Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 130673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Dylan squinted, reading the caption out loud. “‘My actual dream is to eat my weight in pasta alla ruota.’”
I raised my eyebrows meaningfully.
She laughed. “Rhyland, I’m supposed to get into a wedding dress next week for measurements.”
“And I’m supposed to pretend I don’t want as much of you as possible inside it?”
“That is a very kind way to tell me you’d love me in all sizes.”
“It’s the truth,” I said dryly. “And I want all your dreams to come true, so that’s where we’re going.”
But what Dylan didn’t know was that I was taking her to a restaurant downtown, where her brother would be waiting. Cal too. And Kieran. Her mom and Marty. Everyone.
She needed emotional support on this first day of Gravity going to school, so I’d set it up for her.
As it turned out, it was my shitty upbringing that drove me to want better for my own family. With us, things would be different. We would give our kids all the love and attention they needed and spare some for any friends who might have it tough at home too.
When Gravity came back from school, she’d have all her family celebrating this new milestone in her life.
“I can’t believe you took some time off and we’re not spending it having sex,” Dylan sulked.
At least I’d gotten her to stop crying about Gravity.
“Can we at least have a quickie in the restaurant’s restroom?”
“Not if you don’t want me and your brother to kill each other,” I muttered.
“Hmm?”
“Nothing.” I grabbed Dylan’s hand across the central console and brought her knuckles to my lips, kissing them softly. “Behave, Cosmos.”
“Make me,” she challenged, grinning.
I made a pit stop at our apartment, leaving everyone to wait for us, and I did.
DYLAN
The wedding day…
Rhyland Coltridge posted a picture.
Dylan_loves_Rhyland4ever commented: Gorgeous suit xo
Rhyland Coltridge commented: It’s chewable
Dylan_loves_Rhyland4ever commented: One day our child is going to see all this and need intense therapy.
Rhyland Coltridge commented: Nah. We’re raising the standard for her. That’s our moral duty. Can’t wait to marry you, Cosmos.
Dylan_loves_Rhyland4ever commented: Can’t wait to marry you, hot stuff.
TheRealKieranCarmichael commented: Last chance to make a run for it and marry me, Dyl. Just sayin’.
Rhyland Coltridge commented: I’m going to snap both your legs and make chopsticks out of them.
TheRealKieranCarmichael commented: was worth a shot.
“Holy shit, Dyl, this dress.” Cal cupped her mouth, staggering backward in my bridal suite.
“Christ almighty.” My mother made a cross sign with her fingers. “Goodness me.”
“You look…” Cal started.
Hideous?
Awful?
Ridiculous?
There was no way to sugarcoat it. The dress was objectively atrocious. They’d had a good amount of time to get used to it, but they never had.
There was a lot of puffiness—enough to make the bottom part look like a never-ending mountain of whipped cream. I’m talking layer upon layer of nausea-inducing foam. When you got to the upper part, it didn’t get any better. The strapless satin bust was fine, but I’d insisted on puffy lace sleeves, traditional tulle, and a huge pearl necklace. I looked completely over-the-top, but this was the wedding dress I’d wanted when I was a small child, and I’d decided to make all this girl’s dreams come true.
That could also explain my dubious choice of having a donut wall, pink flowers only, a pastel color scheme, and a champagne fountain.
A refined wedding, it was not. But a fun one, it surely would be.
“I know, right?” I twirled around in my wedding dress, taking a sip of my champagne. “I look outlandish.”
“I think you look like the most beautiful bride ever!” Gravity exclaimed loudly, sending Auntie Cal and my mother intense warning glares. “When I grow up, I want to get married in the same dress.”
“No,” Mama and Cal said in unison. We all laughed.
Gravity shook her head, leaning down to polish her cowgirl boots.
Oh yeah. I almost forgot. I decided it wasn’t only my dream that would be fulfilled today. My daughter was given full and complete control over her outfit. She’d promptly decided she wanted to dress like Uncle Bruce.
Yup. The wedding was a hot mess. But hot messes were the best kind of fun.
“Do you need anything?” Cal squeezed my shoulder, and for the first time in a long time, I thought to myself, No. I don’t. Everything I need, I already have.
“I’m okay, thanks.” I squeezed her hand on my shoulder with a smile. “When am I due to come out?”
“Not for another half an hour,” my mother assured me, fixing the top of her fancy hat. She too had gotten to fulfill her dreams today—Rhyland had restored her vintage car, the first she’d ever owned in America, and she and Marty had driven here in it. “You have time, cara. Do you want me to bring you anything to eat?”
I shook my head. “I’m not hungry.”
There was a knock on the door.