Aubrey
Chapter four
~ Wedding Day ~
Everyone attending my brother’s wedding flew in yesterday evening. Except for Clay and Morgan, who drove up and only arrived near one in the morning, since Morgan just hit the thirty-two-week mark with her twins and her doctor advised against flying.
We’re currently in a room that was set up for the bride and her bridal party to get ready within the main lodge where my family skis and sleds every Christmas. The groom and his party are off in a separate room down the hall from us, also getting ready since the wedding will be starting shortly.
I’m pretty sure this lodge doesn’t usually host weddings, but since the owners know my parents and we’ve been coming here since I was a baby, they were happy to open their doors for us and make accommodations.
I know Greyson and Emma hired Amanda—Emma’s dad’s girlfriend, who also happens to be Emma and Cecilia’s old boss and owns a well-known event company—to plan the wedding.
So in reality, the only thing they really needed from the lodge was to make sure the places we needed were free from any uninvited guests, as well as having free rooms for the wedding guests to spend the night in.
What used to be a spacious sitting lounge for families to warm up after spending hours in the snow has now been turned into a beautiful space, filled with rows of chairs and sunflowers lining a walkway up to where the ceremony will happen.
And the dining area that used to host those hungry families after hours of fun will now be where the reception is held.
Splashes of yellow, burgundy, and white cover the room with a dance floor right in the center.
We’ve just finished getting ready and are waiting for Emma, who is currently behind a separation wall getting help to slip into her dress. We’re all dressed identically in floor-length burgundy A-line dresses, with a slit up one leg, V-neck, and spaghetti straps.
Thank God the wedding is inside in the warmth because I would not have agreed to wear this during winter otherwise.
Although we do have these nice shawls that go with it, but let’s be real, those things don’t really keep you warm.
The dresses are super simple yet beautiful, and they fit all our figures perfectly, even Morgan’s huge belly.
We’re all bridesmaids, except for Cecilia, who’s the maid of honor.
Emma finally comes around the separation wall, and we all instantly gasp, causing her to quickly fan her face as tears build in her eyes. “Please don’t make me cry because I’ve already had my makeup fixed four times.”
We’ve seen Em try her dress on a few times, but seeing it now, with her hair and makeup done and her baby bump to the right size, she looks absolutely breathtaking.
A beautiful, vintage-inspired floral-lace ballgown wraps around her body, with a heart-shaped neckline and off-the-shoulder thick lace straps.
There’s some sort of glitter mesh underneath the lace that makes her dress sparkle with the light, and I just know that when Greyson makes her twirl on the dance floor, it will shine like glittering sand under the moonlight.
Her makeup is simple yet makes her radiate a thousand times brighter, despite Emma already being a natural beauty. And her hair has been done in big Hollywood curls with one side pinned to the side of her head.
A white lotus flower is tucked behind her exposed ear as a symbol for Maddison, the little girl with cancer who sadly succumbed to her disease back in July.
Emma and Greyson had grown close to the sweet girl they called Little Lotus, and I think it’s a beautiful way to incorporate her into the wedding, even though she can’t be here with us today.
“Oh, Emma…” I place my hands over my mouth as I take a step toward her, then reach for her hand. “My brother has no idea how lucky he is to be marrying you today.”
She stomps her foot and squeezes my hand, whimpering a little as she makes a face. “I told you not to make me cry…” A tear slips free, and the makeup artist quickly catches it with a Q-tip without smearing the makeup.
“You look beautiful, Emma,” Morgan says with tears in her eyes.
“The most beautiful bride.” Cecilia sniffles beside her.
Ronnie smiles at Emma. “Greyson’s going to lose it when he sees you.”
“Guys…” she whines again. “You all need to stop. I don’t know how much longer I can hold it in.”
Just then, a soft knock sounds at the door before it opens and in comes Amanda as well as Lance, Emma’s father. “Sunflower… My baby girl…”
He swallows and clears his throat, his eyes shining with unshed tears as he looks her over. But then a tiny sob breaks free from his lips as he opens his arms and walks over to his daughter.
“Daddy…” Emma cries as the waterworks are turned back on. There was no way she was going to hold it together. Honestly, at this point they should just forgo the makeup.
“You look like the princess I always knew you were. I’m so proud I get to walk you down the aisle today, and so happy it is to a man like Greyson.
I never could have chosen a better man for you than him.
” Lance pulls her back, cupping her cheeks.
“And I count myself incredibly lucky to call you my daughter.”
“I love you, Daddy,” she whispers back to him as he kisses her forehead and wipes underneath her eyes.
“Okay, I love this father-daughter moment, but I need everyone to leave the room,” Amanda says, clapping her hands together. “Hun, you stay over there while they touch up her makeup one last time.” She points a finger at him. “And no making her cry again. We’re already close to running late.”
We all kiss Emma on the cheek and then head out toward the ceremony, preparing to make our entrance. Ronnie is first in line, then me, followed by Morgan, and finishing off with Cecilia. All holding a bouquet containing red tulips and a yellow sunflower in the center.
The music cues just as Emma arrives with a bouquet in her hand filled with pink tulips and white lotuses, her father at her side, ready to walk her down to my brother.
Amanda nods to Ronnie, and she begins her walk down the aisle as practiced.
Once she reaches the end of the walkway, Amanda waves at me from the side, telling me to go.
Taking a deep breath, I round the corner and step onto the white path, slowly making my way down as everyone’s eyes turn to me. I feel my cheeks heating at having their attention, but I try to ignore it. That is until a certain pair of vibrant greenish-blue eyes catch my gaze.
My step falters slightly, breath hitching as I watch the man of my dreams watching me in return, with a look in his eyes I don’t yet understand. But I’ve seen it before, many times. I’ve seen it in Clay’s, in Silas’s, and in Greyson’s. And as of latest, I’ve seen it in Noah and Gabriel’s too.
I quickly regain focus and resume my steps toward my brother, who waits at the end of the path for his bride, only peering every few seconds at the man who has stolen my heart.
My brother beams at me as I approach him with his daughter, who looks a lot like me, in his arms. The way Gracie came into our lives when she was just six months old truly shocked us all, but we loved her from the very moment he brought her home.
Gracie was originally supposed to be a part of the ceremony, but after a few rehearsals, we quickly realized that it wouldn’t work in our favor.
She is, after all, only nineteen months old.
When I finally reach the end, Greyson stretches a hand out my way as I do the same. I squeeze his quickly before caressing Gracie’s cheek swiftly and taking my spot beside Ronnie.
“Holy shit, he hasn’t taken his eyes off you since the moment you walked out,” she whispers to me.
“Shh… I know.” I blush harder. I’ve felt Shane’s eyes on me every step of the way, causing the hairs along my arms and at my nape to stand.
I finally brave a look, expecting him to be watching Morgan as she makes her way to us, but instead, I find his gaze still on me. I can’t help the way my heart flutters, the way my stomach flips over, doing its own happy little dance.
“Jesus, is it getting hot in here?” Ronnie giggles and fans herself.
“Ronnie! Shush it.” I smack her thigh lightly as my flush takes over.
When I turn back to Shane just as Morgan stands beside me, he smiles, and a small sigh leaves my lips. I bite down on the bottom one, my own smile spreading instantly.
We haven’t talked since he last stopped by my work. I know I could have texted him, since I do have his number—I’ve always had it thanks to Greyson—but I’ve never dared to use it. And since he didn’t ask me for mine, or tell me to text or call him, it felt weird doing it on my own.
Soon, Cecilia has joined our side, and everyone stands, the music changing as the bride appears at the end of the aisle. And yes, she’s already crying again.
My brother’s never been much of a crier, but in this moment, as he watches the woman who’s made his world whole make her way to him, tears slip past his lids. He quickly wipes them away with a wet laugh and a smile on his face.
“Dada sa?” Gracie asks him as she pats his cheeks.
“No, Buttercup. Daddy’s not sad, he’s happy.” He kisses her forehead. “Look how beautiful Mommy is.”
My eyes well with tears as I watch Lance pass Emma over to Greyson, thanking him for loving his daughter. Emma takes Gracie from my brother’s arms just as she exclaims, “MAMA!” Em might not have carried that precious little girl in her womb, but she treasures her like she did.
“Hi, my beautiful Little Tulip.” She kisses her cheek lightly. “Today’s a really special day; did you know that? Today, Mommy and Daddy will become a real family. Just like you are now officially my baby girl, forever.”
She passes my niece over to her father, who takes her to their assigned chairs in the first row beside my parents, and the wedding officially begins with the ceremony progressing quickly since they’ve decided to not exchange vows.