Chapter 24

“Why did I let everyone talk me into a big wedding?” Reese groaned, sinking into a chair.

She smoothed out the front of her dress and the glittering pink diamond on her left hand caught her eye. She had never been big on jewelry, but the ring Sterling had picked out blew her away. She didn’t even notice it at first when he proposed, more distracted by the man himself.

Staci sat down on the nearby couch. “Seventy-five people is not a big wedding.”

“I wanted ten. Maybe fifteen,” Reese said. “Something intimate.”

“Even your families would have been more than fifteen people! This is a happy medium. It’s still you. And, at the end of the day, I think you’ll have a lot of something intimate.” Staci wiggled her eyebrows.

Reese laughed. “Truth. Maybe I’m just nervous. Not about marrying Sterling. Just about having to be on a stage for the most important moment of my life.”

“You’re not on a stage. You’ll be at the front of your church. With just family and some close friends supporting you.”

“On the stage.”

“You are impossible,” Staci said. “Just remember—this is you and Sterling. Let everything else fade away.”

Reese’s heart sped up and she couldn’t help but smile. “Okay, that’s easy. Everything fades away when I look at him anyway.”

“There you go. See? Everything will be fine.”

The door to the bride’s room opened and Reese’s older sister Rachel walked in, followed by Morgan and Sterling’s sister May. All of them wore dresses made of some kind of layered, gauzy material in various shades of pink. Reese had forgotten the name. Chiffon? These kinds of details were not her strength.

Though Rachel pitched a fit, Reese had asked Morgan to help with most of the planning, especially the styling and clothes. Rachel would have found some way to make the bridesmaids look like cotton candy, poufy and too sweet. Morgan found an affordable designer that let each woman pick her own style in the same fabric. Together, they looked fantastic, but it gave them each a little distinction. It had been Morgan who suggested that Reese wear a pink sash around the middle of her white dress. At first, Reese’s mother had protested, but everyone agreed that the pop of color suited her.

“Are you ready, little sis?” Rachel asked. “You look beautiful and the church is perfect. I had May help me double-check all the flowers.”

Rachel linked her arm through May’s, smiling. May nodded and smiled but gave Reese a look that pleaded for help. Because Reese hadn’t let Rachel help with as much of the planning, she let her sister have free reign over florals and a lot of the décor. Mostly because Reese did not care at all about flowers or what the reception looked like. She had requested pink and white and nothing too crazy. Which probably meant giant blooms everywhere.

“Thanks, Rachel. You’re a lifesaver. Where’s Mom?”

“Helping with Grandma. She said she and Dad would be here in just a few minutes. They were getting a few photos together.”

“Perfect. Hey, everybody, could I get a few minutes with May?” Reese asked.

“Let’s move, people,” Staci said. She ushered everyone toward the bigger, attached room where they had all gotten dressed.

Morgan squeezed Reese’s shoulder before she left. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks to you,” Reese said. They shared a smile and Reese was again thankful that they had remained friends after everything. Morgan had completely moved on with a guitarist in another band and had been nothing but supportive. Next to Staci, she had become Reese’s best friend.

May sat down on the couch where Staci had just been. “Thank you for rescuing me. Your sister is, um … ”

“Like a hurricane of energy and positivity?”

May laughed. “Something like that.”

“When they say everything’s bigger in Texas, they had Rachel in mind. She means well, but I know she can be a lot. Thanks for letting her drag you around.”

“I’ve learned a lot about different kinds of flowers,” May said. “And place settings. I’m sure that will come back to help me in life somehow.”

“Definitely. Lots of job potential when it comes to flowers and place settings.” Reese smiled and touched May’s hand. “I didn’t want to be too sappy, but I just wanted to say that I’m glad to be adding another sister to my life. I’m glad it’s you.”

May bit her lip and nodded, her eyes filling with tears. In the past six months since Sterling had proposed, Reese had only gotten a little time in with May. She and Sterling had planned the wedding date around her release from the recovery center, giving an extra month after so it wouldn’t be pushing May into an immediate change.

May looked even healthier than the last time Reese and Sterling had flown out to visit her. They had gone to Calming Waters a few times a month since their engagement. The first time, Reese had been incredibly nervous, but she and May hit it off right away. Sterling had come up with a way to add a third person to Double Solitaire, making it Triple Solitaire. It was a little awkward and they had to adjust seating a little, but it worked. May was as competitive as her brother and the games often ended in the three of them getting shushed by the staff at Calming Waters.

Each visit, May looked a little bit better. She had gained weight and her hair looked shinier and fuller, her skin clear and bright. Most of all, though, Reese could see it in her eyes. The first time they met, May still had a haunted and restless look about her. It eased over time and today she seemed like a different young woman. Free and light and beautiful.

“I don’t know what you want to do when you finish the course work for your diploma, but I want to remind you that you’re welcome to move out here with us. Sterling’s house, as you know, is ridiculous, and there is an apartment above the garage. If you want a job, Staci and I could totally train you for social media management. We’ve got clients coming out of our ears. You could start as a virtual assistant and work up. Totally up to you, but I want you to know that the offer is open.”

May squeezed her hand. “I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, but I appreciate it. I’ve given Mom such a hard time that I hate leaving her. Everyone else has, you know?”

Reese nodded. This was something Sterling told her that he had to work through. As he had been examining his life and his anger, he realized that he carried an enormous guilt for leaving his mother the same way his father had. Both Reese and his therapist had insisted that the way he left was not the same way his dad did, but Sterling still struggled with it.

“Sterling also offered for your mom to come here. Not live with us, though.” Reese laughed. “I like your mom, but I’m pretty sure I couldn’t live with her.”

May giggled. “I don’t blame you. I’ll think about all of it and talk to Mom. But thank you. You’re good for him, you know.”

Reese felt tears beginning. Exactly the reason Staci insisted she wear waterproof makeup. “We’re good together.”

It was true. Though the engagement had been quick and their relationship unconventional, Reese had continued to sense the peace and confirmation from God at every step in their relationship.

There was a knock at the door. May beamed. “That will be my brother. And it’s my cue to get out of here. You two may be good together, but sometimes you’re a little gross with all the love and happiness.”

“Thank you,” Reese said, giggling. She stood and hugged May, who went through the side door to join the other bridesmaids.

Sterling knocked again. “Do I need to worry about a runaway bride?” His voice was muffled through the door.

Reese stood just on the other side, her hand on the knob, heart beating madly. “I’m here,” she said. “Just a minute.”

Though she had always been against the idea of the groom seeing the bride before the ceremony, Reese had requested to have time with Sterling beforehand after seeing the guest list grow. She wanted something private between them, not in front of the whole church. The photographer waited on the other side of the door to get Sterling’s first reaction to Reese in her dress, but he would take a few shots and leave them alone.

“I’m going to open the door,” Reese said.

“I’ve got my eyes closed,” Sterling said.

The plan was for him to come inside, eyes closed, and let the photographer set up for a few shots. Having him there made Reese feel awkward, but she knew she would want a record of this moment later. She tried to remember Staci’s reminder: It’s just me and Sterling.

She opened the door. Sterling had a huge grin on his face with his eyes squeezed shut. Reese drew in a breath and heard the photographer clicking away. Sterling had never looked more attractive or so happy.

“Hey, there, handsome,” she said. She took his hand and pulled him into the room.

“You know that it’s not fair that you can see me right now and I have to keep my eyes closed,” Sterling said.

The photographer closed the door and nodded to Reese that he was ready. “You can open them,” Reese whispered.

Sterling opened his eyes slowly, as though just waking up. He met her gaze first, still grinning. Then he stepped back and took her in, his smile falling. Reese’s stomach fluttered, and she pressed her palm to it, feeling suddenly nervous. He didn’t speak. Did he not like the dress?

“Sterling?”

His eyes flew back to hers. They had tears poised to fall and his face held an intensity that she had never seen before. He stepped forward so quickly that Reese gasped. He cupped her face with his hands, his gaze intent on hers.

“You have never looked more beautiful,” he said. Reese closed her eyes as he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. It was barely more than a caress, a promise of things to come. When she opened her eyes, he was smiling. His gaze held so much love that it made her chest ache with longing.

“Thank you,” she said. The sound of a door closing startled her, but it was just the photographer leaving.

“Are you shaking?” His hands slipped from her face and wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. “Are you nervous? Do you have a fever? Are you okay?”

Reese was shaking. Her hands trembled, and she felt her whole body shudder once until it stilled in his warm embrace. “I think I’m just overwhelmed,” Reese said. “I’m not nervous now. You came in looking so serious and I was feeling anxious about being in front of all the people.”

Sterling pulled back enough that she could see his face. He smiled. “And people call me an introvert.”

“I know. It’s so silly.”

He placed a tender kiss on her forehead. “How you feel isn’t silly. It’s how you feel. Trust me when I say that while I’m looking forward to saying our vows in front of all those people, what I’m looking forward to most is being yours and yours alone.”

“You told me once that you weren’t good at these kinds of conversations,” Reese said. “I think you lied.”

“I’ve been practicing on this beautiful woman. How am I doing?”

She giggled. “Pretty good.”

“Pretty good? Just when I thought I was starting to win you over.”

“You won me over a long time ago, Sterling.”

His eyes lit up. “That reminds me. I have a gift for you.” He released her for a moment and crossed the room. Reese hadn’t even noticed a rectangular package tied up neatly with a bow. Sterling grinned sheepishly. “Morgan may have helped wrap this and sneak it in here.”

“You didn’t need to get me anything,” Reese said. “You already got me a ring and a honeymoon and so many things.”

“Will you please let me give you a gift? It’s the last gift you’ll get as my fiancée. Stop fighting it.”

Reese sighed and took the package. It felt solid, like a book. “You just want me to open it?”

Sterling touched her hand. “First, I want to say one more thing. Kind of by way of explanation.”

“I’m a little nervous about this gift if it needs an explanation.”

Reese looked up at Sterling, who was grinning again. He put his hands on her waist. “Reese, you have been the best kind of surprise. I didn’t think I would ever get married, to be honest. I didn’t expect to fall in love. Especially not with an overzealous, stalker fan.”

She rolled her eyes. “This again? Today? You have to bring this up today?”

“It’s part of the story where we first met. Sorry, my dear, but you won’t ever live this down. Anyway, you have surprised me every step of the way. I cannot imagine life going back to the way it was before, flat and without color. Will you open your gift?”

The smile felt like it would never leave her face. She tore open the wrapping paper, realizing what was inside the moment her fingers touched the picture frame. She began to laugh, even as he pulled her close, trapping her hands between them along with the autographed photo from the night they met.

Sterling’s lips brushed her ear as he spoke. Her heart swelled with love and joy.

“I never would have believed it at the time. Reese, you were so very right, and we are completely right together.”