Page 171 of Bleeding Hearts Duet

Chapter Thirty

Brighton

The rest of the week moved crazy fast once we started planning. Ryland took over all the important stuff, but I spent an entire day searching online for a dress. Easier said than done with the island’s spotty Wi-Fi. I had it overnighted to Nicole, and she would be bringing it with her when they arrived on Friday. It was simple and beachy, and exactly what I wanted to say I do in.

I told Ryland I wanted him to wear a white dress shirt and gray slacks. It was what he was most comfortable in, and I knew he’d look amazing. He didn’t need fancy suits to look good, he was always the smartest dressed man in the room no matter what he wore.

Even just thinking about our wedding night made me ache between my thighs. Either that or it was the residual effects of the crazy animal sex we’d been having all week. I wasn’t kidding when I said I was insatiable, and Ryland actually looked exhausted.

I grinned as I watched him doze off in the hammock, the sun shining down on his bare chest. He looked so handsome I wanted to go curl up beside him, but I knew we wouldn’t get any sleeping done. And he needed a nap. Whatever he was planning had taken up a lot of his time this morning, and I pouted the entire time he was on the phone.

Regardless, I knew it would all be worth it when I became Mrs. Ryland Bennett at the end of the week. It was still surreal. This thing that had started with so much darkness was now filled with light, and I had to wonder if it could last. I hated feeling that way. Like something might come and snatch it away at any moment. I needed to put those thoughts out of my head. I needed to leave the past behind.

***

“Brighton, you look so beautiful,” Nicole gushed. “I love that dress.”

I stared at my reflection in the mirror with a nervous smile. My dress was chiffon and ivory lace with a sweetheart neckline, and it hit just above my knees. It was perfect, and I couldn’t be happier with it.

“Will you do my hair?” I asked Nicole. “I have no clue what to do with it.”

“Of course.” She ushered me to a chair and helped me sit down. “We have to do something with soft, natural waves. It’s perfect for a beach wedding.”

She set to work, talking over the bobby pins in her mouth. “I still can’t believe this is real,” she said. “Can you believe how far you and Ryland have come?”

“I know.” I smiled. “It’s kind of crazy.”

We went from him blackmailing me and wanting my family dead to being crazy in love. It wouldn’t make sense to most people, but I didn’t care. He was my soul mate. He was my everything, and I wouldn’t change a minute of what had happened between us because it brought us to where we were.

“Has he come back yet?” I asked. He’d been gone all morning, and I was worried that something would happen. I was starting to become just like him.

“Dear God, there’s two of you,” Nicole teased. “He’s fine, Brighton. He checked in with me an hour ago and said he was on his way back. He should be here any minute.”

Almost as if on cue, a knock sounded on the bedroom door, and I glanced around in panic. “He can’t see me yet.”

“Don’t worry.” Nicole grinned as she walked towards the door. “I wouldn’t allow that to happen.”

She opened the door, and my mouth fell open when I saw who was standing on the other side.

“Norma?”

“Surprise!” she threw her hands up in the air.

I was a little shocked when she ran over and hugged me like her life depended on it. We were still trying to figure out how this whole being sober relationship worked between us. There were tears in her eyes when she pulled away and held me at arm’s length. “My God, Brighton, you look so beautiful. That boy won’t know what hit him when he sees you walking down the aisle.”

“I can’t believe you came,” I stammered.

Great, now my eyes were filling with tears too. The littlest things set me off these days.

“Ryland arranged it,” she said. “He wanted you to have your family here.”

Although she didn’t mean to, her words brought a dark cloud into the room. I swallowed and looked away. Because even though Norma was there, Brayden wasn’t. And that hurt.

“He invited Brayden too,” Nicole said softly. “Just so you know.”

“He did?”

I was full on crying now. I just gave into it.

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