dressed in his suit for dinner and I realize I’m probably not going to have time to shower and change now. I check my watch and realize dinner is only thirty minutes away. Dammit!
“Wow! Addie, this place looks incredible.” Chase’s awestruck voice reminds me why I did this.
So what if I attend the rehearsal dinner in a different outfit than I intended to?
I’m still wearing a dress, even if it is a sweaterdress.
I’m already wearing heels. I can freshen up in my parents’ room and borrow a little of my mom’s mascara. “Seriously, this is fucking beautiful.”
“You haven’t seen the best part yet,” I tell him. Then I flick the switch on the stage and the entire room lights up with thousands of twinkling lights.
“What the…” He stands in the center of the room and spins around. “How did you even do all of this on your own?”
I shrug. “I told you, it’s what I do.”
I step down from the stage and join him. The room truly does look beautiful and I feel a rush of pride. “Later all of the jars in the middle of the tables will be lit too.”
He swallows. “Brax and Eva are going to love it.” Then his bright blue eyes find mine. “This is something else. You are fucking incredible, you know that?”
I blush. “Thank you. How was games day ?”
He pinches the spot between his brows together. “Jesus Christ. It was brutal. You know how competitive your dad and his brothers get. And then your aunt Irene accused Eva’s cousin of cheating at charades. It was quite possibly some of the worst few hours of my entire life.”
I giggle. “Well, at least it’s over now. And you look very handsome in your suit, by the way.”
He smiles. “Thanks.”
“I hope you don’t mind sitting next to me when I’m a little dusty,” I laugh, brushing some from my dress.
“I hope you don’t mind that I went back to the cabin and got your dress and your red heels.
I also picked up what I think was your makeup bag but I didn’t look inside to check.
They’re all in your mom’s room. She has some warm ginger tea and a hot shower waiting for you.
And your aunt Irene says it will take her like three and a half minutes to curl your hair.
And the caterers have confirmed we can push the dinner back by fifteen minutes if we need to. ”
My heart swells in my chest. “You arranged all that for me?”
He steps closer and does that thing where he rests just one finger under my chin and tips my head up, yet I feel his touch over my entire body. “It was the least I could do while you were doing this for everyone else.”
“Thank you, Chase.”
“Before you go.” His throat works as he swallows. “I need you to know that I didn’t mean any of it, Addie.”
And now I’m confused, but he goes on speaking before I have a chance to ask what he’s talking about.
“The things I said to Freddie are unforgivable, but they were also outright fucking lies. That night I spent with you was…it was the best fucking night of my life, Addie. And no matter how scared I was feeling, or how much I thought I’d already fucked it up between us, I had no excuse for saying any of it.
That you’ve believed what we did meant nothing to me all these years hurts me more than I can fucking bear, but I know that’s not even a fraction of the pain you must have felt.
I don’t deserve your forgiveness, and I’m not asking for it, but I would hate to never get the chance to tell you how truly fucking sorry I am. ”
My heart is racing so fast my head spins. I don’t even know what to say to that, but I do know I believe him. “I wish you’d told me that a long time ago.”
“I do too, Firefly.”
“Lightning bugs in a jar,” I whisper.
He smiles. “Remember when I used to catch them for you?”
Yes, I do. He would catch them and I’d sit and stare at them for half an hour until he insisted that we let them go.
It’s why he calls me Firefly. Tears burn behind my eyes.
No matter what he did, Chase Hunter will always be a part of me, and despite the heartbreak, my life is richer for having had him in it.
“That’s what the table decorations are supposed to be. Lightning bugs in jars.”
“They’re going to be perfect, Addie. Just like you.” We stare at each other for the longest time, the moment stretching out between us and I’m not sure I ever want it to end.
Until I remember the dinner. “I have to get ready!”
“You have to get out of here,” he says at the same time.
It breaks the tension at least. “Can you turn on all the table lights before Brax and Eva come in? The lights are battery powered and the switch is inside the jar.”
He nods. “Anything for you.”
Does he truly mean that? I don’t have time to ask. I have a rehearsal dinner to get ready for. I run out of the room and leave him to make the lightning bugs in jars happen for me.