Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 111400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 446(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111400 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 446(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
“You really as calm as you seem?” I asked Griffin as we walked along the shoveled path.
“Yeah, I really am.” Even he sounded a little surprised. “Proposing to her was a way bigger deal. I was a fucking wreck that day. This feels like a formality.”
“I get that,” I said, again recalling my own experience.
Griffin glanced at me—he knew what I was thinking. “How about you? You holding up okay?”
“Yeah. I’m not really thinking about the past today.” And I wasn’t—not the way he meant.
“Good.” He put an arm around me. “Because I happen to think the future could be pretty fucking awesome if you’d let it.”
He made it sound so simple, and maybe it was.
I knew what I wanted.
And I knew what I had to do to get it.
Fourteen
Cheyenne
It was time.
The guests were all seated. The barn was lit by candles and party lights. The music had started.
Griffin and Blair had wanted a small wedding to begin with, and the weather had also prevented a couple dozen people from being there, so the occasion seemed even more intimate. Half the barn was set up with round tables of ten for the reception, and the other half had rows of chairs on either side of a short aisle. At the head of the aisle, beneath a trellis hung with evergreen boughs and more white lights, my brother waited for his bride. Behind him stood his three best friends—Cole, Enzo, and Beckett, just like always.
From the back of the room, I watched Alexis and then Frannie make their way up the aisle, their long ruby-red dresses a dramatic splash of color amid so much white. When April signaled it was my turn, I turned and gave Mariah and Blair one last smile, tears in my eyes. “Here we go,” I whispered.
Mariah beamed. “Here we go.”
Blair smiled, radiantly beautiful, in a strapless gown fit for a princess. Her hair was pulled back from her face but loose around her shoulders, and she carried a bouquet of jewel tone roses, emerald greens, and eucalyptus. Beside her, eighty-something Charlie Frankel looked as dapper as I’d ever seen him, and as proud to have Blair on his arm as a father would be. He gave me a wink.
“Okay, Cheyenne,” whispered April. “Now.”
I walked slowly, clutching my bouquet of greens, breathing deeply, smiling widely, and trying desperately not to cry. Meeting my brother’s eyes didn’t help, because I saw that his were shining too. Then I looked at Cole—his eyes were dry, but I could see he was emotional too. He touched his heart for a moment. My throat grew tight and I felt a little dizzy. With tears blurring my vision, I walked a little faster, and took my place near Frannie.
Next came Mariah, smiling brightly, her joy and pride evident with every step. Her dress was a deep blue velvet and brought out the color of her sapphire eyes, which she’d inherited from her dad. But I could see her mom in her face too, and I wondered if Cole was struggling at all today, grappling with memories or ghosts.
As Mariah reached the front of the room, everyone rose, and a reverent murmur floated through the air as Blair made her way toward Griffin on the arm of her surrogate grandad. There may have been only forty or so guests, but every single one of them had to feel choked up as they watched Griffin behold his bride for the first time and wipe his eyes, and Charlie Frankel kiss Blair on the cheek before shaking Griffin’s hand. Once Charlie was seated, Blair and Griffin stood side by side, and the officiant stepped forward.
I held back sobs all the way through the ceremony, dabbing at my eyes several times during the vows, letting a few tears fall during a moment of silence for my father and all the other loved ones we wished were here, and finally weeping openly when Griffin kissed the bride and the officiant proudly pronounced them “Mr. and Mrs. Dempsey.”
The entire place erupted in applause and whistles and shouts, and as the speakers blasted “Jackson” by Johnny and June Carter Cash, Blair and Griffin began to dance back down the aisle.
Since it was unexpected, I was laughing when Cole took my arm, and we followed behind the jubilant new Mr. and Mrs. Dempsey.
“They did it,” I said, my heart pounding.
“They did it.”
With his eyes still on me, he stumbled. “Shit—sorry.” Recovering his footing, he held my arm a little tighter. “Guess I need to look where I’m going. But it’s hard to take my eyes off you.”
“Thank you,” I said, feeling heat in my cheeks.
“Listen, maybe we can talk later. I know it’s kind of chaotic tonight, but there’s something I want to—”
“Chey!” Blair squealed, rushing over to hug me. “It’s done! We’re sisters!”