Willow and I stepped out onto the sidewalk and she grabbed my hand again, pulling me through the front doors. My head swiveled this way and that as I struggled to take in the hotel’s opulence, wanting to commit as much of it to memory as possible. I didn’t know when I would get another chance to do so. The fact that I was even inside the building was a dream come true.
Willow stopped in front of the elevator and we stepped inside. She punched the button for the fourth floor and swayed back and forth on her heels as we ascended.
“When are you going to tell me what the surprise is?”
I was starting to get impatient now. This whole journey had been overwhelming to say the least, and I feared that my imagination was going to make a fool out of me if I didn’t put a stop to it soon. Visions of Max in a black tux, waiting downstairs by an altar wrapped in golden vines danced through my head.
“The thing about surprises is that you find out when you’re supposed to find out,” she said. “And not a second before.”
I groaned, “You’re killing me.”
“Well you’re going to love me in a minute, so I wouldn’t say anything you’ll regret.” She winked.
The doors slid open and Willow grabbed my hand again, practically bounding down the corridor. She lurched to a stop in front of one of the rooms, digging in her purse and producing a keycard. After unlocking the door, she thrust it open dramatically and all but pushed me inside.
My confusion churned, turning into something else. Disbelief. Excitement. Anxiety.
I wanted to believe that the scene in front of me was real, but I was afraid that if I did it would all disappear into a gust of smoke.
Paulina Westfield was lounging on a chaise by a long, sun-soaked window overlooking the opposite hotel. She had a glass of champagne in one hand, and she used the other to beckon me closer.
It wasn’t Paulina that had me so concerned, though. It was the garment rack positioned next to her, or rather the white gown hanging from it.
I rushed forward, not even saying a word of greeting to Paulina before my hands clutched at the lace and silk dream in front of me.
“Oh my God...” I ran my palms down the length of it, smooth beading gliding over my skin. “This is... this is my wedding dress.”
The words didn’t even start to sink in until a few seconds after I’d said them. So, I said them again.
“This is my wedding dress!”
Not only did I now understand that all this cloak and dagger nonsense had been to surprise me with my dream wedding in my dream venue, but this was also my dream wedding dress. A sweetheart neckline, lace cap sleeves, and a tight-fitting bodice with an A-line skirt. Pnina Tornai. Expensive as hell.
It was my dress. The dress I never thought I’d end up owning, but had salivated over anyway, because it was something to do.
“We had to conference with the Pnina ourselves,” Paulina drawled, rising to her feet. “It was not easy to get it done in such a condensed amount of time, so if it doesn’t fit properly, I’m afraid it will have to do.”
“Have to do?” I repeated, turning to her with wide eyes. “I would walk down the aisle in this dress even if it was so tight I couldn’t move. This is incredible!”
I flung my arms wide and gathered Paulina into a massive hug before she had a chance to scuttle away. She weakly embraced me, taking a sip of champagne over my shoulder.
I released her and turned to Willow, who’d followed me into the room and was now standing just behind me.
“You did this? I’m confused.”
“I did nothing,” Willow said. “Except provide a little expertise where I could. And kidnap you today, obviously.” She smiled, “It was all Max, Em. He found your Pinterest board.”
“That boy is a hopeless romantic,” Paulina said, airily. “He gets it from his mother of course.”
My chest bubbled with excitement. I still couldn’t believe all this was happening. Even though the facts and proof were in front of me, I half-expected Max to be missing in action by the time I got downstairs.
“You need to start getting ready,” Willow said. “I just texted the stylists and told them to come up. You should probably go hop in the shower.”
“This is happening now?” I asked. “Like today?”
I didn’t know why they would pull me in here with so much drama if it were happening tomorrow, but it was still too surreal for me to digest.
All the feelings that I’d been trying to suppress for Max burst in my chest like fireworks. Tears sprang to my eyes and Willow wrapped me into a hug before I started blubbering like a crazy person right in front of my soon-to-be husband’s mother.
“If you want this, it’s happening now,” she murmured, rubbing my back. “But you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”
She was confusing my crying for hesitation, which was understandable. But the second I realized that it was the day of my wedding, I knew there was no place I’d rather be.
“No. I want to be here,” I told her. “Now let go of me. There’s a lot of work to do, and if I’m getting married today, I’m gonna need some time to shave my legs.”
Chapter 33
Emma
Max had tailored almost every detail of this day to my fantasy design. The hairstylist already knew what I wanted for my hair, the make-up artist already knew what I wanted for my face, and the only thing that seemed to be missing was the groom. I hadn’t seen Max in over a week. Outside of my dreams, anyway. Part of me kept wondering if this was all another dream, a big cosmic joke that I’d wake up from… back in my little bed in my little apartment that I was going to lose soon because the only job interview I’d managed to score turned out to be fake.
Then I’d reach over and run my fingertips over the dress, and I’d feel how the textures swirled together, just like I knew they would when I looked at the pictures.
Though Max had gotten every detail perfectly right, the one thing I hadn’t planned for my wedding was being rushed. I felt like my hair and make-up were being perfected by forces of nature, not by two women wielding hair spray and blush.
Being rushed ended up being a good thing. At first it was a little overwhelming, but I soon found I didn’t want to wait any longer to see Max. Knowing he was downstairs waiting for me was torture.
“What did he say to you?” I asked Willow, as she inspected her maid of honor dress in the full-length mirror.
A pained expression crossed her face. “I don’t think I’m supposed to say anything. I know there’s a lot that he wants to tell you and I don’t want to ruin it.”
My heart picked up even faster, something that I hadn’t thought possible.
“Wait.” I put out my hand to stop Megan, the hair stylist, midway through braiding a section of my hair. She moved to the side to allow me to see Willow properly, and I skewered my best friend with my best hard gaze. “He’s not just doing this because he thinks it’s the only way to get me back, is he?”
Willow’s mouth flopped open and my heart sank. I hadn’t considered this possibility until now, because I was so high on the fantasy of my dream wedding, but my dream wedding would be a nightmare if the groom didn’t want to get married at all. And why would Max have a sudden change of heart on one of his key issues?
God no. My stomach surged up my throat and I felt like I was going to puke.
“Calm down, darling,” Paulina purred.
She was back to reclining on the chaise, holding her champagne flute aloft and looking for all intents and purposes like an ancient Greek goddess.
“I can assure you that my son is not a man who would enter into something as serious as a marriage without thinking it through. He just wouldn’t do it.” She took a sip of her drink, smacking her lips dramatically. “I had a similar thought, you know, and I interrogated him. I can assure you his desires are quite genuine in nature.”
This. This was what I needed to hear today.
My heart swelled, and the final piece of
my dream wedding—an enthusiastic, loving groom—fell into place.
“Let’s do this.”
It was amazing to think how long I’d been planning the details of this wedding. My Pinterest board was full of ideas for center pieces, chair covers, even place settings. I’d spent hours browsing and organizing for a wedding that I half-expected never to occur.
If it did happen, I figured as I planned, each of these minute details would shine like a beacon to me on the actual day. I would traipse down the aisle feeling accomplished, like I’d done a good job of preparing a slideshow presentation or thrown a good party.
One thing I’d never planned for, never anticipated, was forgetting that any of those details existed, which is exactly what happened to me the moment the doors to the ceremony space swung open to admit me.
It didn’t matter that the roses were the right shade of cream, or that the chairs were perfectly arranged in rows of eight on either side of the aisle. It didn’t matter that Max’s tux had sprigs of baby’s breath in his pocket that matched my bouquet. None of it mattered a lick.
The only thing that mattered wasn’t a thing at all, but a man. He was tall, broad, and had a grin that could disarm a ticking bomb. His eyes were the blue of rolling waves, and every time I looked into them I risked getting lost. And sometimes I hoped I would.
And this man, this beautiful person who had helped lift me out of a funk I’d been swirling in for years, was now waiting for me at the end of the carpeted aisle. And it was our wedding day.
It could have been on a beach in Mexico or in a crappy twenty-four-hour chapel in Vegas. It could have been on the back of a camel somewhere in the middle of the desert. The moment my eyes landed on him I no longer cared where the damn wedding was held or what kind of flowers were in the centerpieces. More than anything, I just wanted Max for the rest of my life.
Everyone stood as I walked through the door. I was surprised to see how many people Max had managed to corral on such short notice. Half of the office was here, as well as a fair few unfamiliar faces who I assumed were Westfield family friends.
What surprised me the most was the two familiar faces from the front row, both staring at me, teary-eyed. My parents. How had Max found my parents?
One of the things that had never featured into my wedding planning was my family. I never intended to have my father walk me down the aisle, and had no dress picked out for the mother of the bride. Max knew that, but he’d invited them here anyway. I wouldn’t have, but now that I was seeing them for the first time in years, I was able to see through all the manipulation and bad feelings. I was grateful they were here. I didn’t know how much longer we could go on like this, with me pretending that the whole state of Illinois didn’t exist and that I’d sprung from the dirt instead of from my mother’s womb.
It was time to forgive them. Maybe not today, but sometime soon. Today was my wedding day, though, and everything between us needed to be cast aside.
“Hey beautiful.”
I was still standing in the doorway, clutching my bouquet in a death grip as I absorbed everything going on around me.
Max was holding a microphone now, his other hand thrust casually in his pants pocket.
“Hey,” I replied weakly.
“I’m glad you could make it.”
“I wasn’t going to miss my own wedding, was I?”
Everyone laughed.
Max’s eyes twinkled. “Before you walk down that aisle and make me the luckiest man in the world, I wanted to say a couple things. I know the speeches are generally after the ceremony, but we’re not exactly doing things by the book here, are we?”
More laughter from the crowd. I giggled. This hadn’t been part of my wedding plan either, but so far I liked it.
“I’m not the kind of guy who connects with people easily,” Max began. “I tend to form very surface level attachments, which is something that has vexed my mother to no end in my lifetime, but never really bothered me. I never thought I’d be standing where I am now based purely on the fact that I didn’t think I could be with anyone long term. I didn’t think I had it in me.”
He smiled, and my belly filled with warmth. His eyes held my gaze while he spoke, and the other people in the room seemed to just fade away.
“Then you came along, Emma. You intrigued me from the moment I first laid eyes on you, from the moment I first talked to you. You challenged me, challenged everything I thought I knew about myself. But I didn’t adapt fast enough and I nearly lost you. I did lose you, I suppose, even though I knew that it would only be temporary, because I would do anything to be with you. So I started planning.” He gestured around him, at the decorations and the guests. “I brought your dream wedding to life. I knew how much the vision in your head meant to you, and I was more than happy to draw it into real life. This wedding is a gift for you, Emma. The woman I love. The woman I would do anything to protect, and who I will cherish for the rest of my life.” He grinned. “And while yes, this wedding is a gift to you, the honor of getting to call you my wife...” His eyes narrowed on mine. “That’s my gift to me. I love you.”
The room erupted into applause. I realized my cheeks were wet with tears and I wiped them away, laughing at how ridiculous the whole situation felt.
“I love you too,” I mouthed over the din. He stared at me, smiling, and handed the microphone back to the officiator. With a flick of his wrist, the band in the corner struck up the Wedding March.
I put one foot in front of the other, closer with every step to the man of my dreams and the life I could have never dreamed I would have.
Things were starting to wind down on the dance floor, with only a few couples left swaying, including my husband and me.
My husband.
Me, Emma Westfield. My husband, Maximilian Augustus Westfield. Together we were the Westfields. I still wasn’t over it, and might never be. Good thing I had the rest of my life left to adjust to the change.
“What’s on your mind,” Max murmured into my ear as we swayed across the dance floor. “You’re being very quiet.”
“I’m just enjoying the moment.” I leaned against his chest, my forehead resting just under his shoulder. I felt so safe in his arms, so secure. Not just physically, either. It was like his scent wrapped me in some unseen barrier that separated me from the rest of the world. When I was with Max, I was free.
“So, how’d I do?” He leaned back and tipped up my chin with his hands, forcing me to meet his eyes. His lips were turned up ever-so-slightly because he already knew he’d done an amazing job. Jennifer Lopez had nothing on him when it came to wedding planning.
“It was everything I dreamed it to be, and yet not at all what I pictured,” I replied.
A troubled frown marred his handsome features. “That’s a good thing, right?”
I laughed, “Yes. It’s a good thing…a very good thing.”
He released my chin and folded me back against his chest.
“Good.”
We continued to sway, letting the music carry us around the floor. I never wanted the moment to end. Tonight had been perfect, even if I’d had an unanticipated conversation with my parents that I had to get through. It had gone better than I imagined it would, and for the first time in years I began to think that maybe we could have some sort of relationship going forward. The reception dinner was delicious and fun, with both Willow and Jeremy giving speeches that had me in tears. And now, tired but happy, I was ready for whatever the rest of my life wanted to throw at me.
Max’s chest rumbled and I looked up at him questioningly to find the source of his laughter. His attention was fixed somewhere behind me, and I craned my neck to see what it was.
“They’re getting very cozy,” Max commented lowly.
Jeremy and Willow were dancing at the other end of the floor. Her arms wound around his neck while his circled her waist, and the position was so intimate that I began to wonder if the wedding wasn’t the only thing Willow kept from m
e these past few weeks.
I turned back to Max and grinned. “When the hell did that happen?”
He shrugged his burly shoulders and spun me. “I don’t know. Crazier things have happened, I suppose.”
“Thank you for today, Max. I don’t know if I’ve said that yet. Or enough.”
“No, babe, thank you.” He kissed my forehead. “I’m just glad I get to keep you forever.”
“I mean it.” I caught his gaze. “You didn’t have to invite my parents or make your mom get ready with me or any of that. I appreciate it.”
His eyes crinkled with warmth. “I’m glad you liked it. I tried to invite Lance, but he didn’t show for some reason.”
I laughed and punched him in the arm. “You scoundrel.”
“Your scoundrel,” he corrected.
And my scoundrel he was and would always be. A scoundrel who wore business suits, but occasionally threw punches, who was completely inappropriate in the workplace, but always seemed to do the right thing.
A scoundrel who stole my heart with an easy smile and a bucketful of innuendo.
My scoundrel.
Chapter 34
Max
I was beginning to see the appeal of weddings. I already saw the appeal of marriage, and would never regret the vows I made today. Weddings, on the other hand, had always seemed a concept that was a bit over the top to me. They were expensive and seemed pointless for anything other than overindulging and rubbing one’s wealth in the face of another. But, I’d never been to a wedding quite like my own, so filled with love and happiness. The ones I went to were usually dull affairs with society people I had no interest in, and who had even less interest in each other.
But this, this was perfection.
The lights, the atmosphere, the beautiful blushing bride. I wished I could relive it over and over again.
But if I relived it over and over again, I would never get to the real fun part of the evening, which was where we were headed now.
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