Chapter 43
MAY 2027
Is the altitude different at the altar?
I swear, I feel so wobbly on my feet, like the air is just that little bit harder to take in here.
Realistically, I’m in a church, not at the top of Mount Everest, and the air is fine. It’s just me, I’m nervous.
Standing up here, in front of all these people – I mean, there are just so many things that can go wrong, so many potential ways to embarrass myself.
The vicar keeps smiling at me. He’s so cool and calm, he must have done hundreds of weddings. I imagine the smile is supposed to reassure me but I wonder if he can spot a nervous customer, if he’s worried I’m going to say something, do something – faint, even. Something that throws him off his game.
Or maybe he’s just friendly. The most obvious answer is often the right one, right? Not when you’re anxious. When you’re anxious, the worst-case scenario is happening, so panic, panic, panic.
That said, I thought I was going to fall, when I walked down the aisle, but here I am, in one piece, upright, and I haven’t dropped my flowers or popped out a boob or anything. I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other, one at a time, until I got from A to B. I don’t know if it felt like it took a lifetime, because I was worried sick, or if I barely even noticed that I did it, because I was so focused on trying to make sure it all went to plan.
Anyway, I’m here now, and so is Travis. Oh, look at him! My God, he looks incredible in his tailored navy-blue suit. He catches my eye and grins, the same easy, heart-melting grin I fell for back at the villa. So dreamy, like a regular Prince Charming, and yet I want to rip his shirt open, pinging the buttons in all directions, pushing him back onto the floor and… God, I shouldn’t be thinking this in a church. Or saying God like that – bloody hell. Focus on the wedding, Molly. You can rip his shirt off later.
I love that we’ve still got that spark, that fiery passion. I thought that was supposed to wear off – it did with you-know-who, if the two of us even had it to begin with – but with Travis it’s been almost two years of bliss. Going on amazing nights out together, taking trips – and that’s when we can tear ourselves from the bedroom. Oh, and we work together now, so if we were going to get sick of one another, it definitely would have happened already. Travis did what he said, he promised to help me find the perfect person to oversee the revamp at work, and it turned out that the perfect person was him after all. He really is perfect, in every way. I don’t know how I got so lucky.
So here we are, together – except this time, the run-up to the wedding hasn’t been anywhere near as dramatic or chaotic, which is surprising, given who is getting married.
Finally ‘Here Comes the Bride’ starts playing. Wow, that was fast. She told us she was going to make him wait at least ten more minutes, just to freak him out.
Nita looks incredible in her bridal gown. Honestly, she’s practically floating down the aisle, and I honestly can’t ever say I’ve seen her look quite so happy.
Harry, on the other hand, looks terrified. He’s scrubbed up well, and he’s even let a professional at his hair, because his usual chaotic, mess-on-purpose look is nowhere to be seen in favour of a sleek, slicked back ’do. Ah, the things we do for love.
As Nita finally reaches him, Harry relaxes, grinning from ear to ear. I guess Lou was right, when you know, you know.
I take my place as chief bridesmaid while Travis settles into his duties as best man.
Here we go…
* * *
‘Did you ever think it’d be these two who made it down the aisle first?’ Travis says, pulling me close as we dance together.
‘Not a chance,’ I whisper into his ear, before nuzzling his neck with my cheek. ‘Not without one of them being in a coffin anyway. Though I guess it makes sense. They’ve got too much in common not to work.’
‘Well, just wait until they find out who is going to be walking down the aisle next,’ he says.
‘Shh,’ I say quickly. ‘We said we’d keep it a secret until after the wedding – I don’t want to steal Nita’s moment.’
‘And that’s why I love you,’ he tells me. ‘And why I want to tell everyone.’
A couple of weeks ago Travis and I went to Spain, to stay in ‘our’ villa, just the two of us, and while we were there he got down on one knee and popped the question. I said yes – of course I did – but with Nita’s wedding imminent I just didn’t want to do anything that might overshadow it, so we’re keeping it to ourselves, just for now, but I kind of love having a secret.
I really can’t wait to marry him, to stand up in front of everyone and say our vows – although I’m sure I’ll be terrified, I was nervous enough just being a bridesmaid.
I made a few vows to myself, when I got back from Spain, and I’m proud to say that I’ve been honouring them. I’m not sweating the small stuff – it’s just not worth it. I’m not beating myself up over Dean – we even bumped into him at the cinema, and I was perfectly polite (although it did help that I had Travis on my arm, while Dean was single again). I’m enjoying my work – although I’m not obsessing over it; when I clock off, I’m off, and when I’m at home, I’m not thinking about it. And while I do know for sure that I want to marry Travis, I have absolutely no idea what I want my wedding to look like, and that’s fine. We can figure it out together.
Everyone is on the dance floor, joining the happy couple with their first dance – mostly because Harry said he couldn’t face doing it on his own, so Nita suggested everyone dance, that way he could just blend in.
As Harry and Nita kiss to cheers and applause, Travis reaches for my hand, threading his fingers through mine. I glance at him, my heart pounding in my chest in that way it always does when he looks at me like that. I hope that never wears off.
‘I love you,’ he tells me.
‘I love you too,’ I reply.
It’s funny how things work out sometimes. Before we went to Spain, my life was a mess. Of all the things I didn’t have, it was my lack of hope that was the most demoralising, and when you don’t have hope, it’s impossible to imagine finding it again.
I didn’t feel like I was on the right track, at all, but it turns out that sometimes the wrong route takes you to the right place. That villa was supposed to be for us girls, the boys weren’t even supposed to be there, but in the end it turned out that it took a mistake, for everything to go wrong, to put me in the right place, at the right time, to get everything I wanted, and everything I needed. I’ll never sweat my mistakes ever again. Sometimes, they’re the key to true happiness.
* * *