Chapter Twenty-Six
It was my wedding day, and I should have been excited, but I wasn’t. No matter how hard Nikki and Sasha tried, I could barely keep the frown off my lips.
“You look so pretty,” Mikey said to me.
This did make me smile. My mother declined our last-minute invitation to the wedding. She hasn’t given a reason, but I knew from Mikey it was because she didn’t approve. He’d said she looked up Marco on the internet. I’d blanched at that worried that Mikey would have found out information about my future husband that no kid should know.
He had, but he thought it was awesome. I rolled my eyes at that one. Marco and Mikey had barely interacted, but my soon to be husband had left an impression on my little brother.
“Thanks, kiddo.” I reached out and ruffled his hair. His nurse was attending with us. His disease had progressed to the point where he struggled to walk too far, so she’d volunteered to wheel him around for the day.
Surpringly, he hadn’t fought her on it. Mikey was smitten with the pretty nurse who was now one of his primary caregivers. I had to hand it to Marco, he was smart. He knew exactly how to play people, so that they would do what he wanted. That thought made me frown.
“You okay?” Nikki asked. She was dressed in a beautiful blush silk gown, which highlighted her dark, red hair. Briefly, I wondered where Sasha managed to get a perfectly fitting designer dress on such short notice. “Ivy?” Nikki tapped me on the shoulder. “You with us?”
“Sorry. Was lost in thought.”
Nikki’s eyes grew concerned. I didn’t blame her. This morning, I’d called and asked if she would be my Maid of Honor for a wedding, tonight. She agreed without a single minute of hesitation. But I could see the questions lingering in her gaze.
“I wonder what Marco is doing?” Mikey asked. He’d been chomping at the bit to go and see Marco. I chuckled. I knew that Marco would have gladly embraced Mikey. They’d only met once, but he’d been kind to my brother, and he’d made it clear that he was fine with Mikey’s presence.
“He’s probably at the altar,” Sasha said. She looked at the thin Cartier watch on her wrist. I’d been fine with Sasha being part of the wedding party, but she’d said that her job was to ensure that the wedding went off without a hitch. “You ready to walk your sister down the aisle, little guy?”
Mikey perked up. “Ready!” he chirped. His cheeks were flushed with excitement, and though I wasn’t sure how I felt about marrying Marco, I was grateful for this moment, mostly for Mikey.
It had been a long time since he was excited as he looked right now. And he was so handsome in his tuxedo.
“Are you sure you feel okay enough?” I asked him. I didn’t know how long the aisle was, but I knew that Mikey struggled walking more than a few feet without support.
He leveled me with an irritated look. “I’m fine.”
I raised my hands up in surrender. “Okay,” I muttered. “Just checking.”
Mikey scowled, and I immediately felt bad. Like most men, he didn’t want to look weak around others. He was getting older, and I knew that he was going to be pissed at me for treating him like a little boy instead of a teen. I sighed. Men, no matter the age, were so sensitive.
“Well,” Sasha said, “we should get this show on the road. We don’t want to be late.”
My chest tightened as Sasha thrust a bouquet into my hands. It was a lovely bunch of flowers. White roses, hydrangeas, and eucalyptus. Everything was lovely. Sasha and Dom had really done a wonderful job.
Nikki grabbed my train. “Are you ready?” she asked.
My mouth was so dry that my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, so I nodded. I looked over at Mikey, who was getting to his feet with the help of the nurse. Standing in his tux, he looked every inch the young man, and for a moment, a deep sadness came over me.
Tears sprang to my eyes, and I did everything I could to blink them back. “Oh, Ivy,” Sasha said. She reached out and gathered me in her arms. She pressed her cheek to my ear, so that I was the only one who could hear her. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
Her words were surprising. Sasha was the most excited out of everyone for Marco and I to be married. “I swear that I’ll make sure that nothing happens to you if you want to leave.” The words were similar to what Alex said, and they gave me pause.
“I’m fine,” I said, pulling away from Sasha’s tight squeeze. “Just feeling emotion.”
Sasha’s blue eyes examined me, and I could tell that she wasn’t as happy as she was pretending to be, but much like Alex, if I wasn’t going to leave, she wasn’t going to drag me out.
My hands tightened around my bouquet, and I took a deep breath as I prepared myself to walk down the aisle. Once I did, I was sealing my fate.
“Here.” Mikey extended his arm out to me. “Lean on me.” His voice was so serious, and I couldn’t stop the smile from forming on my face. My little brother was so kind. Despite everything the world had thrown at him, he was the best person that I knew.
I looped my arm through his carefully. “I love you,” I told him. “And I hope that you know that my marriage doesn’t change anything. Just like I told you the night that I left, I’m still your sister, and that’s not going to change.”
Mikey smiled at me. “You don’t have to give up your entire life for me.” His words were solemn even though he looked happy. “I’m not going to be around forever, ya know.”
His words cut me to the core, and I almost stopped breathing. I squeezed him lightly. Mikey was my anchor. He was the reason I was doing this. One day, I was going to watch him walk down the aisle, even if I had to sell my soul to do it.
“Don’t let me fall,” I joked.
Mikey laughed, but he gave me a serious look. “I’ve got you.” And even though he was my little brother, I knew that he did have me. We had each other. Always.