by Mia Brown
Houston looked so handsome, and even though I had seen him dressed-up many times, it was the first time I had seen him so dapper. Although, as the night progressed, he got more and more comfortable, with his tie off and even his shoes. I loved how handsome he looked at all the different stages of the night. I had a feeling the bad dance moves were about to come to the surface. I warned both Joe and Nicole to make sure they got it on camera.
I was wearing the most beautiful dress I had ever owned. Nicole had naturally helped me pick it out. I’d been dubious when she took me dress shopping, but she knew exactly where to take me and what to ask for. The dress was long and comfortable, and nothing like the sort of dress I thought she was going to make me try on. It flowed from the waist down and moved when I moved. It looked like the sort of dress that belonged on a fairy in a forest, and I loved it.
I still preferred myself in my old clothes, but I had learned how to dress up and still feel good about myself. I loved the way Houston’s eyes had lit up when he saw me. The only jewelry I wore for the wedding was my horse pendant and my horse earrings. Tad might have preferred the girl who put on a mask every day, but Houston preferred me for who I was, and I was thankful for that.
It was a fun wedding, and at the end of the vows, we assured everyone that we were getting married for real this time. This caused the entire crowd to burst out laughing, and set a wonderful tone for the rest of the wedding day. My poor parents still had no idea what was going on. They didn’t live nearby, and I hadn’t had the heart to tell them. If Houston’s father was anything to go by, I figured they wouldn’t be too pleased by what had happened, either. They came and asked me what it was all about, but I promised to fill them in soon. Now that we were married, it was at least a story we could laugh about.
Afterwards, we made our way to the ranch. Houston’s father had hired the most amazing woman to take care of the decorations. I had asked her to keep things as simple as possible. I wanted it to look pretty, but I still wanted people to feel like they would at home. I wanted everyone to be relaxed, and for the loudest sound at the party to be laughter. She’d done a great job and had done exactly what I had asked for. She’d set up a huge tent but had kept the sides open. That way we still got the view of the outside, and it allowed people to walk out and get fresh air whenever they wanted. It was perfect.
“Dance time!” Houston yelled, and I groaned.
The crowd cheered as I made my way to the middle. Our wedding dance was one that we had danced to at our first wedding together. It wasn’t even the nicest song, but it reminded us so much of the first time we had held each other like that. I could still remember the way it had felt to have him so close to me. I’d been so confused by the way he had made me feel that night, our hearts beating along to the rhythm of the music.
The moment the song was over, a fast song came on, and Houston grinned at me. I had already been dreading the wedding dance, although it hadn’t gone as badly as I thought it would be. I was not a big fan of having attention on me, but for those few minutes, I’d actually forgotten that anyone was watching me. I had been hoping that Houston would do some crazy moves without me, but he smiled at me now.
“Come on, dance partner, are you ready to show the world what we’ve got?”
“Don’t you mean, what we don’t?” I said.
He started dancing, and I heard someone in the crowd start laughing. I couldn’t help myself. Soon I was laughing and dancing with him. Houston had always been one of those people that made you feel like you could be yourself, bad dancer or not. Other people came to join us, each one trying to dance worse than the next. I knew then that life was never going to be dull with him, and that it didn’t matter what we were doing as long as we were doing it together.
I spotted Jake on the dance floor, and we grinned at one another. He had a girlfriend now, and it was clear that the two of them were madly in love. I wondered if he was thinking what I was thinking – how no matter how bad things seem, they somehow have a way of working themselves out.
About five songs later, I went to the side to catch my breath and to get a glass of water. I groaned when I saw Lara walking towards me. We hadn’t actually invited her, but we’d invited Rick, so she had naturally come along. I can’t say I was surprised to see her, but I was surprised that it had taken her this long to come and talk to me. I could tell by the way she walked toward me that she had clearly had a lot to drink. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Oh, how the tables had turned. Lara was wearing a white dress, and I wondered if she was trying to outdo me. It certainly was very fancy, much fancier than mine, but I didn’t mind. The fact that she was wearing that at my wedding only made her look a little ridiculous.
“Hi, Lara, good to see you,” I said as brightly as possible. “I must say, I’m surprised to see you here. You were so delighted at finding out the first marriage was fake I figured you wouldn’t be too happy with a real one.”
“You do realize that I had more people at my wedding,” she said. “This is…” she looked around, “a rather dismal amount.”
I laughed. I realized then that I was stupid to have been afraid of her all these years. I was silly to have let her get under my skin the way she had. Lara was not a happy person, and she never had been, not even when she was in school. Instead of coming up to me and congratulating me on my happy day, she had come right up to me and insulted me. It was a shame, really. She was always going to be the type of person who needed to belittle others to make themselves feel better. Well, I was tired of being belittled.
“I’m sorry that you are the way that you are,” I said to her. “You’re right. You had more people at your wedding. But, other than you, every other person here is someone I can call my friend. That’s the difference between us. Lara, you made my life hell at school, and I don’t think you will truly ever understand what you did to me. It’s taken me a long time for me to realize that I am not the person you said I was. I am a strong woman. Hell, I’m a happy woman. I will continue to be true to myself, and I will not let anyone tell me otherwise. Actually, I want to thank you.”
“Thank me?” she sputtered. She was having a hard time even standing straight. “Why would you thank me?”
I smiled. “Because if it wasn’t for your wedding, I probably would never have realized how amazing Houston was. In some weird way, you brought the two of us together. So thank you for doing that. I owe you. After this, I do hope that the two of us won’t see each other much more. I’m assuming we will now that we are family and all, but I do hope not. My cousin is a good man. If he is with you, then there is a glimmer of hope that under your bitchy exterior lies a nice woman. Maybe he sees it. Or maybe he doesn’t. I don’t know. I’m not scared of you anymore, and I really do hope that you find happiness in yourself.”
“This wedding is boring,” she said.
I sighed and shook my head sadly at her. I remembered a time when I used to be jealous of her, but not anymore. She didn’t even look pretty to me now. “If it’s boring, you’re welcome to go home. If not, I do hope you have a good time.”
Lara seemed shocked by my response and stared at me in surprise. I had a feeling she thought that she was really going to ruffle my feathers with her comments, but I was far too happy for anyone to get me down. It felt so good to stick up for myself for a change. As she walked, I heard some of my elderly relatives nearby calling Lara a ‘very disagreeable woman,’ and someone else said that she had had way too much to drink. I remembered how things were at school when she was always the one that people praised. It felt so good that people were finally seeing her for who she was.
Nicole made her way toward me, a big glass of red wine in her hand, and as she walked past Lara, she ‘tripped’ and tossed her wine all over Lara’s white dress. Lara screamed so loud that everyone stopped to look at her, and I tried hard not to laugh. People around us started clapping, so I knew that people were just as sick of Lara as I was. The rest of the wedding hall
began to clap, and I was sure that most people didn’t even know what they were clapping at. Lara went as red as the glass of wine and then stomped away.
“Oops,” Nicole said as she made her way to me. “I mean, what are the chances that I would happen to be walking past her while I was carrying a glass of red wine,” she said.
I laughed. It was not the sort of thing I would usually laugh at, but after everything Lara had put me through it almost felt well-deserved. “I didn’t know you drank red wine.”
She put the glass down. “I don’t.” Then she beamed mischievously at me. “How dare she wear a long white dress to your wedding? Serves her right. I’ve wanted to do that since I saw her tonight. Do you know that she flirted with Jonny when she met him? I reminded her that she was married to my cousin. Thankfully, Jonny saw right through her. I couldn’t believe it, though. I knew she was bad news, but I just didn’t realize how bad. I think she’s even worse than she was in school, actually.”
I smiled. “You know, for the first time ever, I feel sorry for her.”
“I hope you don’t feel upset that I spilled that wine on her, because I would do it again in a heartbeat. Why would you feel sorry for her? She made your life a living hell.”
“Yeah, she did, but she’s clearly not the happiest woman in the world. I don’t feel sorry for myself anymore. I feel sorry for her. No, actually, I take that back. I feel sorry for Rick. Poor guy. Oh, and of course I don’t mind that you spilled wine on her. I had a giggle when I saw you do it.”
Nicole chuckled. “Poor Rick. Oh well. If he wants to be with her, then that is his choice. Anyway, enough about Lara. I think the best thing we can do is to not think about her. Cass, the wedding has been amazing, by the way. Everything has been perfect. And…” she blushed.
“Jonny proposed,” I said.
She gasped. “How did you know?”
I giggled. “Sister’s intuition. Remember how you kept telling me that Houston and I were in love even before either of us would admit to it?”
“Yes, you guys were so obvious to me.”
“Well, it’s the same as that, I guess. I’ve been waiting for him to propose to you. That guy is so in love with you,” I told her. “And I couldn’t ask for a better guy for my sister. I definitely approve.”
She sighed happily. I was glad that my wedding day ended up being such a special day for her, too. “I’m so lucky to have him.”
“You are. But he’s just as lucky to have you.”
“I want a wedding just like this one,” she said.
I grinned. “I know. It’s been perfect, hasn’t it?”
We stood there looking out at the crowd and grinning from ear to ear. I pulled her in toward me.
“Thanks for always being there for me,” I said. “And for showing me how to dress.”
She laughed. “Nah, you’ve always looked good, Cass.”
Thirty-Nine
Houston
I noticed Lara storming off, a huge red patch on her white dress, and wondered what happened. Then I shrugged and turned my attention away from her. I actually didn’t care. I had been slightly worried when I saw her arrive at the wedding, as I had hoped that she wouldn’t be there, but thankfully her being there hadn’t put a damper on the wedding party at all. We’d been having far too much fun to let something like that worry us.
Cassidy seemed like a completely new person these days, and nothing like the woman from Lara’s wedding. She’d been so unsure of herself then, but now she never let anyone stand in her way. I loved her newfound confidence, and that she had finally found a way to love herself for who she was. I hoped that I played some part in the way she now felt about herself.
“Ah, I guess we need to make a toast to yet another fallen bachelor,” Joe and Brad said as the three of us stood together at the bar to have a drink.
I laughed. “You’ll see…you’ll follow shortly after me. That’s just how it goes. One falls down, and suddenly all his friends fall with him.” I wasn’t so sure about that, though. Joe had never seemed the type to settle down. Then again, I was starting to realize that not everyone was as they seemed in life. He probably just hadn’t found the right woman. When he met her, it would more than likely all happen as quickly as it did for me.
“Well, I did spot someone at the wedding to ask out, so I’m going to just do it. After this drink, though,” Joe said as he held up his drink and we all laughed.
“Really? Who?” I asked.
“Uh, I forgot her name. The blonde one in the red dress.”
I chuckled. “Okay, start by finding out what her name is and then maybe focus on asking her out.”
“Okay, name first, got it,” Joe said, and laughed.
“Do you remember how you told me that you wish you had your life as together as me?” Brad said.
I nodded. “Yeah, I remember.” I remembered a lot of things about that night, especially Brad telling me to go and talk to Cassidy and to go after what I wanted in life. Brad was a big reason that I was standing there today as a married man.
“Well, you’re the one that we’re all jealous of. I might have a great career, but I come home to a quiet house every night. You’ve got the life that we all want now. Make the most of it, okay? One day I hope to be as lucky as you are.”
I beamed at him. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I had always looked at Brad in that way, and now he was the one looking up to me. “Wow, thank you for saying that. I will definitely make the most of it. It’s not that tough with Cassidy, though. She’s the easiest person in the world to live with. I have to say; I’m sort of deliriously happy in a way that I had no idea was possible. I thought weddings were usually the end of something, but this just feels like the start of something better. And don’t you dare mock me. It’s my wedding day. I’m allowed to get sappy.”
“Permission granted just this once,” Joe said. “Anyway, I always knew you would end up with Cassidy.”
“What? No, you didn’t,” I said.
Joe laughed. “I did, actually. I told you that many years ago, back before the two of you even knew that you liked each other. You brushed it off, and I never mentioned it again. Turns out I was right all along. And I couldn’t have asked for a better girl for my best friend.”
“I should’ve listened to you from the start,” I said. I had no idea where Joe was getting his information from as I didn’t recall this from him, but I was glad that people were so pleased about Cassidy and I being together. “She’s an amazing girl.”
“Also, as a gift, I want you to stop by at the restaurant whenever you want. I’ll have the ultimate honeymoon meal for you. I’ll corner off a section that’s just for the two of you. I’ll make whatever meal you like. We can make a big, romantic thing of it.”
I grinned at Brad. “Thank you. That actually sounds like a wonderful idea. I promise this time that I won’t make a scene.”
He chuckled. “You know, that scene was good for business.”
“Seriously?”
He nodded. “Yep, people love having something to talk about. That’s why the two of you were always such a big hit. They hated you, and now they’ve all fallen in love with you. You’re the couple who proved that a happily ever after could exist.”
The wedding went on through the night, until eventually, the night came to a close. We’d danced a lot and laughed a lot, and everyone seemed to have had a wonderful time. I sidled over to Cassidy.
“Ready to go home?”
She smiled. “I’m ready. Let’s go and say thank you to your father.”
We found my father chatting happily to Cassidy’s parents. When we arrived, they turned to greet us with happy smiles, and I got the sense that they were all pleased with our choices. Cassidy’s parents told me that they couldn’t be happier that she had chosen me, and I already knew how much my father liked her.
“Look after our daughter,” her parents said to me. “We don’t live nearby, so it’s nice to know that she ha
s someone now to look after her. Although, she’s always been a tough girl.”
“Oh yeah, she doesn’t need anyone. I realize how lucky I am that she decided to share her life with me.”
“He makes the best coffee,” Cassidy pointed out.
Her father laughed. “Ah, you figured her out already. Provide her with strong coffee and surround her with horses, and you’ve got yourself a happy Cassidy.”
We made our way home, chuckling about what had happened with Lara and talking about how wonderful the evening had been. When we got home, I turned to look at her.
“Cass, did you want a big honeymoon? I know we said that we would rather stay here, but I want to make sure. If you want to go somewhere exotic like Hawaii or Mexico, then we must go.”
Cassidy shook her head. “No, I have no interest in traveling far. Maybe one day. Right now, I love my home, I love my husband, and I have everything that I want.”
Forty
Cassidy
“You know what part I was looking forward to the most tonight?” I said to Houston.
“The cake?” he suggested.
I chuckled. “Well, yes, the cake was amazing,” I said. After all, the cake had been made by my very talented sister, and she had outdone herself. It was the most beautiful cake I had ever seen, and it was so delicious that it got devoured within minutes of serving to everyone. She had already promised to make me another one, because I had hardly gotten any that night. But that wasn’t the part I was looking forward to the most. I smiled at him. “This. This is the part I was most looking forward to. The part we’re doing right now. When it was all over and I had you all alone. Can you believe that we’re married now?”
Houston grinned. “I’ve been dying to get you alone all evening. Exactly how tired are you, by the way?”
“Oh, I’m not tired at all. I have a renewed sense of energy now that we’re home. Why, what did you have in mind?” I asked teasingly.
