Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 70607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
"Okay," Presley says, coming over to me and pulling the veil over my head. "It's now or never," she says, and I glare at her. "Well, I can see she's ready to rumble." We share a look, and it calms me down for a bit, knowing that I have them in my corner.
I watch Presley walk down the aisle, and I breathe in and out. My hands are starting to shake, and I can see Travis look at me. "It's not too late."
"I have to do this, Travis," I whisper, putting my hand to my stomach, hoping to calm it down. "I just need you to promise me that you won't fly overboard."
"Me?" he hisses and then laughs. "You need to worry about Harlow."
"You told Harlow?" I gasp, my stomach flipping up and down, and my neck is suddenly getting hotter than normal.
"How the hell else was I supposed to get her grandfather's special sweet tea?" His eyebrows pinch together. "The day before your wedding? It had to be dire. You are just lucky that my in-laws are here and talked her down. If it was her cousins, he would have had a pike shoved up his ass and been a scarecrow on their farm." He shakes his head.
"Okay, you two," Mallory says, coming to us. "You can take your place now." She motions to us.
I nod at her and walk the three steps to stand in front of the two brown doors. I hear the music switch off and turn to Travis. "Don't forget to make sure Mom stays in her seat," I tell him through my veil, blinking the tears away because I refuse to look anything but stunning. I can cry by myself after this is done, but I will not shed one more motherfucking tear before then.
The sound of people getting up fills the silence, and then the piano starts, and I know we are about ten seconds from the doors opening. "Here we go," I say, and my stomach is in my throat.
The doors swing open, and I gasp when I see the decorations that my sisters planned. Big potted vases of flowers run down the aisle that is set up with gold chairs. "You want to stop?” Travis asks right before I take a step forward.
I don't look around at any other decorations, afraid that I'm going to fall over. I don't look at any of our guests who came all this way to see us get married. Instead, my eyes focus on Joseph who stands in his black tux with his hands folded in front of him. His blond hair is perfectly styled and pushed back as he smiles at me. I take a second to look beside him at Ace, who has tears in his eyes as he smiles at me and then leans over to say something to Joseph. I look down at my feet, blinking away the stinging of tears that want to come and take over. "You can do this," my head screams at me at the same time that my heart tells me, "Run."
My knees shake when we finally stop walking and face the altar. I turn to Travis exactly like we practiced, and he lifts the veil over my head. He has tears in his eyes, and I can't even imagine what he's feeling. I would never want to be in his shoes. Fuck, I don't even want to be in my shoes, let alone be a bystander waiting for it all to happen. He leans forward and kisses my cheek before turning and holding out his hand to shake Joseph's hand. "Thank you," Joseph says to him and then looks at me. "Hi." He smirks at me, and if I wasn't sure before if I shouldn't marry him, this should be a red flag. Who says hi when they first see their bride? I'll tell you who. No one.
"Hi," I say, smiling at him, and the anger fills the blood in my body. I turn to hand Clarabella my bouquet while Presley comes over and makes sure that everything is properly placed with my train.
"Dearly beloved," the priest starts, and all I can hear in my ears is the sound of my heart beating a million miles a minute. My stomach twists and turns, and I have no idea what the fuck is going on. I sit when I need to sit and stand when I need to stand, and the whole time, he holds my hand. I look down at his hand in mine, and everything in me wants to yank it away. But it's not time yet. "Joseph and Shelby, have you both come here freely?"
"We have," Joseph and I say at the same time. And I can see him look over at me from the side, but my head stares straight ahead.