Chapter 21 #2
The bride and groom were adorable as they first sliced the delicious-looking three-layer chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet cake. Drew made his new wife laugh, then blush, at whatever he whispered into her ear. They fed each other pieces of cake…then kissed off the mess they made.
“I’m so glad they found each other,” Taylor said, even as she blushed at the heat currently being generated by Justin’s brother and his new wife.
“I used to worry about Drew,” Justin told her. “Especially once his music career took off—that’s just such a crazy world. But once I met Ashley, I knew she was exactly what he needed. And I also knew I didn’t need to worry about him anymore.”
It was how she wanted his family to feel about her—to know that they didn’t have to worry about Justin anymore because she would always take care of him. Unfortunately, her diagnosis meant they were more worried about him.
She sighed, and of course Justin picked right up on it. “I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “But you’re wrong. My family knows I’m nowhere near whole without you, because you make my life better in every single way. That’s why they sent me to you in St. Helena, remember?”
She laid her head against his chest. “I think I’m still just overtired from the all-nighter.”
He didn’t poke holes in her excuse as he stroked her hair. She’d slept well last night—she couldn’t actually remember Justin carrying her to bed from the car—but she still felt as though her body was running on fumes.
Since her diagnosis, she had tried to be extra careful about eating right and getting enough rest, but it had been an absolutely crazy week. She wouldn’t have wanted to give up any of the time she’d spent with Justin, nor would she have wanted to miss Drew and Ashley’s wedding festivities.
“Taylor—” Maddie grabbed her hand and pulled her into the center of the dance floor, where the other single women were assembling.
“It’s time for the bouquet toss. And you too, Olivia,” she added, ignoring her older sister’s protests.
“I mean, odds are that Taylor will get married first since she’s already engaged and all.
But you’re always a dark horse, Olivia, so I suppose anything is possible. ”
Only Maddie could get away with saying such things to her sister.
Taylor had meant to ask Olivia if there was someone special in her life, but Justin’s eldest sister was a slippery one.
It was almost as though she could read Taylor’s mind, and every time she thought she finally had a chance to ask some gently probing questions about Olivia’s love life, the other woman found a reason to escape the conversation.
Olivia hadn’t brought a plus-one to the wedding, but she had spent quite a bit of time smiling into her phone as she texted someone.
In any case, though Taylor was quite tall, she’d never caught a bouquet at a wedding.
Then again, she thought as Justin gave her the thumbs-up, she hadn’t been with Justin either.
Now, she could almost feel her fingertips tingling, especially when Ashley looked straight at her and winked before turning to fling her bouquet over her head.
Taylor stood perfectly still as she watched the flowers sail through the sky as if in slow motion, heading right toward her. She lifted her hands to catch the bouquet, but it slid between her fingers…and hit her on the head.
She scrambled to grab it before it fell to the ground, and when she did, instinct took over. She lifted it above her head like a victor with her spoils, and soon, Justin was there too, spinning her around in circles while everyone laughed and cheered.
And then, as a wonderful surprise, Drew took the stage, pulling Ashley up with him.
Never one for the spotlight, Drew’s new bride blushed as he kissed her in front of everyone.
“I’ve vowed never to keep secrets from you, Ash,” he said, “but I hope you’ll forgive me for keeping this one.
” He picked up a guitar. “The song is called Beautiful. And every word of it is from my heart to yours.”
They were so wonderful together, and so in love, that Taylor was already tearing up before Drew played a single chord. And when he did begin to sing, it was no exaggeration to say that every woman in the room wished for a love like theirs.
Warm all over in the knowledge that she and Justin already had just that, Taylor settled into the circle of his arms as they listened.
The most beautiful song I’ve ever heard
Is you
Your voice is the melody
Your heartbeat is the rhythm
And when you whisper, “I love you”
They’re the lyrics of my dreams
You’re my heart
My soul
My one true love
The most beautiful song I’ve ever heard
Is you
“That was incredible, wasn’t it?” Taylor said to Justin once the last notes faded and everyone in the crowd was going wild, yet again, for the newlyweds.
“I’m not normally jealous of my brothers,” Justin said, “but I wish I could write you a song like that.”
“You’ve already given me everything I could ever want.” She brought her mouth only a breath from his. “You.”
They might never have stopped kissing had the bride and groom not come to say good-bye before heading off to the airport to catch an overnight flight to the beaches of Thailand for their honeymoon.
By the time they’d seen the happy couple off, Taylor realized she was well and truly pooped. Justin knew her so well, thankfully, that she didn’t need to say a word.
“Ready to head home?”
“It was the most magical wedding ever, but it probably is time for me to hit the sack.” She couldn’t wait to crawl under the covers with Justin and make some magic of their own.
But by the time they said their good-byes to the rest of his family and got into his car, she could hardly keep her eyes open.
“I don’t want to fall asleep on you again tonight,” she said, her words sounding like one huge yawn.
“Promise me you’ll wake me when we get back. ”
In lieu of a response, he reached for her hand and was lifting it to his lips when a sharp pain brought her awake with a gasp. She tugged her hand from his to press it to her side.
“Taylor.” He stroked a lock of hair away from her face. “Tell me what I can do to help.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out around the agony of what felt like a knife spearing through her.
“Taylor!”
She could hear Justin yelling, knew he was trying to get her attention, but she couldn’t focus on anything other than the horrible sensation of being ripped in two from the inside out…right before everything went dark.