Chapter 47
“Do you have anything special you want to wear?” I asked my mom as I took hold of her wheelchair and began to push.
She thought about this for a moment, and then she nodded.
“This might be a bit tacky but...” she turned broody to look at me and I wondered why.
“But what?”
“I still have my old wedding dress.”
“You can’t wear your wedding dress to Aurora”s wedding, Mom,” I said, and she laughed.
“No, it doesn”t look like the flowing wedding dresses of today. It”s more of a formal evening dress now. Off white, puffy sleeves, buttoned up. Absolutely gorgeous. I saw it the other day when I was packing for Aurora”s wedding and wished that I would be able to wear it one more time.”
This was all she had to say because, in the next second, I was making arrangements for us to head over to their townhouse first. She found the vintage dress in no time, and it was gorgeous, but as I watched her try it on, I couldn’t help but feel sad because I knew that if it weren’t for how much weight she had lost over the last few months, she probably wouldn’t have been able to fit in it.
“I want to get dressed in here before we head over,” she said, and I nodded. We called her stylist and makeup artist, and after taking a shower, she started on getting dressed and bringing life back to her face. I couldn’t recall the last time I had seen her do this, and so I sat at the back watching. Time seemed to have completely slowed down, and I truly enjoyed the slow pace. It also once again gave me the time to think about another excited woman who had been running around the city trying to organize a last-minute wedding. I called Scott then, not wanting to interrupt her and pick up in a video call like he now knew to do.
He gave me a quick update and then turned the camera, and the first thing I noticed was what a complete mess her hair had now turned into from what it had been earlier. She was busy arranging the flowers that started all the way from the altar to the entrance. Everywhere I looked, there were flowers and candles, and it was breathtaking. The wood of the church was dark, so it made the atmosphere intimate, and the intricate drawings on the ceilings made me feel as though I was in some ancient city in Rome. All in all, I loved every bit of it and couldn”t help but sigh. Because as grand as the wedding we had planned for Aurora was, this one took the cake. It was what I also imagined weddings would be. A few loved ones, rustic, intimate, unique. This scene was practically impossible to replicate, and I couldn’t wait for Aurora to see it. That was if she would agree to speak to any one of us.
Afterwards, I ended the call, rejecting Scott”s offer to call Evelyn over so I could talk to her, and instead, I called my dad.
“She”s with her fiancé,” he announced to me. He was on the patio in the golf club, enjoying the sunset with a few friends, and was in a significantly better mood than earlier. ”They”re not even here,” he said. ”I think she got too upset and just returned home. Where the hell is her temper from?”
”Be patient with her,” I said. ”This entire thing wasn”t what she wanted. But we’re about to fix that.”
”David is aware, right? He”ll be able to get her out on time. But what about you? Will you be there? I won”t miss it for the world. I”m wearing a burgundy suit.”
“Oh,” I said with a smile, and he gave me an amused look.
”You?”
”Blazer… patterned.”
”Just the way Rory likes it,” he nodded, and I smiled.
I ended that call and returned my attention to my mom and saw her staring at me. All the life had come back to her face, and she looked so stunning.
“Was that your dad?” she asked, and I nodded as I rose to my feet.
“Did you want him to see you?”
“No,” she responded. “I told him not to ask; it would be a surprise.”
“No wonder,” I said and pressed a kiss to her cheek. A little while after, we decided to drive over to the Hamptons rather than flying, and so we got in the car and started on our way.
Just before we arrived, I got word that they were wrapping up at the chapel, so I went with my mom to the church. I had wanted to drop her off at home, but she was expected to be barraged by Aurora upon her return, especially since she wasn’t wearing funeral black but was instead in her gorgeous wedding dress.
Hence, we went straight to the church and met Evelyn in her finishing stage. She was taking photographs now as the hired workers cleaned up, and the entire place had been lit up by candles.
My mom gasped from beside me as we took it in, and my heart filled with pride. I spotted her then from the top rung of a ladder at an angle, taking what I guessed were sample shots with her camera. It was impossible for her to notice me, and so I simply informed my mom and went over. I tried to go as carefully as I could to surprise her but still ensure not to startle her.
I arrived, just as she was about to get down, and held on to the ladder to support her.
“Careful,” I said, and she nodded.
“Thank you.”
It took her a few seconds to realize the voice she had just heard, and then she froze.
I had to say that I loved that she wore shorts because, and since I was looking hard enough, I could see the creamy curve of her ass peeking out. She turned then, and I had a soft smile waiting for her. I could see the shock in her eyes even though she tried to play it cool, and then she returned to carefully descending.
I caught her the moment my arms could reach her sides, and just like that, she was pulled down to slide down my body before her feet finally touched the ground.
“Hi,” I greeted, and she nodded.
“Hi.”
She seemed a bit unsettled and not quite standing right, so I held onto her. My arms wrapped around her, my heart so warm it was hard to breathe, and then, unable to hold back, I leaned forward and kissed her. I kissed her like I hadn’t seen her in centuries when it was only a few hours, and from the corners of the space, I could hear very loud murmurs and even a cat call. She seemed startled then and tried to pull away, but when I wouldn’t let her, she simply melted into the kiss.
Eventually, we pulled apart, and she stared into my eyes, and I knew then that I couldn’t hold back.
“You’ve done a great job here,” I said. And she nodded once again, breathless, unable to speak.
“Sure you don’t want to go into event planning as well?” I teased her, and she smiled at this.
“No, they have to bend to their clients” every will. Here I am, bending to only how I want my photos to come out, and I love it that way.”
”True,” I said and kept staring at her, unable to look away. She grew shy as usual, and then she briefly turned away. She was so self-conscious about our audience that I let her go. There was plenty of time afterward to speak.
”Time to change, I guess?” I asked, and she nodded.
”Yes. I”ll be going back to the house as well to change.”
“I’ll take you,” I offered. “But I’ll leave my mom here. My dad is on his way over. Granted, we should all be back with Aurora in about an hour. Mom wants to spend some time alone with him here with the candles.”
“Oh,” she said, concern on her face. “I think I”ll stay a little while, then, to take some photos of that.”
“No,” I refused. “You can do that afterward. Right now, I’ll say we’ve both had a difficult day and we both need a shower.”
She nodded in agreement but didn”t quite get my meaning until we were seated together in the back of my car. Suddenly she turned then and looked at me, and I could tell that she had realized what I had said.
“By shower, you meant?” I leaned forward to whisper in her ear.
“I’m going to fuck you against the glass.”
Her chest heaved then as she tried to catch her breath, and I couldn’t help but press a kiss to her cheek. I truly loved teasing her in this way, but I had meant what I said, and it was apparent that she believed me because when we arrived, her knees were quite wobbly as she got out of the car. Only holding onto the handle and later holding onto me saved her as I hurried around to her side.
She held onto me then as she walked upstairs, and I walked with her to my room.
When we got to the bottom of the staircase, however, Aurora, who seemed to have just been informed of my return, hurried over to the top of the stairs and stared in shock at the both of us. It was obvious that she was confused and furious, especially when she saw the way I held on to Evelyn after ignoring her. Evelyn immediately moved away from me, and despite my resolution to prevent this, I eventually had to let go so she wouldn’t feel too uncomfortable.
“Really?” Aurora asked. “You blew off an entire day of the wedding you arranged for to go frolicking with your new girlfriend?”
I was immediately irritated with her complaints. Evelyn, on the other hand, lowered her head, and I could tell she felt bad. I was glad, though, that Aurora wasn’t attacking her directly and understood that she wasn’t doing so and was instead trying to pin all of the blame on me because she still really liked Evelyn. This confused me, but I could tell that Evelyn was still quite upset. It made me feel bad because I knew just how hard she had been working for Aurora, and I also knew that all of this was my fault.
“Where’s David?” I asked; however, she didn’t respond. She glared at the both of us, and I could see the sheen of moisture in her eyes as she turned around and stormed off.