“Okay!” Amelia grinned.
Leaning over her shoulders, Gabby examined Amelia’s reflection in the vanity. Amelia wondered what was on her friend’s mind but decided to leave any heavy conversations for another day. Today was important. Special. Amelia felt like the size of a small car and she could hardly walk a quarter of a mile, but today, none of that mattered. Today was the day she became Mrs. Amelia Byrne.
Two days after she’d made a jibe about life not being like romance novels, Amelia decided she didn’t want to wait. Daniel was there and he wasn’t going anywhere. So they made plans to start their lives together. Four months later, here they were, getting married.
“You ready?”
She checked herself over one last time. Gabby insisted they go traditional, since this would be their one and only wedding. Daniel was it for her, and she for him.
She had the old and borrowed: a delicate pearl pendant necklace loaned by her neighbour Ethel O’Connell. The new and blue were also doubled up: Gabby treated her to a gorgeous silver tiara with ice-blue stones.
Her hair was piled up in a mass of thick, glossy curls, with a few loose ringlets cascading down her back. The dress fit perfectly over her chest – which had filled out this close to the end of the pregnancy – and gently hugged her bump. Well, bump didn’t exactly seem the right term for the mountain of her stomach. The skirt fell to the ground, flowing and soft and satiny, like a waterfall.
She glowed. Amelia always wondered why people said expectant mothers looked like they were glowing. She never saw it. Until now. Her skin was radiant. Her eyes sparkled. Her smile…she felt it right down to her heart. At thirty-eight weeks pregnant, she was uncomfortable and ready to have this baby, but she loved every second of it.
“Yes,” Amelia said, using the table to help push herself up. “I’m ready.”
Gabby linked an arm through hers and the pair walked slowly from the small room in the ancient little church to the doors that would open for her, doors through which her future husband stood. Her breath hitched a little, imagining Daniel in a suit. He’d look incredible, she knew. Those broad shoulders and muscular thighs encased in black fitted material.
Amelia licked her lips. It wouldn’t be a good idea to have sexual thoughts in a house of God. Whether or not the lord was present, it still felt blasphemous.
“Slow down, Amelia.” Gabby laughed softly, her head shaking. “Eager much?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “Very.”
“Wait for the music, then we’ll go as fast as you want, okay?”
“Okay.” Amelia played absently with the charm on her necklace. She lied when she told Gabby and Daniel it didn’t matter if her parents came or not. Every girl wanted her father to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day. To have her mother’s approval and love.
She had none of that.
Still, she had Daniel, and Gabby. She had her neighbours and friends in the community she lived in now. She had love and support.
It hurt though.
The sounds of an organ drifted through the closed doors. Amelia held her spine straight and her head high, pushing back a sluice of tears threatening to ruin the eyeliner and mascara Gabby painstakingly applied.
The doors opened. Amelia held her breath. In a few seconds, she’d see Daniel at the end of the aisle. Waiting for her. Joy warred with sorrow. Stupid hormones, making her a giant mess. She breathed in deep and held it, watching the progress of the two panels of wood. Damn, why weren’t they moving quicker? This was ridiculous!
They opened wide and instead of seeing Daniel first, Amelia’s eyes landed on the last two people she thought she’d see today. Or ever.
“Oh, Amelia.” Mom rushed over, hesitating when her eyes landed on the massive bulge of Amelia’s stomach. “Good gracious, you’re so big!”
“Honey, we’ve got an aisle to walk our daughter down,” Dad said, his accent just like Daniel’s. “We can play catch-up at the reception after, okay?”
Mom nodded, grinning, a stream of tears fell down her face. “We’re so sorry, baby. So, so sorry.”
Dad cupped her cheek and smiled, his lips in a tight line. “We made a mistake, but we’re here now. I hope you can forgive us. At the moment though, your man is waiting. Let’s get you married.”
As hard as she tried, Amelia couldn’t stop her own tears from falling. Far too many emotions swam in her head, mixing with her already crazy hormones. She was a wreck. A mess. She’d probably ruined her make-up.
Daniel caught her attention at the end of the aisle. Tall and broad and full of the confidence she hadn’t seen during the two weeks they drove around the Republic. In the past four months though, Daniel grew into the man who stood waiting to marry her. Strong and proud. No longer playing the victim. What happened to him was terrible and no one should have to live through anything like it. But instead of giving up, like he originally planned, Daniel set goals for himself and so far, he’d reached them all.