Chapter Five
"Up and at 'em, beautiful. It's your wedding day." Carter brushed the hair off of my face and placed a kiss on my forehead. I groaned, wedding day or not, mornings would never be my thing.
I sighed deeply and then the smell of hot coffee hit my nostrils and I immediately rose out of bed.
"Coffee," I mumbled. Carter laughed at me. I took a sip and instantly felt a little more energized. I sipped some more and then sat my mug down to head to the bathroom.
"I’ll be in the kitchen," Carter tossed behind his back as he left the bedroom.
I did my business and then stood in front of the mirror reflecting. I brushed my fingers through my hair and a small smile played across my lips. I was marrying Carter today. I brushed my finger over my lips and thought about how the day would play out. Carter hadn't revealed a single detail. I trusted that it would be beautiful and over the top; everything Carter did was. I leaned my neck to the side to expose my flesh and my fingers touched the soft bruise where Carter had bitten me from our steamy romp in the shower. My stomach flopped a few times at the memory. It felt like ages ago, but it had only been on Friday.
I wrapped up in a robe that was hanging on a hook by the door and grabbed my coffee cup and made my way down to the kitchen.
"Eat up. Thirty minutes and your entourage will be here."
"My entourage?" I watched Carter standing at the stove with a spatula.
"Makeup artist and hair stylist. Not that you need any of that."
I stepped closer to him and he placed a soft kiss on my lips.
"So can I expect that your scrambled eggs are better than your omelets?" I smiled as I scooped some onto a plate.
"Watch it." He tried to smack me with the spatula in his hand. I giggled and dodged away.
"Thank you." I smiled.
"How much time do I have?" I asked him.
"We're out the door in two hours." He continued to poke at the bacon in the skillet.
"That's not much time for me to get ready." I frowned.
"Since when are you so high maintenance, Miss Austin?"
"Since it's my wedding day." I threw a piece of toast at him from across the kitchen. He dodged it with a smirk.
"You're beautiful. You don't need time to get ready. Just put on the white dress and you’ll be perfect."
"Who says it's white?" I grinned.
"It better be. I'm a man who likes tradition." He cocked an eyebrow at me.
"Could have fooled me," I mumbled as I scooped more scrambled eggs into my mouth. His lips lifted at the corners in a playful smile.
Thirty minutes later I was out of the shower and the makeup artist and hair stylist were waiting in the master bathroom. Carter had moved to a guest bedroom to get ready and promised to give me privacy. The hair stylist, Clyde, was raking a brush through my long dark hair and talking effusively to Rachel, the makeup artist. He was telling her all about a date he'd been on last night that apparently hadn't gone well. They laughed and giggled and were entertaining to listen to, but it made my heart hurt a little bit wishing for Cate.
I had so many issues with my mom, and I wasn't especially close to my dad, but if there was one person I wished could be with me on my wedding day, it was Cate. She'd always been there for me and she was going to slay me when she found out I’d gotten married without her. We'd fantasized about our respective wedding days since the fourth grade. I heaved a deep sigh thinking about her smiling face.
"Why so sad on your wedding day dear?" Clyde noticed my moment of melancholy.
"Not sad, just missing my best friend. I wish she could be here." I sat still as Rachel sponged foundation onto my face. I prayed she wouldn’t make a comment on the bruise left by Carter.
"Why isn’t she?" he asked.
"This is sort of a last minute thing, I guess."
"This isn't a thing, honey, this is your wedding day. You should have exactly who you want here."
"Oh I know, it's just, our whole relationship has been a rush. It's not a big deal, he's who I want…" I trailed off because the more I spoke and the more I tried to explain it to them the worse it sounded in my own head. But that didn't matter; I didn't need to justify our decision to them. It was right for us.
"And I’m not pregnant..." I trailed off and then bit my lip embarrassingly with the word. "It's just, everyone thinks we're rushing because I’m pregnant, and I’m not." I twisted my fingers in my lap. I just needed to shut up now. Clyde shook his head in the mirror.
"It's okay, sweetheart. We love who we love. It doesn’t matter a damn what anyone else thinks." He smiled reassuringly.