Annie's Song(44)
“Could have fooled me. I wanted to be you.”
Smiling, Claire took her hand. “Ready to do this?”
“Is anyone ever? My stomach hurts.”
“You will be fine. The moment you see Eric waiting for you, everything will fall in place. Come on.” She picked up the garment bag holding Annie’s dress. “Time for you to become a bride.”
The walk to Penn and Michelle’s shop took forever, and not long enough. Annie stood in the small bathroom, alone, staring at her reflection. She didn’t look like a bride. Not a conventional one, anyway. The veil helped, a little—or would have, if it wasn’t gold.
She let out a sigh. Eric would marry her, even if she didn’t look like a bride. She was his bride. “Enough,” she whispered. “Time to go get married.”
Stepping out of the bathroom, she waited for Claire to notice her. When she did, the reaction was what Annie hoped for, what she was afraid she wouldn’t get.
“Oh, Annie. It’s stunning.”
“I look like—”
“A Grecian goddess.” Claire adjusted the tissue thin veil. “Eric is going to be knocked out.” She handed Annie a bouquet of flowers. White roses, with three red roses in the middle. “No crying now, you’ll ruin your makeup.”
“Who—I never ordered flowers. I didn’t think there would be time.”
“Marcus. It’s his wedding gift to you.”
“Big softie.” She blinked fast, forcing back her tears. “I’ll have to actually thank him.”
Smiling, Claire took her hand. “Your bickering isn’t fooling anyone. I know how much you care about each other.”
“Yeah—well, habits are hard to break.” She took in a breath, aware that Claire used that to distract her. “Let’s go get me married.”
“My great pleasure.”
Claire moved through the garden, disappearing from sight. Like they rehearsed, Annie counted to herself, waiting until she got to fifty before she started her own walk. Nerves shook her as she made her way through the explosion of flowers and lush plants. They died away as soon as she saw Eric.
He stood at the arbor, in a white tux, looking nervous and handsome, with Zach standing beside him, even more nervous. God, she loved both of them. Claire reached the arbor, moved to the left. And she knew the second Eric saw her.
His smile had her heart skipping. She wanted to be there, next to him, now, and always.
The breeze caught her veil as she walked forward, billowing it out behind her. She almost stumbled when two people turned in their seats and waved. Theresa and Mindy Kay. With a shaky smile she nodded at them, and knew Claire had been busy while she’d been testy and hormonal. God, how did she get so lucky?
Taking in a deep breath, she kept moving. Eric had waited long enough. He stepped forward, took her hand. Together they faced Simon, who surprised her by wearing a dark blue suit instead of his collar.
“Good morning, everyone. It’s my pleasure to stand here today, to join these two people together as husband and wife. Please forgive me if some of my traditional moments slip in. As a priest, I tend to fall back on the traditional. Today I’ve been asked to simply wing it.”
Laughter floated through the tiny crowd. Eric twined their fingers together, looked at her.
“Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.”
He leaned in. “You look incredible.” His lips brushed her cheek
“That comes at the end of the ceremony, handsome.”
More laughter added to the joy already surrounding them.
“You ready for this?”
She brushed a hand over her stomach. “We are.”
“My turn?” Simon smiled at them, hands folded. Now he looked like a priest. Sexy priest, but a priest. “Dear friends, and family. We are gathered here, in this gorgeous place, to celebrate the union of Anne Marie Sullivan and Eric Jason Malone. I’m assuming there’s no objection, so I’ll just skip over that part.”
He held out his hand, took Annie’s in his, squeezing it gently. “Annie, I’ve watched you and this man you wish to take as husband, and I enjoyed your banter, your care, and the depth of your commitment to each other. I am honored to be a part of your union today.”
She took a deep breath, trying not to cry.
“Eric, your love for Annie is evident in every action. You don’t need to tell her, you show her, every day. Today you are taking the step to unite that love and create a family. Now, let’s get down to it. Do you have the rings?”
Annie turned to Claire, who held the ring for Eric. Annie had been carrying it around since she chose it, peeking at it when she needed a boost, or just to remind her that yes, she was actually going to marry an amazing man. She didn’t expect Eric to have a ring, so she was shocked when he turned to Zach and held out his hand.