30. Lila
THIRTY
Lila
“You look perfect.” I dabbed my eyes with a tissue.
“You really do,” Skylar added, hooking her arm through mine and leaning her head against my shoulder.
“Stop that right now,” Charlie scolded the two of us. “I can absolutely not cry off this makeup. I have to walk down that aisle in one minute and I’m already a ball of nerves.” She straightened her white lace bodice and examined herself in the mirror.
Skylar and I shared a glassy-eyed glance before sniffling at the same time.
“That’s it.” Charlie snapped and pointed toward the door. “You two get out of here right now before I lose it.”
“We’ll see you on the other side.” I squeezed my best friend’s hand. Her gaze locked with mine and her face scrunched up a little before she shook her head and smiled.
“Love you,” she whispered.
“Love you, too.”
Skylar and I walked outside the bridal suite, which was really just the primary bedroom of the log cabin Charlie and Nathan had rented for the occasion. The guest list consisted of only their closest family and friends. Small and elegant, which suited Charlie and Nathan perfectly.
“This is beautiful,” Skylar whispered, and I nodded in agreement.
I had become quite close with Skylar in the month leading up to the wedding. After I had cleared all of the unnecessary weirdness from my mind about falling behind or losing my best friend, I’d realized Skylar and I were actually pretty similar. We had bonded at Charlie’s dress fitting, cooing and crying over all the same dresses.
Our friendship had been really cemented the night we all went out for a secondary pseudo-bachelorette party. I had insisted, since I hadn’t actually gotten to partake in the real festivities in Fiji. Skylar and I drank entirely too much tequila at the karaoke bar we’d dragged Charlie to, and started belting our hearts out. Oliver even crashed the party later in the night, and we’d done a terrible rendition of Girls Just Want to Have Fun .
Harrison had arrived to pick up Oliver and me after Skylar and Charlie had gone home. He’d had a disapproving look on his face, but the subtle crinkle of amusement in his eye was so obvious to me now. He’d berated us for drinking too much, but could barely keep from laughing when Oliver cranked up the radio and we sang along—badly—to some old country song.
That was just what life had been like lately. Filled with messy, happy moments that I couldn’t get enough of.
Now, Skylar and I walked into the great room of the cabin, where chairs had been set up on both sides of a massive fireplace and faced a wall of expansive windows that overlooked the mountains. After we’d arrived last night, a light blanket of snow had dusted our surroundings, making the outside look like a thousand diamonds glittering in the late afternoon sun.
Nathan stood at the end of the aisle. He looked stoic, as per usual, but I could see the gleam of excitement in his eyes. Harrison and Oliver were already seated in the front row. I caught my boyfriend’s eye and winked. He winked back and my smile grew bigger as I walked down the short aisle and stopped by my seat at the front on Charlie’s side.
Then it was time. Everyone stood as Charlie approached the aisle, her parents beaming with pride behind me. No one was surprised when she’d insisted on walking herself down the aisle. That was just the kind of person that she was—fiercely strong and independent.
The tears I had been holding on to now flowed freely as Charlie locked eyes with Nathan and wiped her own tears from her cheeks. I glanced at him to see his normally harsh gaze completely soften, like he only had eyes for her.
Their vows were short and simple, but their love and determination shone through each word. I kept stealing glances at Harrison, only to find his eyes already on me each time.
After the ceremony, we moved into the oversized dining room that had been set with a beautiful tablescape full of candles and greenery. Because the wedding was such an intimate one, there was just one long table in the center of the room for us all to gather around.
I took my seat next to Harrison and leaned into him. He kissed my forehead and laid his arm around the back of my chair.
“Have I mentioned you look beautiful?” he asked, eyeing my forest-green tea length dress.
“Only about a dozen times,” I teased.
“You two are going to make my heart melt.” Oliver sat across from us, chin cradled in his hand as he openly stared.
Harrison snorted. “Has anyone ever told you you’re overbearing?”
“Is it even possible to be overbearing with friends?” he asked, picking up his glass of champagne and swigging the contents.
Harrison and I both looked at each other and laughed before saying, “Yes.”
“Oh, whatever.” Oliver rolled his eyes good naturedly. “You two are together for five minutes, and all of a sudden you don’t need me anymore.” But despite his words, I could feel his happiness for his best friend emanating from him.
Oliver pulled out his phone to check it before glancing back at the snowboard leaning on the wall behind him.
For most of the year, when he wasn’t teaching rock climbing or snowboarding lessons, Oliver worked at a sporting goods store. The three of us had driven up together, and I’d given him a weird look when I’d caught him putting a brand-new snowboard into the trunk of the car.
“I can’t believe you brought that to your brother’s wedding,” Harrison said, eyeing the brightly colored thing.
“It’s limited edition and it’s beautiful,” he argued. “Besides, my friend Giles lives over here and this was way easier than trying to ship the thing to him.”
“Whatever,” Harrison muttered.
“He’s out front,” Oliver said, setting his phone down. “I’ll be right back.”
“You better be back before your toast or Charlie will kill you,” I said, laughing.
Oliver saluted us and grabbed the board. It was comical, him dressed in his navy-blue suit for the wedding and carrying the snowboard under his arm.
“He truly is one of a kind,” I said as we watched him sneak out the front door.
“Truly,” Harrison said.
Harrison held me around the waist as I reached up to wrap my hands around his neck. I’d kicked off my heels hours ago, so I had to dance on the balls of my feet to reach. Soft music drifted out from the speakers as a few couples moved across the dance floor, swaying to the music. Charlie and Nathan were in the center of it all, her head resting on his chest. Today had been magical, and I couldn’t be happier for my best friend.
“I’m glad I ended up with a plus one after all,” I said into Harrison’s chest.
He snorted and pulled back to look at me. “Hopefully you’re happy about more than just that.”
I pursed my lips and pretended to think about it for a minute. “Nope. That’s it, really. We can go back to how things used to be between the two of us once this is over.”
A smile tugged at his lips as he gripped my waist tighter. “I’m glad you’re telling me now.”
“I didn’t want to wait any longer and risk you getting your heart broken.”
He pinched my side and I let out a burst of laughter.
“I think we both know it’s way too late for that.”
After a few more seconds Harrison said, “Speaking of after this... I was going to ask you what your plans are for Christmas.”
“Oh?” I asked, a warm feeling washing over me.
“Yeah. I didn’t know if you were planning to visit your family or not, but I was hoping you’d come home with me. My parents are dying to meet you. We could always try to squeeze both in.”
“Both,” I whispered, my heart already swelling.
He looked nervous. “I haven’t really figured out the details yet, but yeah. We could fly to one and then fly to the other on Christmas Eve, or the day after. I’m not really sure, but I can be flexible. I just don’t want to be without you.”
I gazed up at him and couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I love you,” I said.
His eyes softened and he gave me a lingering kiss before pulling away. “I love you too,” he said against my mouth.
I’d been feeling it for a while, and it felt so beyond right to share it with him now.
All those years I had spent with the wrong guy, thinking I had to force my love story to look a certain way, and then all that time after that, spent stressing and worrying about finding someone. All of it had been for nothing. I could never have predicted that this person in front of me was the one I needed, yet he was perfect all the same.
His loyalty. That kind heart buried underneath a rough exterior. The way I knew I could ask him for anything, and he’d drop whatever he was doing to help me.
I had always thought I needed to find my other half to feel complete. It turned out that I’d actually needed my complete opposite, someone whose jagged edges matched up with all of my uneven ones. Maybe we didn’t line up perfectly, but any part that I was missing, his pieces overlapped.
Harrison had shown me what it was like to have a rock in my life; someone I could lean on for support who would never break, or be crushed underneath my weight.
And most important of all, I knew I could never be too much for him.