Chapter 61 #2
I stifled a laugh as Ursula quickly ducked away, disappearing into the growing crowd to find refuge from the chaos that would inevitably follow her. As she left I spotted another familiar figure in the crowd. Amara caught my eye and waved, before tugging Dylan over with her.
“Laurie! Hey!” Despite the fact that she was right in front of me she shouted the words, probably to be heard over what she assumed was loud, lively chatter.
Dylan winced at the volume and proceeded to cover her mouth, and from what little I’d learned of sign language recently I could vaguely decipher what her moving fingers said: Shouting again, love. People can probably hear you a mile away.
Amara shrugged, unbothered, and turned bright eyes back to me with a smile. “Have you seen Maxine? Hunter asked us to keep her far away from the dressing rooms.”
“Uh…” I looked over her shoulder, at the pink, poofy cloud of chiffon that was Maxine quietly slipping into the very dressing rooms they were meant to be guarding, armed with a hairbrush and what looked like an entire suitcase worth of makeup. “Nope. haven’t seen her.”
Neither of them seemed too committed to their job, considering Dylan planted herself on the stool beside me and Amara leaned over the bar to order a drink. I watched them both with a smile, still a little surprised at how quickly I’d come to care for each of them.
Dylan remained a stoic, silent mystery—unless the topic we were discussing involved Amara, in which case she could babble on for hours singing praises about her wife—and Amara had long since forgiven me for how rude I’d been to her at our first meeting.
Now she went out of her way to include me wherever she could, inviting me to art classes and offering to help me clear out some space in our incredibly cluttered household to build a study room for future architecture endeavors.
River was slowly helping me learn sign language so the two of us could speak more fluently, but for now the only thing I’d learned to say with my hands was “How’s your wife?
” to which Amara would take off on a long tirade about Dylan and the flower garden the two of them had growing on their rooftop.
It was adorable, and a little cheesy, and it often left me wondering if that was how River and I sounded whenever one of us rambled on about the other to anyone who would listen. Maybe it was just a consequence of being in love.
My inner musings were interrupted when River returned, cackling with glee as she whipped out her cellphone.
“I was right, Hunter is a wreck. Look at these pictures—” she titled the screen to show me and I couldn’t help the laugh that burst from my lips when I saw the sequence of photos she swiped through.
The first had Hunter looking distressed and a little flustered, with Maxine hovering in the background brandishing a makeup brush. The rest were increasingly blurry images of Hunter presumably trying her damnedest to get the camera out of her face.
“And you’re supposed to be the mature one of the group…” I shook my head, huffing out a laugh while River tucked her phone in her pocket. “She’ll break your phone with her bare hands if she sees those.”
“She’ll have to catch me first.” River waved down the bartender and ordered a top-up for her crimson drink. I pursed my lips when she handed me my own glass of sparkling something, but River offered me a sly wink. “It’s sparkling water. Now no one can accuse you of not being fancy.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s good enough. Thank you kindly.” I accepted the glass with overly performative grace and clinked it against hers.
River chuckled, and her gaze dipped to the ring on my finger. “God help us when Hunter notices that. Proposing right before her wedding? She’ll kick my ass for stealing her thunder.”
“I am honored that you would risk an ass-kicking for my hand.” I slid closer to her, standing on my toes to brush my lips on her cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from bridezilla, you can count on it.”
“My hero.” River sighed, and set her glass down to rest her hands on my hips. “What did I do to deserve someone as special as you?”
Everything. That was the truth of it. She did everything she could for me and more.
She sheltered me when I needed safe haven and she held me when I thought I would break.
She was patient and kind and caring, loving when I didn’t believe I deserved it.
She was my guardian angel and my best friend.
She was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with—a life I wanted to hold onto with both hands.
I set my own glass down and cupped River’s face in my hands. I kissed her gently, brushing fingers down the soft slope of her cheek. Lights twinkled overhead, and the city spread out in every direction, infinite possibilities. An entire lifetime and more, waiting for both of us to explore.
Hunter
“Explain to me, right now, what is so wrong with me seeing my wife before she walks down the aisle?” I yanked on my tie for the hundredth time in the past few minutes, wrestling with the strip of fabric that just wouldn’t lie straight no matter how many times I fiddled with it.
“Seriously, Maxine. This is stupid. I just want to talk to her for two seconds—”
“Not happening.” Maxine wagged a finger in front of my nose while Caden hovered beside me looking very out of place in the cluttered dressing room—but very dapper in his crisp black suit.
I would have told him so had I not been losing my mind at Maxine’s stubborn refusal to let me see my soon-to-be wife.
“Why not?!” I was yelling, freaking out just a little.
My nerves were frayed and Maxine’s faffing was driving me up the wall.
“What if she’s changed her mind? What if she gets cold feet?
” I swatted Maxine’s hands away, dumping my suit jacket on the floor and elbowing my way towards the door. “I have to talk to her—”
“It’s bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony!” Maxine stepped in front of me, blocking the exit and throwing out her arms. “Besides, Addison isn’t going to change her mind.”
I tried to push past her, half-dressed and on edge, but Maxine clamped her hands on my shoulders. “Hunter, just breathe. You’ve got wedding jitters, it’s totally normal—but you need to calm down.”
“Calm down?” I blinked at her, bristling under her grip. “Calm down?!”
“Maxine does have a point,” Caden piped up from behind me and I shot an aggrieved scowl over my shoulder. He backed up a step and raised his palms in surrender. “I’m just saying, it’s tradition. I didn’t get to see Marcy until she was walking down the aisle toward me.”
“See, even Caden agrees.” Maxine spun me around and herded me back toward the dressing room mirror. “Now suck it up and stop being a clingy crybaby.”
I slumped into the chair she offered me, staring at my miserable reflection while Maxine messed about with my hair.
“You could have at least gotten a trim before the big day,” she tutted, waving a hairbrush around and nearly clocking Caden in the face. “Or maybe highlights… Really, you haven’t given me much to work with here, Hunter.”
“I didn’t ask you to help me.” I frowned at her in the mirror, grimacing when she tugged the brush through a tangle of knots. “You barged in here without warning and Caden is too polite to make you leave.”
“Caden knows as well as you do that this wedding would be a bust without me.” Maxine ignored my sneer and got to work styling my hair. “Now stop complaining and let me do my job.”
My gaze slid to Caden’s in the mirror and my best man withered under my brittle stare.
“Don’t look at me like that.” He folded his arms, leaned back against the wall and snatched his gaze away. “I already booted River out on your behalf. I’m not risking my neck battling Maxine.”
“He knows he’d lose,” Maxine crooned, smirking over her shoulder at the human man. “How about another arm wrestling match, Caden? Or did my last victory injure your pride?”
“Hey.” I snapped my fingers in front of her nose. “Nobody is allowed to bully my best man except for me. Leave the poor guy alone.”
Maxine shrugged and resumed her self-imposed styling, while Caden dragged exasperated fingers down his face.
“God,” he groaned, rubbing at his temple like this whole ordeal was giving him a headache.
“When this is over, I’m taking Marcy and the kids on an extended holiday.
I need a serious break from all of you.”
“We love you too, Caden.” Maxine shot him a smile and both Caden and I rolled our eyes in unison.
Five minutes and far too much poking and prodding later, Maxine helped me adjust the lapels on my jacket and stepped back with her hands clasped under her chin, beaming at me while I shifted awkwardly in place.
“God, you look great.” She fluttered her hands in the air and gestured for me to give her a twirl (I refused). “I would cry but I don’t want to ruin my makeup.”
A second later the door creaked open and Penelope, Addison’s sister, poked her head in. We’re just about ready to get started.” She looked me up and down, a wanton smile spreading wider. “I gotta say, Addison is one lucky bride.”
I would have offered a thank-you of sorts, but my heart had leapt into my throat and I couldn’t manage more than a tight nod.
Penelope slipped away in a swirl of purple taffeta and Maxine looped her arm through mine.
She tugged me toward the door and I walked on shaky legs, gripping tight to the shorter woman when my knees threatened to give out entirely.
Caden patted my back and adjusted his tie. “You ready?”
I sucked in a breath, steeling my nerves. “This is the happiest day of my life,” I croaked out. “But I kinda feel like I’m gonna throw up.”
“Yeah.” Caden nodded thoughtfully. “That sounds about right. I was pretty much the same before Marcy and I tied the knot.” He offered me his arm and I took it gingerly, allowing both parties to escort me out the door.