Page 61 of Forever His Brat

Charlie nodded but it came off as more of a hesitant jerking of her head. “I think it’s just nerves. How long do we have?” She couldn’t reach her phone without getting up again and Katie would probably kill her if she did.

“Over an hour. And the pavilion is all set. The caterers are here and were setting up the buffet tables when I checked. Flowers, cake—” She ticked off each item on her fingers. “— everything is ready except you. So, settle your ass down and let me finish before I put my Dom hat on.”

Charlie burst out in laughter just the way Katie had meant her to. Her best friend, and maid of honor, was the furthest thing from a Dom that Charlie could imagine. She needed the laugh and it helped to lighten her stress a little.

“I’m settled, I swear,” she said, when the laughter stopped.

“Good, now I can—” Katie rolled her eyes to the ceiling and audibly prayed for patience when her phone rang. She put the brush down and answered it. “Hey Daddy, you guys are late, and Charlie is going to have a meltdown if you’re not calling to tell us you’re back.”

She listened for a second, and then gave Charlie a thumbs-up and a grin. “Great. Any problems?” She paused, eyebrows going up. “Seriously?”

Charlie turned. “What?”

Katie waved her away, shaking her head. “Really? The audacity. Yeah. Glad you took care of it, soCharlie doesn’t need to worry.” The last part was clearly aimed at Charlie, though she said it into the phone.

It didn’t help much, but Charlie tried to hold back her stress levels by going through some of the counting exercises her therapist had taught her. She was much better at managing stress and panic than she used to be, but the techniques had been essential as the wedding grew closer.

“We’re fine. We’ll be on time. Tell Sam she looks amazing and he’s going to cry like a big baby when he sees her.” Katie was laughing as she put the phone down.

Then she gave Charlie her attention. “Do you want the good news, the bad news, or no news at all?” Her tone of voice said she knew Charlie was going to want it all.

“Just tell me!”

Katie rolled her eyes. “I will—ifyou turn around and let me work on your hair.” She pointed firmly and Charlie reluctantly settled back into place, facing the mirror. “So, they picked up your mom on time. Everything was good, but since we all decided that keeping her away from you before the wedding was a good plan, they were going to bring her straight to the pavilion.”

Charlie hadn’t entirely agreed with that plan, but Sam had been firm about Vicky not having the chance to upset her. “Right?”

“She said she needed to change first. They didn’t want to bring her here, so they took her over to the cabin. And… when she came out of the bathroom, she was wearing a long white dress.”

Charlie’s face paled right in the mirror. “She what?”

“It didn’t lookexactlylike a wedding dress, but it was pretty close. Definitely not appropriate so Sam wouldn’t let her out of the cabin until she changed into something else. There was a big fight.”

“Oh no!” Charlie covered her face in both hands.

“Don’t worry. Nick threatened to drive her right back to the airport and dump her on the curb. She gave in and changed. She’s sulking a little but it’s fine. Head up, please.” Katie tapped the top of Charlie’s head with the brush.

In a way it was a relief to know what the big drama would be—because she’d known there would besomethingto deal with. Now that it was taken care of, hopefully the rest of the day would go smoothly. She was able to sit still as Katie styled her hair.

When it was done, Charlie could hardly believe how perfect it looked. It was the exact style she’d shown Katie in the magazine. It was swept up high in back and in front, graceful, dark curls framed her face in long spirals.

“I love it,” she whispered.

“Of course. I told you, I used to do this for a living. Okay let me do your make-up real fast and then I need to get myself ready,” Katie said, leaning over to grab her bag.

Charlie felt guilty that Katie had been so busy fussing over her that she hadn’t had a chance to do her own hair yet. “I can do my own while you get ready,” she suggested.

Katie glared. “No. You need flawless makeup to match that amazing hairstyle I gave you. Besides it won’t take me long to get ready. No one is going to be looking at me anyway, not beside you and that new-bride glow you’ve got going on.”

Charlie flushed and peered into the mirror. Was she really glowing? She didn’t see that in her reflection.

But later, when Sam looked up and saw her walking slowly towards him, she did see it in his eyes. The way they took on that wide stunned look as his mouth fell open. She trembled and nearly dropped her bouquet of daisies when he snapped it closed and focused on her with an intensely possessive look.

She could practically hear him growling ‘Mine!’ in her ear. She paused, falling out of step with the music and just stared at him. He was so gorgeous in his tailored suit, with his hair slicked back and styled with more care than she’d ever seen him take before.

The same hunger to be entirely his forever throbbed in every part of her body. A year ago, just thinking about marriage was enough to send her into a panic attack, but now… she wanted to rush to his side to complete the ceremony. She might have if Mike hadn’t caught her attention.

“You okay, Charlie?” He asked in a low tone that wouldn’t be overheard. As her father’s oldest friend, and the closest thing she had to an uncle, Mike was walking her down the aisle in Jimmy’s place. Now he was giving her a parental look of concern to match.

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