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“Well, now that you’re opening the question box…”
His eyes go wide and he bites back a grin. “You better be glad I like you.”
We all start laughing. “Come on, girls, I’ve heard our room is upstairs,” I say and stick my tongue out at him.
“Finally,” he murmurs as we walk upstairs.
Our chatter about how impressive his house is doesn’t stop. I’m not the only one surprised by Max’s house. He stays quiet behind us while herding us to our room. I bet he’ll do anything to get out of coming back here next time. We stop at the top and let him by so he can lead us to which door is ours. I look down both hallways and all I see are closed doors. A lot of them.
“Max, what do you do with all these rooms?” I point down each hallway.
He shrugs. “I find things to do with them.” He winks and turns to leave. I lift a brow. Things? Well, shit, now I’m interested in these things. “You all are in this room,” he says, opening one of the doors, pulling me from my detective tendencies.
Focus, Addison, you’re getting married today.
We walk into a room filled with white. Everything is stark white, like a canvas begging to have color splattered on it. It’s probably the biggest room I’ve ever seen with a bay window spanning almost the entire length of the room. This must be two rooms combined. The sunlight reflects off the white and it’s blinding.
“I think I need sunglasses in here,” I say, laughing and dramatically squinting my eyes. Max takes out a pair of sunglasses from his shirt pocket and slips them onto my face. His smart-ass grin spreads across his face.
“Your wish is my command,” he says, sarcastically.
I grin, pushing them up to sit on top of my head. “You’re like a Boy Scout, always prepared.” He laughs out loud when I hold up three fingers. “I bet you even know the Boy Scout Oath.” I cock my head a little, taunting him. When I lived with my mom, my neighbor was in Boy Scouts and he would make me test him on the oath.
He puffs up his chest. “Aiden and I had more badges than anyone,” he boasts. I drop my head in laughter and hear all the girls giggle.
I look up to him, shaking my head slightly. “I was kidding, but I’m not surprised.” I take off the sunglasses and hand them back to him. Two guys walk into the room carrying Sydney’s and my stuff, including my wedding dress. They hang my dress off the bathroom door and place the rest of the stuff on the bed.
“Ladies, if you need anything, let us know,” one of them says.
“We need some orange juice,” Syd quickly replies, walking to her bag. She pulls out a bottle of champagne and a smile spreads across her face. “And some glasses.”
“Let the festivities begin,” Max says, chuckling as he walks out the door behind the guys.
There is a sitting area with a couch and two chairs. The girls take a seat, chatting about the drive here. I walk to the bay window, which looks out to the pool.
My breath hitches. “Oh. My. God.” I say, stunned.
Syd jumps up. “What? What’s wrong?” she says, coming to the window. I turn and look at her with wide eyes. The girls jump to their feet right behind her. I can’t even talk. My mouth hangs open as I take in the back of Max’s house.
“Wow,” Harper and Syd say in unison.
The pool, of course, is gorgeous, but it’s what is past the pool that has me speechless. Max’s land backs up to a very large lake. I can just make out a couple of houses on the other side of the lake, but it’s mostly land. Some steps lead down a hill to a white tent where we’ll be having our reception and it’s right in front of the lake. We can see people coming and going from underneath the tent, getting things ready. To the left of the tent, white chairs are lined up in a semicircle facing the lake. Workers set flowers all around the area.
Tears sting my eyes as I watch my wedding come together. I can’t believe Aiden did all this. For me. Sydney wraps her arms around me and leans her head on my shoulder. “You deserve this, Addie.” I sniff and wipe away a tear that escapes down my cheek. I grab her hand on my waist and squeeze. “I can’t wait to stand by your side and watch you marry the man who was meant for you. Fate couldn’t have led you to a better man.”
I laugh and cry at the same time. “The journey to get us here…” I pause to sniffle, “…it’s definitely been a twist of fate.”
“I know it’s been a long journey, hun, but right now down there is all that matters.” She points to a small house nestled between the trees to the left of the main house. That must be the guesthouse. I nod in agreement and close my eyes momentarily, basking in this feeling of euphoria.
“Alright, ladies, I have orange juice,” a male voice says. I open my eyes and turn my head to see one of the guys from earlier putting glasses and a carafe of orange juice on the dresser. “Anything else you need, I put my phone number on this napkin. Just text me.” He smiles and walks out.
I turn back to look out the window one more time and scream, jumping back against the wall, out of sight. I hold my chest as my heart just exploded.
“What in the world,” Harper says, looking out the window.
“Aiden,” I say, breathing heavy with my hand on my chest. “He’s down there.” All three girls look at me like I’ve gone crazy. “We can’t see each other,” I stress. They still stare at me and blink. “Why are you guys staring at me? You know it’s bad luck if we see each other on the day of our wedding.”
Bryn twists her lips and then says, “Is it bad luck if you see him but he doesn’t see you? I’m fairly certain he couldn’t see you up here.”
