Page 80 of You Are Cordially Invited

“There’s someone special waiting for you.” Ed smiled softly. “And he’s not the most patient of men.”

Holy shitballs.A kaleidoscope of butterflies took flight in my stomach, warmth flooded my body, and my heartbeat cranked up a couple of notches or seventy. I’d been waiting on this moment for a long, long time.

And now it was here.

Georgie once again dabbed at the tears gathering on my lashes. “Don’t you dare make me fuck up my makeup,” she sniffled, her own eyes alight and shining.

My gaze slid from her to Ed, to Mac, and finally to Craig and Cory and the lumbering bulk of Tink pressed against Cory’s side.

My heart filled to bursting and a huge smile broke over my face. “Okay, let’s do this.”

Chapter Sixteen

Cam

“Oh my god,he’s gonna hate it.” I glared at my reflection in the mirror. Is it too late to change the colour? Reuben’s always liked my green eyeliner the best.”

“You’re wearing pink, you dipshit,” Jasmine snapped. “You are not putting green eyeliner with pink tulle, for fuck’s sake.”

I stared down at my outfit. “Oh right.” I was losing my fucking mind.

“Now stand still so I can get your grubby finger marks off my foundation, again.”

“Sorry.”

She stared at me. “Who are you and what have you done with my insufferable brother? Youneversay sorry and your fabulous is a bit thin and tatty around the edges. Pull yourself together or Reuben will wonder if they swapped you out for a more agreeable model.”

“Sorry.” I winced. “Fuck. Point taken. I need something to irritate me back into queen-mode.”

“And how’s the blushing bride?” Michael pushed his way through the curtains and froze, his mouth falling open.

“And there it is.” I winked at Jasmine. “I think I’ll be just fine, now.”

She laughed and started packing my makeup.

“Damn, baby.” Michael walked a circle around my fidgety self before taking both of my hands in his. “You look fucking beautiful.”

He held my gaze, but I wasn’t going to cry.I wasn’t. “Stop it,” I hissed, following with a loud sniff. “Dammit to hell and back, pass me another bloody Kleenex. If you make me smudge this makeup, Michael Oliver, I’ll bury every X-ray request of yours to the bottom of the pile for the next fifty years, and you’ll have our favourite X-ray tech, Lucinda, up your arse with crampons on a daily basis.”

“And he’s back.” Jasmine grinned and kissed me on the cheek. “Right, my job here is done. Fifteen minutes till showtime, folks.” She grabbed my hand. “See you down there, little brother.”

I held her beautiful, crazy, smart, and calculating eyes and whispered, “Thank you, Jazz.”

She sniffed back a tear and left, passing Sandy, Jake, and Mathew on their way in. They looked amazing in their black tuxes, light pink shirts, and black ties. Jake still had a bit of a beaten puppy look about him after his breakup with Trent, but he was rallying hard.

Mathew whistled long and low. “Holy smokes, bro. Look at you. Is that a... harness?” He reached out a hand and I slapped it away.

“It is. And I don’t need you pawing at it. What do you think?” I did a little twirl.

“You look beautiful.” Sandy wiped at his eyes.

“Jake?” I turned to my cousin who was still staring with his mouth wide open.

“I, ah, sorry.” Jake cleared his throat. “I just, man, I don’t have any words. You always look great, Cam, but you’ve just blown it out of the park. Reuben’s going to lose his fucking mind.”

I turned back to the mirror and smoothed a hand down the waistcoat. “That’s the general idea.”

“Seven minutes till we start walking,” Michael reminded us.

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