Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79969 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79969 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
So much about this seemed odd to me.
But then again, it was odd to think that the woman I had loved damn near since the moment I met her was marrying someone else, so I was choosing not to over-analyze the strangeness I felt around me.
Like how the guest sign-in table was what one could only call hipster-rustic-chic with aged wood, up-cycled picture frames with images of the happy couple, mason jar candles, and a chalkboard.
Sure, the word 'chic' fit Jules, but the woman had never been a fan of anything rustic.
A compromise, maybe?
I stared down at the book where I was meant to spill my heart, give them my blessings, and my throat was in a vice grip.
Because if I poured out my heart, all that would be on the page would be Marry me instead.
With a grip firm enough to snap the pen, I wrote all I could.
Best wishes - Kai.
Because no matter what, that was true. I would never wish anything for her but the best.
"Do you need some help with that?" Sloane's voice called to me from my side, making me turn to find her in an ice-blue summer dress, making her hair and skin pop, standing beside Gunner who looked out of place in a suit, no matter how many times I had seen him in one before.
I would normally have smiled at the fact that his tie matched her dress perfectly, but my lips couldn't find the energy to curve up.
"With what?"
"Your tie," she explained, reaching out, twisting it into place with expert fingers. "What's in the box?" she asked, motioning to the white and gold wrapped present in my hand.
She had a registry.
I was supposed to buy off that.
I was supposed to get them something to start their lives off with.
Plates. Serving dishes. Nut bowls.
I couldn't bring myself to do it.
"Snowglobe," I told her, shrugging it off. Everyone knew Jules collected them.
I left out the details.
Like the fact that it was of the Edinburg Castle.
Like it was from Ireland, the place she had always wanted to visit.
Like the piece itself was called Forever In My Heart - a fact that not a soul would ever learn. It could be my secret alone.
"Do you want to sit with us?" Sloane offered. "We got here early, so we got seats right behind her family."
"No, thanks," I told them, shaking my head, moving away down the path to the ceremony that would take place in front of the gazebo.
I didn't want to be in the front.
I wanted to be in the far back.
First to see her.
But with the worst view of the actual ceremony.
The chairs on either side were all wooden, but mismatched, something I would have sworn would drive Jules crazy. At the edge of the rows, two large whiskey barrels were set up, each with a frame on top with a blackboard framing that saying about how we're all family now, so sit wherever you want.
I went to the left, taking the end seat at the last aisle, seeing two rows of Jules' family up front, smiling, talking happily.
This was a joyful day for them, of course.
They wanted Jules to settle down, stop working so hard, allow a man to take care of her. As much as she would bristle at the idea, being someone who was very proud to take care of herself, though maybe she would take a break when she had kids.
And the office would be a different place without her around.
Hell, it would be a sad place for the three weeks she would be on her honeymoon.
Or maybe that was just me.
"Hey Kai," Gemma, Jules' younger sister said from my side, giving me a megawatt smile - her default one - that made her light blue eyes catch the light.
She looked a lot like her sister who looked a lot like their mother. The same red hair. The same porcelain skin. The same blue eyes. The same tall, lithe builds. The same freckles, even. But whereas Jules' were just a small fleck of them over the bridge of her nose, Gemma had them over her nose and across the tops of her cheeks. I thought it gave her a fairy look when I first met her, temping at the office after school when Jules needed an extra hand every now and again.
She was the light and airy to Jules' more regimented and firm. She flitted around the world, making everyone around her happier for her existence.
"Heya Gemma," I told her, managing to find a small smile for her. "Why aren't you getting ready?"
"Ready for what?"
"Aren't you the maid of honor?"
"Oh," she said, her face falling. And it was a damn shame for someone so joyful to look so sad. "There is no bridal party."
"What?" I asked, brows furrowing.
That made no sense.