Chapter Twenty-Eight Eliott
The excitement in the bridal suite is infectious.
Bailey is sitting on the bed, holding back tears as her mother zips up her wedding dress for her. She’s not the only one with tears threatening to destroy three hours’ worth of make-up.
Amber’s standing off to the side, her shoulders shaking every few seconds as she tries to choke back her sobs. Bailey’s other bridesmaid, a young woman named Bea who arrived on the first flight in this morning, is using a beauty blender to dab at her own tears.
I don’t blame them.
Bailey looks stunning, like she stepped right off the pages of a fairy tale. Her hair floats around her in a beautiful, voluminous cloud of black curls and her dress, a flowing white gown that looks like a shimmery wave when she walks, fits her like a glove.
‘You look phenomenal ,’ Amber cries, giving up any pretence of holding back her tears.
‘Beautiful,’ Bea sniffs, still dabbing away with the blender.
I cling to the outer edges of the room and snap photos as I go, documenting every watery smile, every choked laugh, every tight hug. I capture it all and my heart swells with each press of the shutter button.
Bailey’s mother and Bea both leave after a few minutes to run downstairs and help with a handful of last-minute preparation tasks, leaving me alone in the room with Bailey and Amber.
‘I’m so happy you two found each other,’ Amber says, still blinking back tears. ‘That you’ve found the person who loves you the way you deserve to be loved.’
‘And you,’ Bailey says, pulling Amber into a tight hug. ‘Every time Finn even looks at you, I just melt.’
Amber uses a finger to wipe away one of Bailey’s tears. ‘Today isn’t about me.’
‘But I’m not wrong.’
‘You’re not,’ Amber laughs. ‘We both got lucky, I guess.’ She takes a step back and runs her hand along the front of her pale pink bridesmaid dress. Bailey’s hand follows the same path and they both stop just above the slight, barely noticeable bump of Amber’s stomach.
I snap a shot of this intimate moment, blinking back tears of my own. I’m not usually this affected by displays of love, but there’s something about Bailey and Amber’s friendship that tugs at my heartstrings.
It’s beautiful and pure and I can’t help but want the best for these two women I barely even know.
‘ God ,’ Bailey sniffs, wiping away the last remnants of her tears. ‘If we don’t stop soon, we’ll have to call the make-up artist to come back and fix all of this.’
‘You look beautiful,’ Amber says firmly. ‘Perfect. If Cash doesn’t burst into tears the second you step onto that aisle, I want a redo.’
They both burst into contagious giggles, spreading a warmth that seems to fill the entire room.
I can’t help but wonder if this will be me and Sasha one day. It’s only a matter of time before Sasha and Wes tie the knot, and then will it be the two of us standing together in her bridal suite, blinking back tears as we talk about the turn our lives have taken?
Sasha has Wes, and I – who do I have?
Dane ?
Will I still have Dane?
Do I even have him now ?
Five years from now, will Dane be my person in the same way Bailey and Amber have Cash and Finn? Or will the last six months become nothing more than a blip in my life?
I really hope not. I don’t want this to be just a brief fling that we both move on from once we’re back in the UK. There’s something more between us. More than just sex, more than just a fiery physical attraction.
But he has to want it as much as I do for anything real to happen between us.
And I’m not sure that he does.
I don’t think he even believes that he’s capable of wanting more. Of deserving more.
‘Hey, Eliott?’ Bailey’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts.
I blink back to reality and find her staring at me with a cautious expression on her face. ‘What’s up?’
She hesitates for a moment, steeling herself for something. ‘Do you mind if we get a photo together?’
‘We?’ I frown. ‘As in, you and Amber? Sure, I can get some more. Did you have anything in mind?’
‘No,’ Bailey shakes her head. ‘I meant me and you. Just one photo.’
In all my years of wedding photography, I don’t think a bride has ever asked me to be in a photo. Blending into the background and becoming invisible is a core part of my job, and I’ve never been asked to stand in the spotlight before.
‘Why?’
Bailey gives me a wry smile as she takes my hands in hers and squeezes gently. ‘I’m not going to push anything because it’s definitely not my place, but also… I’m not blind.’
Amber muffles a snort from her spot on the bed but otherwise pretends to be very interested in the buckle on her shoe to give me and Bailey some semblance of privacy.
Bailey squeezes my hands again. ‘There’s something between you and Dane. Something real.’
‘I—’
‘And if there’s a chance that my future sister-in-law is at my wedding right now, I need to make sure I’ve got at least one photo with you.’ The smile on her face is completely genuine. ‘Just one. So we have something to look back on in ten years and remember this moment.’
‘Bailey, I—’
‘I know how Dane is with relationships and dating,’ Bailey says, completely ignoring my attempt at an interruption. ‘But he’s different with you. We’ve all noticed it.’
Amber nods. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so happy with someone before.’
‘We’re just friends,’ I force out, but the words feel wrong on my tongue.
Bailey raises a brow. ‘Right. Okay then. Well, as Dane’s very good friend—’
Another snort from Amber.
‘I’d really like a photo with you.’
My response hasn’t changed. ‘ Why ?’
‘Because you’re important to Dane, so you’re important to me,’ Bailey says simply. ‘Even if you guys haven’t figured it out yourselves yet.’
I can tell she’s not going to budge on this, however ridiculous she sounds. ‘Fine,’ I say, dragging the word out as much as possible to make my displeasure clear. I don’t think Bailey cares, though. ‘Just the one.’
Bailey beams like she’s just won the lottery and I pass my camera over to Amber and allow myself to be pulled into a one-armed hug with Bailey.
Amber ignores the ‘ just one ’ rule and takes a handful of photos of the two of us. I have to pray that the smile on my face isn’t as awkward as it feels.
‘I meant what I said, Eliott,’ Bailey says through her smile, still holding me close. ‘In ten years we’re going to look back on this photo and feel so glad that we took it.’
Ten years…
I try to picture myself ten years from now and, to my surprise, a vision comes to me quite clearly. I’m sat at a large dining table with Cash and Bailey hovering to my right, and Amber and Finn hovering to my left. Dane is tucked close beside me. He looks older – we both do, but we also look happy.
So happy.
Everyone is flicking through what I quickly realise is a wedding album. Bailey and Cash’s wedding album.
I’m smiling as we turn the page and land on a photo of me and Bailey.
‘There we go,’ Bailey murmurs next to me, snapping me out of the daydream I’m rapidly descending into. ‘You see what I mean?’
‘Yeah,’ I say, my lips curving upwards into a genuine grin for the first time since Bailey suggested we do this. ‘I do.’