“Oh honey, you look so handsome.” My mom came over as soon as the guys and I found our spots up front, squeezing my cheek between her index finger and thumb. “I wish your dad could have made it to see you. I’m sure he’s so disappointed that he’s missing this. I’ll be sure to send him some pictures on my phone after the ceremony is over.”
Since we had set the wedding up sort of last minute, my dad couldn’t wrangle his schedule around enough to where he could make it. I knew how bad he felt, and yeah it was a little weird that he wasn’t there for my wedding day, but I understood. If he could have made it happen, he would have. That was just the kind of man he was.
“Thanks Mom, you look beautiful as always. I’m sure there will be plenty of pictures for dad, but I know it won’t be the same. I think he’ll appreciate it if you send him some pictures right away; that’s nice of you.”
“I’m sure and trust me, like I said I’ll make sure there are plenty of pictures. It’s not every day my baby boy gets married. Now, I’m going to go check on the little ones again. They’re getting a little anxious. Belle probably won’t have any rose petals left by the time she makes it down the aisle, and Caleb is wiggling around like a little worm. I really don’t think we want to be searching through the sand for wedding rings. Love you, honey.”
I laughed at the picture my mom had just painted of my youngest sister and Caleb, sounded just about right, even though the whole ring thing made me a little nervous. “Love you too, Mom.”
“Oh and by the way,” she leaned up on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear, her eyes twinkling. “Leah looks gorgeous. I can’t wait till you see her; you’ll be over the moon.”
My smile grew even wider, just thinking about Leah. I already knew how gorgeous she was, even when she rolled straight out of bed, grumpy as hell. I think that really was my favorite time of day.
I took a deep breath as I watched my mom disappear back inside. Mark and Teddy were making small talk with the minister that the resort provided, but I really wasn’t hearing much. Instead, I was running and rerunning over the vows that I had prepared in my head.
When I had first brought up the idea of writing our own vows, Leah freaked out a little bit. She had said that just because I had an English degree, didn’t mean she had a way with words, too. Then I suggested I just write one set of vows and we would repeat them to each other, and that seemed to ease her down a little bit.
Now I was sort of rethinking it. My palms were sweating and it wasn’t from the balmy heat. My stomach was twisted in knots and I kept feeling the urge to vomit rise up in my throat. I hoped that she liked them, that I didn’t screw them up, or worse, my mind completely go blank.
Teddy nudged me in the side with his elbow, interrupting the whirlwind of words running through my head that I was repeating over and over again. I was even more nervous than I realized. “We’re getting ready to start, dude. You’re about ready to have an old ball and chain. I gotta say though yours is pretty hot, if you ever get sick of her-”
“Teddy, shut it,” Mark interrupted harshly. “Are you really going to do this on Chase’s wedding day? You might think it’s funny, but it’s not. We all know Leah would never give you the time of day anyway.” Mark smirked at Teddy who just rolled his eyes and they both stepped back into place beside me.
My eyes drifted back to the end of the makeshift aisle in the sand, when the soft sounds of ‘Over the Rainbow,’ the ukulele version, started to play. I had considered playing this on the guitar as Leah walked down the aisle, but now I was glad I didn’t. My hands were so sweaty they would have slid right off the strings.
One by one my sisters filed down the aisle, all beaming with smiles, followed by my mom and Chris. Belle came next, dressed in a white tutu, skipping down the aisle, arm in arm with Caleb. Those two were always inseparable. Caleb was gripping the ring pillow tightly against his chest, so I guessed he had been given a warning or two from my mom. Those could be scary.
He smiled wide when he saw me and picked up his pace, coming to stand right next to me for the ceremony just like we planned. I ruffled his curls that were so much like his sister’s, but my hand stopped after I caught a glimpse of Leah who was behind Ally and Remy.
The white dress she had on was simple, but stunning, playing off the darkness of her skin even more than usual and just skimming her bare ankles. Her dark curls fell past her shoulders, just brushing the middle of her back and I just wanted to run down the aisle to scoop her up and never let go. She was absolutely…breathtaking.
Her gray eyes were wide when our gazes finally met. I was expecting her to be nervous. I knew how she was when it came to these kind of things and truthfully I was surprised we had made it this far. But her eyes weren’t filled with fear, instead they looked glossy with unshed tears and her full lips were curved into a smile about as wide as mine.