Page 120 of Some Kinda Romance

59

DASH

“Happy Mother’s Day,” I said, embracing my mom warmly before stepping aside so my brothers could do the same.

I looked around the waiting area of the chapel in Serenity’s garden, seeing the huge bouquets of yellow and purple flowers, and I couldn’t believe I was about to walk my own mother down the aisle. After all the planning and the run-up, this was it. The big day.

The fact that she was wearing a lacy, beige wedding dress just helped me wrap my head around it that it was finally here. My mom’s wedding day. What the actual fuck?

I would’ve laughed out loud if it wasn’t for the fact that I was genuinely happy for her. It was a definite mind-boggling moment though, knowing I was seeing my own mother in her wedding dress.

As Zach rounded out the chorus of Happy Mother’s Day, he offered her his arm and she took it, sliding her fingers into the crook of Finn’s elbow on the other side. We hadn’t discussed our placement of who would go where, but I didn’t mind. I hung back with Asher, and Corbin decided to bring up the rear.

Stepping up behind her, I reached out to squeeze her shoulder and leaned forward a little bit. “Are you ready?”

“I’m ready,” she said, her voice low and full of emotion.

Feeling a little choked up myself, I cleared my throat and watched her nod at the attendants waiting to open the doors. One of them muttered something into the microphone attached to his collar, and the familiar strains of Canon in D swelled from inside.

Mom stood up a little straighter. The attendants opened the doors and she glanced at us before she started moving. Richard was waiting at the top of the aisle, of course, his eyes only on her as she moved toward him.

I couldn’t see her face, but I did see his and the look on it told me once and for all that she’d made the right call saying yes to him. With tears in his eyes, he stood staring at her, completely unashamed as his throat worked. A loving smile broke free on her lips.

Mom sniffled, and Zach tightened his grip on her. In the end, he was the one to place her hand in Richard’s and he did it gently but with a smile on his face. That night when they’d told us they were getting married, I knew he didn’t support the idea but it seemed like he’d come around. Just like I had.

The five of us found our seats in the front row as Mom took her place beside her beau, and the officiant got us underway with a prayer. I closed my eyes, but as soon as he was done, I glanced around the chapel, desperately needing to catch at least a glimpse of Serenity.

She wasn’t there, or at least, not where I could see her. My jaw ground, but I sighed and faced forward again. Asher shot me a sympathetic smile and a shrug. I rolled my eyes, but deep down inside, I was thankful for his silent show of support.

Outside of Lance, my brothers were my closest friends, some of the few people I trusted fully. They were also the only others who knew exactly how much I’d changed.

Turning my attention back to the ceremony, I watched with a small smile as Mom and Richard said their vows and exchanged rings. The whole thing was beautiful, and thankfully, it went off without a single hitch.

So did the taking of the photographs, the canapes on the lawn, and the drinks in the bar. Honestly, I was impressed with Serenity’s staff and her organization. I watched them closely, and all her people seemed to know exactly where to be and when to be there.

There was no milling around or confusion, no stopping each other to ask questions, and no hold-ups in the schedule for the day at all. But Serenity herself was still missing. Once we got to the reception, I finally noticed her flitting from one side of the venue to the other, checking on things and making sure everything ran like clockwork.

Watching her now, elegantly dressed in a navy blue pencil skirt with a white blouse and a neat jacket, I thought back to the first time I’d met her. I never thought we’d be where we were now, and the urge to win her back surged through me like a tsunami.

I joined my brothers at our table, but I only had eyes for her. Eventually, Corbin punched my arm. “Stop staring. Just go talk to her. Or put on sunglasses.”

“I tried talking to her,” I replied, my gaze still tracking her as she directed waiters where to go. “She’s still thinking, man. Leave it alone.”

Zachary’s eyes followed mine. “You got a plan?”

“Yes,” I said. “Let her think but make sure she knows how I feel while she does it.”

Finn sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. “We should take some selfies. Post them so she knows you’re having fun.”

“We’re not in junior high,” I said. “I’m not doing that. I already told you. I have a plan and it doesn’t involve trying to make her see how well I’m doing without her.”

“Oh, well, that’s good, because you’re really not doing so great,” Corbin said. I reached out to punch him and he ducked. “What? It’s true. You’re miserable, bro. Over a reality star, which has got to be the universe laughing at you.”

“I’m aware,” I admitted.

The lights turned down low and the song Mom and Richard had chosen for their first dance started playing. My brothers and I all turned toward the dance floor. Richard lifted Mom’s hand to spin her around before he brought her gently back to his chest. Some others joined them after a while. Corbin grabbed some girl from the table next door to dance with while Zachary gallantly extended his hand to our five-year-old cousin.

Why he didn’t have kids of his own yet, I didn’t know. He loved them and he was so good with them. Making her giggle, he picked her up and swept around the floor with her, and I eventually took her seven-year-old sister out to join them.