Chapter 27
AMELIA
“Oh. My. God.”
Tim stares at me when he arrives at the greenhouse to walk me to the wedding ceremony. “Your face was PERFECT when you left me. What the hell did Gage do to you?”
Colin and the girls trail in after him, and my heart squeezes when I see Sarah and Luna.
Their dresses billow around them as they walk.
Soft ivory and blush layers that are flecked with gold thread that catches the light.
The flower crowns on their heads are slightly crooked, but I’d never fix them.
They’re perfect exactly how they are. However they are.
Luna twirls. “Tim said I look like a fairy princess.”
I stare at her for a beat too long, my vision going slightly blurry with tears.
“You’re not just a fairy princess. You’re like .
. . a celestial being. A star.” I pause, squinting at her.
“Are you an actual star? Because you’re literally glowing right now.
Like, actual light is coming off you.” I lean in closer. “Can you see it? The glow?”
Oh, god. That came out way more intense than I meant it to.
Luna takes a small step back and whispers to Sarah, “Is she okay?”
“I think she’s still really happy like she was this morning,” Sarah whispers back.
“Really, really happy,” Luna adds, eyes wide.
I nod too enthusiastically. “I am. So happy. Normal amount of happy.” I hold up my hands. “I’m being so normal right now.”
Sarah giggles. “You’re being weird.”
“I know,” I admit, trying to pull myself together. “It’s been a very weird day.” I swallow the new round of emotions trying to ruin my makeup and focus on being normal. “You both look beautiful.”
Sarah beams. “Uncle Tim called us your flower angels.”
My heart splits wide open. I drop into a crouch and pull them both in. “Okay,” I choke out. “I already cried half my makeup off, and now you two are going to finish the job.”
Luna looks worried. “Are you mad at us?”
I laugh through my tears. “No, my darling. Super happy. The happiest person alive. Maybe in the universe. Do you think there’s happiness in space? I bet there is.”
Sarah’s brows furrow. She looks at Luna. “Adults are so strange. They sometimes cry when they’re happy.”
“My dad doesn’t do that,” Luna says, then shrugs. “Maybe it really is just a mom thing.”
Sarah contemplates that before nodding. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Okay,” Tim says, looking stressed as he places our bouquets on the couch and yanks open his rolling makeup case.
Seriously. Only my brother would treat a wedding like a touring Broadway production.
“Nobody panic. I have everything we need to fix—” he looks at me and waves his hand in my direction “—this. Wait, who stole my blotting paper? COLIN!”
“Yeah, I needed it for all the crying I’m not doing.” Colin shakes his head. “What even is blotting paper?”
Tim shoots him a glare. “This is not a drill, Colin. We are in DEFCON SMUDGE.” He looks at me. “Stay still. I am about to save your entire face and therefore the wedding.”
He rummages through his supplies as I accept my fate. “Why do I have three mascaras and zero concealer? WHO PACKED THIS?”
Colin rolls his eyes. “You did, diva.”
Tim eyes him. “Okay, wow, coming for me on her wedding day? Bold.”
He goes back to searching in his case, muttering, “Gage is lucky he’s hot, because this is sabotage. He really said to himself ‘let me wreck her whole glam for sport.’ Absolutely unhinged behavior.”
“He’s so pretty,” I say dreamily. “Like, too pretty. It’s honestly distracting. Do you think he knows how pretty he is?”
Colin gives me a look. It feels very exasperatey. “Yes, Amelia. Gage knows.”
“Good. Someone should tell him regularly. I’ll tell him. I tell him all the time.” I frown, thinking about something. “Is exasperatey a word? I can’t remember.”
Tim snaps his fingers. “We’re on the brink of collapse here and you’re asking philosophical questions about Gage’s face and words that are absolutely not words?
” He shakes his head and it reminds me of the look my mother sometimes gives me.
“You need to focus. We don’t have all day to fix this shambles your face is in. ”
Marin bursts into the greenhouse at that exact moment, saving me from Tim’s wrath.
“I got a text from Gage alerting me to the need for triage, so I brought supplies.” She comes to a dead stop when she sees my face.
“Babes. Respectfully? That man should’ve been physical restrained from seeing you before the wedding.
This is giving ‘emotional annihilation via spouse’ and honestly, iconic, but also a crime against makeup. ”
“He built me a path,” I say, and my voice cracks. “With candles. And I talked to the flowers. They were very understanding.”
Marin and Tim exchange a look.
“So, still high.” Marin says.
“So high,” I confirm. “The petals and I had a moment.”
“Okay,” Tim says, pulling out tools as if he’s a surgeon prepping for an operation. “Marin, grab the cleanser. We need to fix the mascara carnage first.”
Marin works quickly, gently wiping my skin. “Bestie, you’re a hot mess, but like, in a tragic romance kind of way.”
“I feel very tragic,” I agree. “But also, very floaty. It’s a whole vibe. I—”
“Nope,” Tim cuts me off. “No talking. Talking makes you cry, and I’m not above sedating you if you cry again.”
Colin snorts. “Wouldn’t be the first time today you’ve sedated her.”
Tim’s expression says he’s resisting the urge to throw a brush at him. “That was a healing experience she chose for herself, Colin. Completely different energy.”
“The cookies chose me, and then the chair chose me,” I say very seriously. “We had a whole relationship.”
“Please stop talking about the chair,” Tim begs.
He starts dabbing foundation on my face. “We need to move fast. We’re on a timeline and Gage is waiting.”
“He’s so patient,” I murmur, eyes getting misty again. “He waited for three whole months. And now he’s waiting again. He’s always waiting. That’s so beautiful.”
“Amelia,” Tim warns sternly, “if you cry right now, I will duct tape your tear ducts shut. I will petition the universe to revoke your access to emotions.” He pauses dramatically. “Your face is a CANVAS and you are about to RUIN THE EXHIBIT. AGAIN. Do NOT test me.”
That’s so aggressive. Like, objectively aggressive. Is this normal sibling energy on a wedding day? It feels mean. But also . . . maybe I deserve it? I did ruin the canvas. Badly. The canvas didn’t ask to be ruined. Poor canvas.
“Okay, people,” Marin says, swooping in with take-charge energy. “You do face and eyes.” She hands Tim products. “I’ll handle lips.”
They work in synchronized chaos, and while he’s applying mascara, Tim declares, “If he cries during the ceremony, I’m claiming it as a personal victory.”
“The wand is very close to my eyeball,” I whisper, very focused on not moving. “That’s so much trust. I’m trusting you with my eyeball right now.”
“And yet you wouldn’t trust me about the lashes earlier,” Tim mutters. He finishes and steps back. “Marin, lips and then we’re done.”
She swipes on lipstick and says, “May this hold stronger than your grip on sanity today.”
“Amen,” Colin says from somewhere behind them.
“Oh my god,” Marin breathes when she steps back and assesses me.
Tim’s hand goes to his chest. “I’m—no, I can’t. Not yet.”
“What?” I look down at myself, suddenly worried. “Is something wrong?”
“Amelia.” Marin’s eyes are getting glassy. “You look like a fairytale come to life.”
“You are the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen,” Colin says.
“Oh my god.” The realization hits me. “I’m about to marry Gage. Like, in real life. In front of people. On purpose.”
“Yes, that’s generally how weddings work,” Colin says, amused.
“That’s wild. He’s going to be my husband. Again. But this time—”
Marin cuts me off. “That dress is giving ‘gothic romance meets ethereal queen’ and I’m obsessed.”
Tim nods, still staring. “The ombre. Black bleeding into ivory like that? It’s dramatic and soft at the same time.”
“The lace applique,” Marin says. “Babes, this is art. This is the kind of dress people write poetry about.”
“And the tulle,” Tim sighs. “All those layers flowing like smoke and mist. It’s so romantic I might actually pass out.”
Seriously, these two are dramatic. It’s not like they haven’t seen my dress before. They were both with me when I bought it, and when I put it on today.
It’s so unlike anything I’ve ever worn. It’s layers upon layers of tulle that shift from deep black at the bodice down through charcoal and smoke gray before fading into soft ivory at the hem.
The black lace bodice hugs my torso, with delicate floral appliqués climbing up over my shoulders.
The illusion neckline makes it look like the flowers are blooming directly on my skin.
The skirt is full and romantic; all that tulle creating an ombre effect that looks like twilight captured in fabric.
“Okay,” I say. “You two are a lot. You’ve seen me in this dress before.”
Marin shoves a mirror in front of me. “Babes, the serve is unmatched. You’re the literal main character. You are actually mother right now. Look at yourself and understand the moment you’re having.”
I look at myself in the mirror and immediately tear up. Again. “I love you so much,” I say to Tim and Marin. “You made me so beautiful. You saved my entire face and my life—”
“Nope!” Tim points at me. “No crying! We just fixed that face. If you cry, I cry, and Marin dissolves into particles, and then we’re all useless.”
Colin clears his throat. “We need to get moving. Gage is gonna come searching for us soon.”
Tim looks at me, fanning his face in the way he does when he’s trying not to tear up. “My job here is done. I’ve performed miracles and fixed what your husband broke. Somebody get me champagne and a standing ovation.”
Marin passes him a tissue instead. “You get tears of appreciation. Same energy.”