One Second (Seven Series Book 7) (44 page)

June 12
^th
, the following year

Maizy knocked insistently on the bathroom door beneath the stairs. “Lexi, come out of there. My knuckles are starting to hurt.”

“I’m going to throw up!”

“You’re not going to throw up.”

I gripped the sink, staring at my reflection in the mirror. Yeah, I was going to throw up. A crown of ivy and delicate pink flowers encircled my head, and a veil draped over my face. Ivy had made it. My dress belonged to Katharine and could pass as a wedding gown, so my mother had tailored it for a better fit. It was a simple white dress with no sleeves, and lace that reached my ankles. I ran my fingers across the tiny beads on the front and then to the ladybug pin Maizy had given me.

Maizy’s knocking made me feel like a horse in a starting gate before a race.

“I can’t do this. I’ve changed my mind!”

Her voice was calm through the crack in the door. “Lexi, you’re already mated to him.”

“Yeah, but I’m not married to him.”

We hadn’t gone to a courthouse since Shifters tried to stay out of human records, but the wedding ceremony made it feel real. I’d had almost a year to get used to the idea. Everyone needed time to recover after a difficult war, and it gave Austin and me an opportunity to enjoy a long engagement. He especially liked introducing me as his fiancée, even though it caused some bemused reactions among Shifters.

“You can do this,” I whispered to myself, smoothing an out-of-place hair. I’d spent all morning sitting still while April and Izzy styled my tresses in a beautiful updo of loose braids. Austin liked it when he could see my neck, because it gave him easy access to kiss it.

“Come on, Lexi. Before the sun goes down and Travis falls asleep.”

I swung the door open, and she flashed me an impish grin. Mostly because my hand remained glued to the doorknob.

“You look stunning,” she said. “He’s going to fall over when he sees you.”

Maizy had grown into such a beautiful woman, inside and out. She smiled at me with those dimples, and I fondly remembered my baby sister who had always looked up to me. One minute she was hitting people over the head with her sparkly wand, and the next she was talking me into marrying someone that I’d already committed to loving for the rest of my life. Where did the time go?

The front door crashed open, and footsteps hammered up the stairs.

“Denver!” Maizy shouted. “You’re not supposed to be in here.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t wait!” he said, his voice growing distant.

Maizy rolled her eyes. “I told him not to drink that whole bottle of water—it was for sipping during the ceremony. Does he listen? No.”

My heart was thundering in my chest, my palms clammy, a cold sweat coming over me, my legs shaking.

“Maze, what if we just called it off? Or postponed. We’ll tell everyone I got hives.”

Her compassionate expression evaporated, replaced with slanted brows and thinning lips. She grabbed my wrist and yanked me out of the bathroom so forcefully that I almost tripped.

“Lexi, I didn’t squeeze into this blue dress for nothing. And you know I don’t like blue.”

“Sorry, that was Mom’s idea. It looks pretty though.”

“Yeah, and so does my hair all braided up. And my makeup is amazing with fairy dust flecked on my cheeks and brows. So why am I standing in front of the bathroom? Let’s show these guys what Weston women are made of. Get out there and remind Austin why he’s the luckiest man on earth. He’s been waiting for an hour.”

“I had to wait my entire life for him to come around; the least he can do is wait an hour.” I reached under my veil and scratched my neck.

Maizy snatched my wrist and held it down. “You’re going to make bright streaks on your skin if you keep doing that. Don’t you dare break out in hives. Now take a deep breath.”

I sucked in a breath and held it for a minute before letting it go, blowing some of my veil forward.

A more relaxed set of footsteps descended the stairs.

“Don’t look!” Maizy shouted at him.

“I’m not the groom,” he yelled back.

Denver had on a tux, except instead of wearing a white shirt beneath it like all the other guys, he had on a Batman shirt. At lunch, I’d watched them strutting around the house like a bunch of peacocks in their suits and dress shoes. William had red suspenders on beneath his tux, and Reno’s pants ended up being a little too short for him, but I tried not to notice. The only one I hadn’t seen that day was Austin, and maybe that’s why I was nervous as hell. Austin could have put me at ease, but he wanted to be traditional and not see the bride on the day of the wedding.

I smiled, recalling yesterday when I’d caught him hammering a little nail into the wall by the front door and putting a silver T below it.

“Isn’t he a little young to drive?” I asked.

Austin just proudly traced his finger over that letter and said, “Yeah.”

Our honeymoon was going to be a week in Colorado, and Austin had arranged the entire thing. It was something we had argued about because I was having separation anxiety about leaving our son behind.

I tried to appreciate his efforts, but deep down, I didn’t feel right leaving Travis. But to be fair, Austin didn’t feel safe about traveling with him across two states, with eighteen-wheelers weaving in and out of lanes.

Maizy lifted the veil over my head, fanning my face with her hand. “It’s only going to last a few minutes, and then you’ll be off to your honeymoon. Austin packed the car this morning, but I have to warn you, the boys tied all those tin cans on the bumper. I don’t think that’s legal anymore, so I hope you don’t get pulled over by a state trooper.”

I laughed and felt my panic diminish. I looked down again at the scar on my shoulder where I had applied makeup to blend it in. The area was still pink, but Edward promised me that would fade with time.

“Stop nitpicking about every little thing,” she said. “My big sister looks like a fairy princess.”

“I feel like an ornament for the Christmas tree.”

Maizy glanced at the door and then back at me. “Okay. I’m going to take my seat, and this time you’re coming.”

I nodded back in acquiescence, deciding that if Maizy had to come all the way back up to the house to get me, she was probably going to bring a lasso with her. I listened to her heels click on the wood as she went out the front door.

I didn’t have heels. I’d opted to wear flats because I was too afraid of falling.

God, my throat was so dry.

I glanced back at the kitchen and briefly thought about the back door. I might be able to hide out in the fort, or if I kept going, there were always the bunkers. Knowing Austin, he’d track me down in those woods and carry me back on his shoulder.

Anxiety was an irrational beast. You could go through hell and back, and yet the most seemingly innocuous thing could set off a flurry of panic. I should have had nothing to be nervous about, but I was. I felt like the hands of time had rewound, and I was a bride taking her first walk to an unknown future.

I drifted toward the door and pulled it open. The porch railings were lavishly decorated with ivy and flowers that twisted around them, and a white carpet stretched from the bottom of the stairs straight into the yard, leading past the tree with the rope swing and through neatly arranged chairs where people were sitting.

Lots of people.

I raced back into the house. “My bouquet!” I frantically searched the room until I found it sitting on the sofa where I’d thrown it when racing back inside the first time around. It was a simple arrangement that matched the wreath on my head.

When I emerged onto the porch, there were low murmurs up ahead. Austin had his back to me, facing Turner—our Councilman, who was officiating the ceremony. Despite the unorthodox request, Turner had dressed in a handsome blue suit that made him look even more like Sean Connery than he usually did.

To Austin’s right, all the Weston men were standing in a semicircle so that no one held rank over the other. The idea of one best man hadn’t gone over well, so Austin had made peace by declaring they were all best men in order to avoid a third world war. When they caught sight of me on the porch, they whistled and erupted in applause.

I gripped the rail and carefully stepped down, lifting the ends of my dress so I could see my feet. As soon as I made it to the bottom and my eyes followed the path of the white carpet, that’s when it hit me.

The absence of a father to walk me down the aisle.

I looked at the empty spot on my right and thought about my big brother. “I wish you were here, Wes. You always said you’d do this for me.”

My chin trembled, and I fought back tears. I’d chosen this day of all days because it was the anniversary of my brother’s death—a day that had marked a transition in my life. This day had always been mournful, but it was time to give it new meaning and make it a day I could cherish. Wes would have wanted it that way.

Melody and Hope—my two flower girls—had dressed the carpet with pale rose petals dusted in gold glitter.

Almost everyone I knew was in attendance. Atticus, Prince, Kat, Lorenzo, Charlie, and even Jericho’s band—just to name a few. I didn’t know the manager at Howlers very well, but he’d given Rosie time off to attend the wedding. She and Izzy were close since they used to waitress together.

Ivy stood near the back in a pale green dress, her hair in two lovely braids instead of one. I floated toward her, but the moment she began singing “Landslide,” I got goose bumps and stood frozen in place. Her voice, the words… the memories.

My lip trembled.

Suddenly George rose from his chair and stalked toward me with a look on his face that actually made me turn around, afraid a psychopathic bride-killer might have snuck up behind me with an axe.

He filled the empty space on my right and held my hand. “You’re not doing this alone.”

I smiled and hooked my arm through his.

George blushed. “Sorry. I’ve only seen this done in the movies.”

The scene looked ethereal from behind my veil. The sun was crowning the tree line, dipping the world in a magic of golden fire.

Ivy resumed singing, and Jericho joined in from his spot in the front.

George walked me down the aisle and alleviated all my fears. Each step closer to Austin was a step in the direction I wanted to go. Trevor sat in the front row next to William, with Travis on his lap, who was standing up and squawking at his mommy.

It was so enchanting that I wanted the moment to last forever, like one of those magical snow globes that April kept in her collection. I felt nothing but love from these people who weren’t just a part of my past, but a symbol of my future.

When Austin finally turned, he stepped back as if in disbelief.

My beautiful bridesmaids looked exquisite in their blue dresses. Even Izzy had pinned up her hair for the occasion.

My mother reached out and patted my hand as I walked by. Finally, there was the awkward moment when George had to give me away.

He backed up a step and said to Austin, “She’s all yours!”

A few people chuckled as he hurried to his seat.

Austin sidled up to me and whispered, “I’m going to marry you.”

I kept a straight face and peered up at him through the veil. “You’ll just have to wait for my answer.”