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“I must admit it felt a little weird to begin with, but it was also quite kinky … and flattering.”
“Well, remind me to flatter you again and again. I’ll get you a subscription to a few lingerie sites, that way you can surprise me. Maybe you’ll share some of your milder or wilder fetishes and kinks with me.” He bent and kissed me again. Breaking the kiss, he caught my bottom lip between his teeth. “All our surprises should be fun from now on. We’re getting married and we’re going to live our best lives together.”
* * *
“Oh, Tricia, it’s perfect.” Staring past my reflection in the floor-length mirror, Billie smiled as she looked at me over my shoulder. Seeing tears in her eyes tugged at my heartstrings because I felt how happy she was about me marrying James. “You look absolutely stunning, and it’s perfect for a beach wedding. I used to dream about having a sister,” she muttered to herself.
“They’re overrated, I used to fight with mine almost every day. Marnie and I weren’t that close, but as we got older our relationship got better.”
“Much like James and Sawyer,” she replied.
“Not quite, we just liked very different things. She was very physical … a tomboy, and I was a bit of a nerd. There wasn’t the rivalry that James felt in relation to his siblings. Also, don’t forget you have three other sisters in the Wild girls,” I said, reminding her.
“That isn’t the same. We’ve been through a lot together.” She sighed. “I don’t feel close to them, actually that’s not true, Lorna and I do okay. The others live too far away, and I don’t see that much of them. I really like them, but their relationships with me are nothing like ours.”
“So, this one then?” I asked, turning my attention back to the ivory 1800s vintage-style dress. It was sleeveless with a delicately sequined V-line bodice and the simple flowing chiffon was understated but cool, and elegantly simple for a beach wedding. I smoothed the material down in front of me, knowing it looked perfect on me.
“Absolutely, that looks like it was made for you, but it’s the first one you’ve tried on. Are you sure you don’t want to try something else in case you change your mind?”
“I could spend hours in here and I know I’d compare this with everything else and end up buying it anyway.”
“Okay, so what do you want me to wear?”
“The same style in lilac and ivory … same again for the children… but shorter, I don’t want them feeling uncomfortable in the heat.”
“Erin? Is she playing a part in this wedding?”
“No, I’m not putting her in a position where she refuses to disappoint me. She has a new boyfriend, and by keeping things simple to you and the little ones it makes for less stress all round. She was with us the day we had gotten engaged and was very laid-back about it. I’m letting things happen at her pace, asking her to get involved in my wedding forces our relationship. We’re still new… it’s complex, but we’re working through things. She’s family, but I’m mindful she’s lived all her life not even knowing about me. She says she’s excited, but it’s got to be overwhelming for her.”
“What about you?”
“Of course I’m overwhelmed … exhausted by the secret I kept hidden. Fearful I’ll disappoint her or James in some way, worried about the effect of everything on my father … it’s a lot to consolidate and make sense of.” My frown turned to a smile when I thought how James had been there every step of the way. “But I have James… I couldn’t have done any of this without him.”
“And now to the bridesmaids,” the personal attendant prompted, interrupting our conversation. We spoke to the seamstress and in-house designer who sketched rough designs of how the dresses would look.
In keeping with my dress, the bridal party designs were kept simple and the store agreed the gowns could be made up in a few days with any alterations necessary done within seventy-two hours. Funny what money could do.
With the dress design out of the way, and me preferring everyone in bare feet, all that was left was hair, flowers, and accessories to organize. The attendants in the bridal boutique came up with some perfect suggestions for the children and I settled on tiny cream velvet purses with some forget-me-not flowers sewn in. Fresh flower posies on the beach would have wilted in seconds. By the time we left the bridal boutique, I felt happy about the choices we’d made.
I had wanted to look my best for James on the day, but I’d wanted the ceremony to be the focus for my day, not to turn it into an opportunistic high society fashion parade.
In less than a day, I had chosen what to wear, the venue was booked by the beach, all I had left to do was to organize food we wanted and talk to the pastor.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Dad entered the room with Billie and immediately choked up, his eyes glistening with tears as he dug into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a cotton hankie and swiped at his eyes. His reaction brought a lump to my throat as I blinked rapidly and tried not to tear up with him.
“You look beautiful,” he mumbled in a hoarse, emotive tone.
“Thank you, but I look exactly like you with hair and better legs,” I joked, and tried to inject some humor to stop him from turning me into a mess.
“True,” he chuckled, because I did resemble him, whereas poor Marnie had hit my mom’s dark-haired, brick body shape, gene pool.
“You have no idea how full my heart feels to know you have a great man behind you, sweetheart.”
“He’s the best. Sometimes I wonder how I ever got through life without him.”
“Everything that’s happened in your life has led you to this moment and because of that you appreciate him more than many would.”
