The Truth About Ever After (3 page)

“Sure,”
Danny said, his voice cool and unconcerned. I smiled.

“Then
follow me.” I stood up and looked at Ginny. “Give us thirty seconds then
follow.”

As
I turned to lead Danny out of the tent, I saw Ginny and Annie both turn to Jen,
probably going in for last-minute hugs. The lump in my throat grew and I took
Danny’s hand. “Hang onto that handle, buddy.”

Danny
gripped the handle of his little wagon tightly, and I said a silent prayer it
wouldn’t get stuck in the sand. Stepping out of the tent, I made eye contact
with the musician up front. The soft strands of guitar music met my ears as I
led Danny over to aisle runner. “Straight down toward Uncle Matt, okay?” I
whispered. He nodded, looking nervous now. “You’ll be great.”

As
Danny
set off down
the aisle, the little wagon holding
his baby sister in tow, an audible sigh swept across the guests. I couldn’t
blame them—Ginny’s kids were gorgeous. I headed over to my seat at the
end of a row, my job mostly done for now. As Ginny made her way to the aisle, I
allowed the tears to finally come. After all the hard work and all the
planning, the moment was finally here. For a few minutes at least, I could sit
back, relax, and enjoy the sight of two people in love committing
themselves
forever.

At
that thought, my eyes automatically went to the head of the aisle. Eric’s gaze
was on me, a smile on his lips, due, I’m sure, to the noticeable tears in my
eyes. I smiled at him, shrugging a little as if to say I couldn’t help it. He
nodded slightly, his smile growing, and winked at me.

Following
Annie, Jen swept past me on her father’s arm, and I saw Matt’s eyes grow wide
at the sight of her. He blinked rapidly, and I was sure he was trying to hold
back tears. This, of course, only made mine come faster. As the pastor began
his remarks about love and loyalty, I felt my eyes once again pulled to Eric, who
was now watching his brother. I knew, in that moment, that life really didn’t
get much better.

Chapter Three

If
I hadn’t had the good fortune of meeting Jen, I’m sure my own wedding would
have turned out much differently. After Eric proposed and we told my parents,
my mom and I got to
planning
right away. I was
determined that we would do everything ourselves—after all, I knew what I
wanted for my wedding.

Luckily,
my mom had other plans. She knew that my wedding, or rather, the wedding of the
only daughter of
the
David Barker,
would be much more than a recitation of vows. She was right—after my
engagement was announced, one local paper had called it, “the social event of
the year.” The sheer number of “important” people who needed to be invited was
mind-boggling to me. When I informed my parents that I wanted a fairy theme, my
mom had immediately picked up the phone to start calling wedding planning
firms. “This needs to be classy, Kiki,” she had said firmly. “You have to
remember that Daddy will have a lot of work colleagues there.
A lot of important people.
We need to make a good
impression. Remember our position.”

I
had been sullen about it for a little while. How many times had my parents used
the “our position” line on me? I felt like I’d been hearing it for years. Was
it too much to ask that my own wedding be just about me, instead of yet another
opportunity to present the public face of David Barker Enterprises?

Sensing
my irritation, my mom had changed tactics. “Sweetie, a wedding planner is going
to make things so much easier for you,” she said. “They’ll help to coordinate
all the details so you can just relax and enjoy yourself. Doesn’t that sound
nice?”

She
did have a point. I knew we were looking at a huge guest list and the details
of planning such a party were probably beyond me. Besides, I was never known
for my decision-making skills. Already I had envisioned at least five different
color themes. So I conceded to the use of a wedding planner.

Thank God
, I thought to myself the day of the
wedding. Jen had done a fantastic job. She had taken my fairy theme idea and run
with it, somehow turning it into something both classy and whimsical. As I
looked out over the grounds of Meadow Brook Hall, I couldn’t help but think
that Jen had transformed it into a setting fit for a fairy queen. Real, live
birch saplings had been placed at intervals at the edge of the chairs. Long
garlands of pastel flowers were strung through the trees, twinkling lights just
visible in their midst. The altar was a riot of flowers, huge arrangements
towering over the platform on which we would stand, crystals dripping from
every branch, catching the sunlight as they swayed gently in the breeze.

“What
do you think?”

I
turned to see Jen standing behind me, looking apprehensive.

“Perfect,”
I told her, grinning like a fool. “Seriously, seriously perfect. How did you
manage all of this?”

“I
had a good team,” she said, visibly relaxing. “Do you really like it? Is it how
you pictured it?”

“So
much better,” I told her. Impulsively, I clapped my hands, feeling giddy. “I
still can’t believe this is real!” I squealed. “My wedding is going to be
gorgeous! And I get to marry Eric!”

Jen
laughed. “I want you to have a perfect day, Kiki. And it’s my job to make sure
you do. Now, we should probably get back into the mansion. The photographer
will be here soon and you still need to get into your dress.”

The
rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. I tried hard to remember the
details—the way my normally reserved mom couldn’t keep the grin off her
face all day, or how even Jen seemed to tear up when I put my veil on. Or the
fact that Jen had managed to incorporate daisies into my bouquet, though my
mother had called them cheap field flowers, simply because she knew they were
special to Eric and me. But it was hard to focus on any of those things when I
knew, within a matter of
hours,
I’d be getting
married.

When
I finally stood with my dad in the entryway to the mansion, staring out over
the grounds and the hundreds of guests waiting there, I couldn’t help but feel
a flutter of fear. This was really it. In a matter of moments I’d be walking
down the aisle, in front of all those people. What if I stumbled? What if I
messed up my vows? What if I started crying and accidently snorted?

“Ready,
baby?” my dad asked, looking down at me.

“Yeah,”
I said, my voice trembling slightly. Crap, I was really nervous now.

“Don’t
worry, Kiki,” my dad said, smiling at me. “I promise I won’t let you fall.” I
gave him a weak smile and his eyes softened. “You look beautiful, sweetie,” he
said, his voice low. “I’m so, so happy for you.”

My
smile grew stronger, and though I still felt nervous, I put my arm through his
and allowed him to steer me across the grounds to the aisle. Ahead of us, I
could see my bridesmaids making their own way toward the altar. My cousin Bella
and my three sorority sisters, Kara,
Kendell
, and
Krissy
, all looked lovely in the pale pink dresses Jen had
helped me pick out. As we approached the first row of chairs, the music from
the live band changed.
The Bridal March.
Seemingly as
one, the crowd stood and turned in our direction.

Nerves
again flooded my stomach. I never realized how big a crowd three hundred people
really was, and every single one of them was staring at me.

At
the head of the aisle, a movement caught my eye. Tearing my attention from the
countless faces turned in my
direction,
I looked up at
the altar and felt my heart skip a beat.

Eric
.

He
was standing there waiting for me, Matt behind him. He looked great in his tux,
of course, tall and broad-shouldered and totally dashing, the late afternoon
sun reflecting off his blond hair. But that wasn’t what had captured my
attention so fully; it was the look he wore. He was staring at me intently, his
face the picture of a man in love. I’d seen that expression on his face before,
a few times over the years. It was like he couldn’t believe his good fortune.
Little did he know that I was the lucky
one.

I
quickened my step, practically pulling my dad along with me now, every trace of
nervousness gone. All I could think about now was getting to the end of this
aisle, getting to
Eric
and marrying him. Promising to
love him forever, to try my best to make him as happy as he made me.

As
I finally reached him, as I felt my dad pass my hand over to his, everything
else faded away—the people behind us, the stress of all this planning,
even the excitement over how great the site had turned out. None of it mattered
now. The only thing that mattered, the only thing I could even think of, was
the fact that, after everything that had happened to get us to this point, I
now got to marry the best friend I’d ever had in my life.

Chapter Four

“Mommy,
when’s the party
gonna
start?”

“
Shh
, Danny.” Despite her obvious efforts to be quiet, Ginny’s
voice drifted down the table. “Eric is giving his toast to the bride and
groom.”

“This
is boring,” Danny sighed, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

I
saw Josh grab his arm and lean in close to his face. I couldn’t hear his words,
but from the expression on Danny’s face he was definitely getting a stern
warning. I stifled a laugh. Jen had told me that Danny was going through a
particularly sassy phase (Josh blamed Annie’s influence), but I hadn’t really
believed it until we got to the resort. The kid was just too cute and smart for
his own good, and he totally knew it. Ginny and Josh were determined not to let
him get away with much, but even they were susceptible to his wide-eyed, puppy
dog look.

I
turned my attention back to my husband, standing up across from me, as he
finished his toast. So far he had kept the tone light, telling jokes and
ribbing his big brother. But now I saw a change come over his face, a softening
that was similar to the way he looked right before he fell asleep—his
guard was down.

“I’ve
been so lucky to have you as a big brother,” he said, his voice a notch lower
than normal. “You’ve taught me everything I ever needed to know about being a
man, and I’m so grateful to you.”

For
about the millionth time that day, I felt my eyes fill up with tears. This time
I wasn’t alone—across from me I could tell that Jen was similarly
touched. Even Matt looked like he was tearing up as he stood up to hug his
brother—and it was a real hug, too, not one of those lame
back-slap
things guys usually did.

“Okay,
my turn.” Annie’s voice carried the length of the long table where the wedding
guests sat. She stood, taking Eric’s vacated spot behind Jen and Matt. As she
shook her red hair out of her face, I was struck by how stunning she was. The
girls always teased Ginny about being the beautiful one, and she really was
drop-dead gorgeous, but every once in a while, the combination of Annie’s
striking features and her brazen confidence somehow managed to outshine just
about everyone around her.

Annie
was a great public speaker—which made sense, since she was a professional
actress. She barely had to open her mouth and the entire table was
captivated—there was simply something commanding about her voice. “First
of all, I want to let you all know that I speak for myself and Ginny.” She
pointed down the table at her friend, who was currently holding a squirming
Maggie. “But we decided I would do the talking, since Ginny would probably
start weeping before she could get two words out.”

Ginny
flipped her off, using the baby as cover so the older guests couldn’t see.

“I’ve
been so honored to be a part of this wedding,” Annie went on, more seriously
now. “Everything has been so beautiful.” She looked at me. “Kiki, thank you so
much for doing all of this for my best friend. It’s been amazing, and we’re all
so thankful. Will everyone please join me?” She raised her glass toward me, the
other guests doing the same. “To Kiki!”

Across
the table, Jen beamed at me. Feeling overwhelmed, and close to tears again, I
ducked my head.

“Oh
my God, Ann,” Matt said drily, his voice carrying along the table. “You’ve
actually made her speechless. I didn’t think it was possible.”

Everyone
laughed at that, including me. Annie cleared her throat and went on. “Ginny and
I met Jen years ago, right after we started high school. I don’t think either
of us had any idea how much our lives would change when she moved to town.” She
looked straight at Jen as she went on. “You became our family, Jen. Nothing
would have been the same without you. You made everything better, so much
better. And it doesn’t matter who comes into our lives,” she winked at Matt,
“we will always be family, the three of us. And I’m thankful for that every
single day.”

Jen
buried her face in her hands, and Annie leaned down to wrap her arms around
her, holding her tight. Next to her, Ginny dumped the baby unceremoniously in
Josh’s lap and jumped up from her chair, grabbing Annie and Jen and squeezing
them tightly. The entire table broke into applause, and I could see Jen’s mom
wiping at her eyes. I felt that
same
twinge again, the
one I sometimes got when I was reminded of how close these three were. It was a
little bit like jealousy, but not quite. Maybe loneliness was a better word.