Going to the Chapel

by Adriana Locke

  “I got a 244!” The happiness vibrated off her.

  “What?! Heath get your hands off my eyes. I can keep them closed.” Declan pushed Heath away and opened his arms.

  Mak leapt into them and showered his face with kisses. The earrings I’d entrusted to Liv dangled from her ears. There was nothing but huge smiles in the entire room. There wasn’t a question in our minds about these two getting married. Their love was palpable. Flashes from the brides and grooms side of photographers threatened to blind us all as they captured the moment.

  I couldn’t help it. I’d tried not to, but my gaze locked onto Liv. She stood beside the rest of the bridesmaids with tears shining in her eyes. The makeup artist with a toolbelt of every color make up in the world wrapped around her waist raced in after them and doled out tissues for everyone. Liv might have been wearing the same dress as everyone else, but it wasn’t them I couldn’t take my eyes off of. It was her. Especially since I knew what was under the floor-length rich, blue fabric.

  “Can someone tell me what the hell all this means?” Heath piped up asking the question most of us were thinking. He glanced between the two of them making out, the bridesmaids and the makeup artist who looked ready to keel over at the probably smudged makeup from Declan mauling Mak.

  Mak slid down Declan’s body and planted her feet back on the floor. “Step 1 is the exam you take after your first two years of med school.” Happy tears glittered in Mak’s eyes. She threaded her fingers through Declan’s with a smile, the widest I’d ever seen.

  “It helps determine what kind of placements you can get for residency, what specialty you can go into, and where you might be placed.”

  “This score means she can have her pick of any specialty and any placement she wants.” Declan finished the thought for her. I didn’t know if I’d ever get used to them being so close. They’d have an ongoing battle back and forth in high school. Colm and I got to see each other all the time, but I hadn’t gotten to see as much of the rest of the guys as I’d liked.

  Maybe if the transfer went through like they’d be talking about, I’d have more of a chance to get used to it, since I’d be living so close. Closer to Liv. I shook my head and banished that idea from my mind. Couldn’t think like that.

  “Which means I can choose to stay in Philly and go into pediatric oncology. Declan don’t peek.” She brushed away a tear from the corner of her eye. The makeup artist leapt into action, nearly knocking everyone over to get her a tissue.

  Declan lifted their joined hands to his lips and pressed them to the back of her hand. With everything that happened with her brother, it was understandable why that specialty would be so important to her. He ran his other hand along the side of her face and up to her ear. His grin got even wider.

  “You’re wearing the earrings.” He rested his forehead against hers.

  “With that note and a little cajoling from Olivia, I figured I didn’t really have a choice. Well played, Mr. McAvoy. Well played.”

  My gaze darted over to Liv. She’d broken off from the rest of the bridesmaids who stood in the doorway. “Come on, Mak. We’ve got to get you ready for your big entrance.”

  Mak let out a big sigh. “Are you sure we can’t just do the whole courthouse thing? I can throw on some jeans and a t-shirt.”

  “Is this the same Makenna Halstead who wore a bun every single day of high school?” Declan playfully smacked her ass.

  “What can I say? You’re rubbing off on me.” She smacked him back and let herself be pulled away by her crew.

  Liv brought up the rear of the group and she peered over her shoulder at me. In a little while longer, I’d be able to wrap my arms around her and stare into her eyes on the dance floor. Her lips parted and the plump, pinkness made my heart race.

  Her light brown eyes caught the reds and oranges of the setting sun perfectly. It was like the day started and ended in her gaze. She held mine, and it took my breath away.

  A pair of hands landed on my shoulders. “You ready to walk my sister down the aisle?” Colm squeezed my shoulders and gave me a smack with a big smile on his face. Guilt slammed into my stomach. He’d kill me if he knew the things I’d just been thinking about her. “Liv, don’t worry. Ford won’t step on your toes during the dance.”

  “I don’t doubt that.” She darted out of the room after the rest of the bridesmaids.

  “I’m thinking of having Liv come with us to Fiji.” Colm straightened his tie in the mirror. My fake smile dropped. Liv in a bikini in Fiji? “Dude, it’s not that big of a deal. She won’t cramp our style. You went white as a ghost.”

  I cleared my throat. “I don’t think it would be a good idea.”

  “Why not?” He spun around.

  “Come on everyone, we need to get down there. The guests are getting restless, and there’s only so much longer we can hold off the paparazzi out there.” One of the wedding planners pushed his finger against his ear piece and started shooing us out of the hotel suite.

  “We got to stick together, man. All the rest of the guys have fallen. It’s just to two of us left now.” He squeezed my shoulder. “You’ve got to help me keep the guys away from Liv tonight. I can’t believe that dress Mak has them in. Your soon to be wife is trying to corrupt my baby sister.” Colm yelled out to Declan as we piled into the elevator.

  “Who do you think helped pick out the dresses?” Declan smirked.

  The look on Colm’s face was one of abject horror. This was why he could never know, and I could never cross that line. She’d always be Olive Oil to him. The twelve-year-old who stood between us at their parents funeral and cried into my shoulder as Colm stood at the end of the gravesite in shock.

  He trusted me with the one person he had left in the world, and I couldn’t break that trust.

  3

  Olivia

  My heart pounded against my ribs as he got closer. Each step made it harder to breathe as Ford held out his arm for me. He’d missed the dress rehearsal the night before, so this would be the first time. His warm smile and softness in his eyes made it hard to think about anything other than him when he was so close.

  I wrapped my arm around his. His muscled body dwarfed mine, but I stared up at him and felt six feet tall. Well, the heels helped.

  “You look beautiful,” he said, and the corners of his lips turned down, kind of like he wished he could take it back. But no, he couldn’t. No take backs.

  “Thank you.” I grinned so wide my cheeks hurt. There was no use playing it cool, it just wasn’t going to happen. “You look really good in a suit. You should wear one more often.”

  “I leave this GQ stuff to your brother.” He nodded his head toward Colm standing behind us. Being a Frost meant country club dinners, banquets and every other charitable function imaginable growing up. Most of that had ended when our parents died, but Colm carried on the Frost tradition with getting dressed up every once in a while for events in our parents honor. He didn’t look at all uncomfortable unlike the other guys.

  The veil was pulled over Mak’s face, and she was a glowing bride in her gorgeous dress.

  The processional music started and that was our cue. A set of wedding planners opened the massive wooden doors in front of us, and we all froze for a second at the friends and family looking back at us. My heart sped up as Ford took a step. He glanced down at me, and I found my feet again, moving beside him.

  There wasn’t a dry eye in the place between Declan and Mak’s vows and the little jokes they shot back and forth. Mak’s dad sat beside her mom in the pew, and I tried not to look at them. It was times like these that stole my breath away. Where I was back as a twelve-year-old kid trying to figure out what the hell just happened to my life. That empty, numb feelings came rushing back, and I welcomed it because it covered the pain.

  Declan’s mom sat on their side dabbing at the corners of her eyes, and my throat tightened. I glanced over at the groomsman all lined up, and Ford was staring back at me. His furrowed brow an
d look of concern made me slap a smile back on my face. Today wasn’t about me or my old wounds. It was about celebrating the happy life these two were making together.

  Declan wrapped his arms around Mak and dipped her, giving everyone a show for their first kiss as man and wife. There was a huge round of applause, and the happy couple held their joined hands up in the air with smiles so wide mine became real. Anyone who looked at them could tell they were ridiculously in love. I hoped I’d be able to have a tenth of that happiness one day.

  Ford slid my arm up onto his as we processed out. “Are you okay?” He ducked his head as we past the waving guests.

  I smiled up at him. I wasn’t going to be the wounded baby bird for him to coddle.

  “I’m good. Ready for the reception. Maybe a few cocktails.” I stage-whispered to him.

  He grinned back at me. Colm’s head popped up to my side. “Not on my watch.”

  I rolled my eyes and held on tighter to Ford’s arms as we went to a holding area while everyone else went to the reception ballroom. The rest of the night went off without a hitch. The waiters came into our bridal pen with a few blackberry cocktails, and I snagged a few sips when Colm wasn’t looking.

  We all walked into the ballroom creating a little archway for Mak and Declan and grabbed our seats. The bubbly on our table kept disappearing as I had a glass or two. People clinked their glasses to get Declan and Mak to kiss, which he seemed more than willing to go for. Everything was perfect for them, and it was a night filled with laughter and fun. I snagged an appetizer off one of the trays as the band leader called Mak and her father out onto the dance floor. The father daughter dance.

  Mak’s Dad twirled her on the dance floor. They were pressed cheek to cheek. His movements were stilted, but the look on both their faces left no doubt about how happy they were. Declan and his mom joined them. Maybe it was the drinks or just the fact that I’d been pushing away the feelings that kept trying to creep up throughout the day, but seeing Declan out there with his mom laughing and spinning her around and Mak staring into her dad’s eyes, my throat tightened. The walls of the flower-covered and fabric-draped room closed in on me.

  They’d put the wedding together quickly so he could be there to walk her down the aisle. I brushed away a tear out of the corner of my eye. Pull it together, Liv, this isn’t about you.

  My heart raced, and my palms were sweaty. This is why I didn’t do things like weddings. My chest was so tight it was hard to breathe. I jumped up from the table and dashed out of the ballroom as quickly as I could without drawing attention to myself. I just needed a little bit of time to pull myself together.

  4

  Ford

  I was up and out of my seat before she’d made it past the table next to ours. Keeping a smile on my face to not alarm anyone, I darted out of the ballroom, catching the door before it closed fully. Going after her wasn’t smart, especially after the day we’d had already, but she was hurting. I saw it in her eyes during the ceremony and again as she ran out of the reception.

  Seeing her in pain was even harder than seeing her happy spinning around the ballroom on someone else’s arm. As much as I knew I should have just tracked down Colm and had him go after her, it was like asking the sun not to keep the planets aligned. Her gravitational pull was one I’d never been able to escape.

  Not since the first night I saw her as Olivia and not Olive Oil. Less than a year ago, my world shifted, and I’d been fighting every second of it because I knew the stakes. My head whipped around, and I looked for her down the alcoves and hallways of the hotel.

  A flash of bright blue caught my eye outside. And I was following her. My heart pounded as I got closer. She was holding herself. Her arms wrapped across her body, and her shoulders were hunched.

  It wasn’t until I got closer that the gentle shake of them hit me like a punch to the gut. She was crying.

  “Olive—”

  She jumped, brushing her hands against her face. The garden lights caught the wetness on her hands. She kept her back to me, staring straight ahead.

  “Hey, Ford. I was just getting a little air.” Her voice was reedy and raspy. The skirt of her dress swayed as she ran her hands up and down her arms.

  My muscles tensed. I resisted the urge to wrap my arms around her. Instead, I shrugged my jacket off and draped it over her shoulders.

  She peered back at me, and the sheen on her eyes was a lance straight through my heart.

  “It’s always weird times like these when it hits me. All these milestones are coming fast and furious now, and they won’t be here to see them.” She tilted her head up with her eyes squeezed shut, like looking at anything was just too painful. My heart ached for her. I’d seen what her and Colm had been through and I couldn’t how hard it was.

  I wrapped my hand around her shoulder. There were no words. There was nothing I could say that would make this better. Nothing I could do would fix what had been broken, so I stayed quiet and let her know she wasn’t alone. Her fingers skimmed across the back of my hand as I lifted it a little and threaded her fingers through mine.

  “Go back inside. I’m okay.” She gave me a weak smile that wasn’t convincing anyone.

  “You’re not okay. And that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with being sad during moments like these.”

  “Thanks.” She dropped her hand. “You can go back. I’m okay. Did Colm send you out here after me?”

  I hated that she wouldn’t look at me. Stepping in front of her, I ducked my head to catch her eye. She avoided my gaze.

  “No, he didn’t send me out here. I came out here because I saw you were upset.”

  “Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be back inside.” She shrugged off my jacket and handed it back to me. I didn’t lift my hand to take it from her, and her eyes transformed. The sadness gave way to anger when I didn’t move.

  “I’ll be fine out here. Just leave me alone. I don’t need a babysitter!” Her hands were clenched at her sides, and she vibrated with anger. It was palpable, and the perfect opportunity for me to turn around and get out of there before I did something I’d regret. Something that had kept me up at night for months.

  “I know you don’t. I’m not here to babysit you, and Colm didn’t send me.” I licked my suddenly dry lips.

  “Then why are you here?” She peered up at me.

  “I-I don’t like to see you hurting, Liv. And I don’t want to leave you.” I held her chin between my fingers.

  Her eyes got wide, and the anger slid away. She pressed her hands against my chest with my jacket still fisted in her grip. Her lips parted, and she sucked in a shuddering breath.

  “You called me Liv.” The shock in her voice almost made me smile, but my fingers so close to her lips killed every thought trying to break through that wasn’t centered on her mouth.

  “I know.” I stared into the eyes that had haunted my dreams for so long I felt like I had every chocolate and caramel tone memorized. My heart thundered. As close as we’d been throughout the night, this was the first time I’d ever touched her without an audience. The first time we’d been alone and not under the watchful eye of everyone else who’d know I had no right being so close to her. Touching her like this.

  Now it was her turn to lick her lips. The dim lights of the garden bounced off their plump, pinkness. “Ford.” She said my name like a cross between a questioning and hopeful. “Why don’t you want to leave?”

  “I told you.”

  She was so close, it was like we were breathing the same air. Was I leaning down or was she up on her toes? Did it matter? My jacket dropped to the grass covered ground between us, and her hand pressed flat against my chest.

  “I’m not hurting anymore. Not when you’re here.”

  I closed my eyes. Only for the briefest of moments. For long enough for me to know this was wrong, but damned if she wasn’t a temptation I could resist. Not after a day of erosion after every glance and touch.

  Her eyes were wide
as I bent down and pressed my lips against hers. She tasted like blackberries. The drinks from earlier or maybe just the way she tasted. Was this her first kiss? No, she was almost nineteen, surely I wasn’t, but what if I was? Her lips parted, and I couldn’t hold back. I couldn’t stop myself and I slipped my tongue inside.

  Her hands splayed against my chest, fisting the fabric of my shirt. Wrapping my arms around her back, I held her tighter. It was her moan that broke the thin line of restraint I had. My hand slid down to the curve of her ass, and I cupped it, dragging her harder against me. The tailored pants did not have enough room to compensate for the heavy, throb of my erection making itself known.

  She tasted too good. Better than anyone I’d ever tasted before. Her fingers clawed at me as she rocked herself against me. I was going to hell, and the trip had never been sweeter.

  I sank deeper into the kiss, letting everything I’d kept pent up for so long out in a soul scorching kiss I never wanted to end. Her lips were just as eager against mine. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I slid my other hand up into her hair, drinking in her kisses as our tongues danced together like they already knew each other so well. I did know her and I wanted to know her even more. I wanted to touch and taste her everywhere.

  There was a sharp peel of laughter from the entrance to the garden and sliced through the haze of desire surrounding us.

  “Ford, where the hell are you? We have to do the cake thing.”

  My blood ran cold, and I jerked away from Liv. She leaned into me. I stepped back so quickly, she stumbled, losing her footing. Her hooded eyes cleared as she realized whose voice was calling out for me in the warm summer air.

  Setting her on her feet, I scooped up my jacket off the ground and held it in front of me. That was the last thing I needed. Getting caught out in the garden, alone with Liv and a hard on, while she looked like she’d been kissed to within an inch of her life.