Chapter Twenty-Three
ZOEY WAS LIVING INa dream.
She stood with her father as they waited for the music to start playing for their walk to the altar. “Dad, are you okay?”
Patting her hand, he beamed. Due to lots of physical therapy and maybe pure stubbornness, he managed to move without a cane now. He even said he’d be running a marathon soon with Gerald. “More than okay. This is the happiest day of my life. Well, this and the day you were born.”
Emotion closed her throat.
Barrett had frequented this small-town church since he’d been a little boy. So marrying here was meaningful to him and, therefore, to Zoey. People had claimed every seat, and the sweet aroma of white roses and hyacinths swirled from where bouquets of them caught up with white ribbons decorated the pews. Zoey had arranged every single one of them, as well as the chair decorations and table centerpieces for the Lawrence family barn where they’d have the reception and dance later today. Skylar, Kai, Kennedy, and to Zoey’s astonishment, Mason had helped with the decorations.
As the best man, Laredo was already at the altar with Barrett. Two of Barrett’s brothers, who were his groomsmen, now walked down the aisle with their wives. The pair currently making their way along, Skylar and Dallas, paused for a long glance at the pew where Mrs. Lawrence held their baby girl—yes, little Houston was a girl. Zoey had grown to admire her new sisters-in-law and made several of them her bridesmaids, but she’d bonded with Skylar. Though Zoey didn’t make friends easily, their love for art drew them together.
Now, her heart beat frantically. She could wrap many ribbons around the pews, but she couldn’t yet wrap her mind around the fact she was marrying the man she loved with all her heart. If she even dared to think too much about it, would her fragile happiness fly away, disappear like a spooked bird?
Zoey’s matron of honor, Kennedy, rushed to them. Zoey hadn’t asked for her matron of honor or her bridesmaids to wear any particular color dress, so they’d opted for silver off-the-shoulder stunners that matched their high-heeled open-toe pumps.
Kennedy sent her uncle a worried glance. “Uncle, are you...”
“I’m fine. Much better than fine.”
After his nod reassured her, Kennedy hugged Zoey quickly as it was close to her turn to walk down the aisle with her husband. “I’m so thrilled for you. I love you, cuz.”
Zoey’s chest expanded. “I love you, too.” And she meant it. Her life had changed so much since she’d let love in. Her heart now skipped a beat. Including love for Barrett. Especially love for Barrett.
Kennedy let Zoey go and beamed at her husband. “Let’s go, honey.”
The couple stepped forward. Kennedy and Austin were complete opposites, but they made it work.
Tenderness wove a fragile thread through the loom of Zoey’s soul. After a few disastrous relationships and her mother’s many I-told-you-so responses, Zoey had given up on finding true love. Or on reconnecting with her extended family whom she’d been told didn’t want her. She’d been scared to come here and ever trust again.
But her reward was beyond anything she could’ve hoped for. “I feel like I’m living in a dream,” she whispered to her father.
He smiled. “Me, too.” Then he paused. “No, that’s wrong.”
Worry pressed on her shoulders. She swallowed hard. “Wrong?”
“I couldn’t even dream of this. Seeing you happy makes me happy. And I even got the chance to walk you down the aisle.”
The weight lifted. But then something else tightened around her rib cage. “Are you sure you can walk without your cane?”
He waved off her concern. “Positive. Your reappearance breathed new life into me. That, and I’ve been spending a lot of time in physical therapy.”
Her lips curved up as the music for her to start walking played. “It’s time.”
“Yes, it is.” He gave her a long sentimental look.
When she walked toward the handsome man she couldn’t wait to get married to, all things finally fell into place. Barrett smiled at her with so much love in his eyes.
She could now believe all this was real, and her hopes soared, taking flight like a bird with a healed wing.
She’d wanted a simple wedding, and her father had agreed. Though he’d said her budget for the wedding was unlimited—his gift—he’d seemed to realize his presence was the best gift he could give her. She’d made herself a white long-sleeved dress with a sweetheart neckline and had chosen comfortable low-heeled shoes that seemed to hug her feet. No more of those torture devices she’d had to wear at the charity gala.
She’d also refused all the sought-after hairdressers Kennedy had suggested and just let her hair flow over her shoulders. Skylar had woven wildflowers in it. Zoey’s bridal bouquet also consisted of wildflowers, and Barrett had helped her gather them in the field close to the place where she’d had her first hamburger. Now, she brought it closer to her face to breathe in its sunny aroma.
In just moments, she and Barrett were going to become husband and wife. Her heartbeat skyrocketed again.
As a child, besides reading or doing arts and crafts, she’d put together many puzzles to occupy herself. One of her favorites had been of a prince and a princess in a garden filled with bright flowers and birds. When she’d looked at that puzzle, she could almost smell the flowers, hear the birds.
And now her heart was singing as she took her rightful place near Barrett. Her heart was singing the song of love.
His eyes were luminous, and knowing she made them that way gave her enormous pleasure.
“Je t’aime. I love you so much,” he whispered to her.
Her life had felt like a puzzle before with so many components unknown. Now no more pieces were missing. Well, her life wasn’t clean-cut and pretty like a puzzle. It was no fairy tale and could get messy again. But it was complete.
She couldn’t wait to say their vows, to be his wife, to spend the rest of their lives together. She couldn’t wait to release the doves at the reception and to release her heart to him.
“I love you, too,” she whispered back. “With all my heart that you’ll forever hold in the palm of your hand.”