When she thinks of Broken Hill lake, never will her first thought be of the flames creeping closer and closer. Never will she think of the unbelievable heat, and the way her throat dried up. From now on, when she thinks of Broken Hill lake, she’ll picture me. She’ll think of her wedding day. She’ll think of love and undeniable happiness.
The sun moves another inch towards the west and before I know it, Jesse is jogging back down the aisle with a cheesy as fuck grin, patting his breast pocket, and letting me know that he does, in fact, have the rings with him. He takes his place beside me, catches his breath, and claps me on the back.
The band gets into position and start playing.
The guys straighten themselves up, fixing their ties, and getting perfectly in line.
The crowd takes their seats, their soft murmurs hushing to silence.
This is it. My girl will be here soon.
My palms sweat and my heart begins thumping with a speed I didn’t know it was capable of.
I let out a breath.
I’ve never been more ready in my life.
Bring it the fuck on.
Chapter 8
The white limo pulls up near the top of the long aisle and it feels like forever until the door finally opens. One by one, girls in golden silk gowns step out of the limo, but as of yet, I haven’t seen the one in white.
Tora’s mom appears at the top of the aisle and before I know it, she’s making her way down and pulls me into a tight hug. “Congratulations,” she tells me before leaning across to Jesse and letting him know just how handsome he looks. Not a second later, she takes her seat and waits patiently for the wedding of the year to get started.
The music flows up the aisle and Courtney appears at the other end, clutching a bouquet of flowers with a beaming smile, lighting her face. Her eyes lock on mine before a silent message of ‘just wait until you see your bride’ passes between us. Her eyes flick towards Puck and in the next second, she takes her first step down the aisle, getting the show on the road.
Brylee appears next followed by Elle and they both make their way down the aisle, both looking just as beautiful as Courtney, but they’re not the ones I’m dying to see.
Appearing at the top of the aisle next is a pregnant Kaylah and the way the golden silk curves around her baby bump has Jesse losing his shit beside me. “Fuck me,” he breathes, taking her in.
Kaylah’s eyes raise from the ground and light up with joy as she looks at Jess, completely warming my heart. I love how they love each other. I couldn’t be happier for my little brother. Growing up, I always thought finding a girl who would be strong enough to handle his ridiculousness would be an impossible task, but once again, the little turd managed to prove me wrong.
Kaylah makes her way down the aisle and I watch Jess out the corner of my eye, physically forcing himself to remain still.
Kaylah takes her place beside the other girls and I turn my eyes back to the top of the aisle, silently hating that Tora has so many girlfriends. I mean, I’m more than ready to lay my eyes on my bride and it seems that gorgeous girls in golden silk just keep appearing.
Brooke steps up to the aisle, looking slightly different in a champagne gown as Tora’s maid of honor. In true Brooke fashion, she winks at Maxen and struts her way down the aisle. As she gets closer, he eyes lock on mine and she discreetly shakes her head. “I warned you,” she murmurs as she takes her place beside Kaylah.
“I stand by what I said,” I tell her. “It’s a risk I’m more than willing to take.” Brooke rolls her eyes, but she can’t remove the smile off her face.
When the music changes and the guests get to their feet, my eyes turn to the top of the aisle, not wanting to miss a damn second of this.
I watch the part of the limo that I can see and take in the white, flowing material, desperate to take a few steps to the side to get a better look. Tora’s dad appears first and when he takes one more step, Tora falls in beside him, clutching his arm, terrified that she might fall.
My heart stops.
She’s fucking radiant, but when she raises her head and those beautiful eyes meet mine, I think I die.
She’s perfection. No doubt about it.
Stunningly beautiful.
A smile cuts across her face and like an electric shock, my heart starts again. She takes in the setting before her and I watch as all her dreams come true. The sun is setting and the lanterns and fairy lights are giving off just enough light so that nobody has to strain to see.