Page 27 of In the Light of Day

I’m trying to control the panic on my face but I can see Mila's eyes soften in understanding.

“No blindfolds,” she says with a gentle smile on her face, repeating the words again for my reassurance.

“Your surprise is at Aces, so just over the hill but you can kind of see it from the road. We’re going down the driveway and will park outside the house. Then you'll see part one.”

“Part one?” I question.

“Cover your eyes, Nova. No peaking,” she says, chuckling.

I feel the car move forward, Charlie’s hand rests on my shoulder from the back seat softly calling out what's happening as the car turns into the driveway, coming to a gentle stop on the gravel.

“Stay there. We're going to help you out of the car but don't you dare uncover your eyes? If you do ... I don't know, I’ll chop your arms off or something, so don't do it,” Mila sasses as I hear her car door open, closely followed with my own.

The warm summer air blows around me as I’m shuffled several metres complaining that arm chopping is a bit of an extreme reaction and questioning if she's pregnant again because surely that's the hormones talking.

“Are you ready?” Charlie asks, standing beside me. The excitement in her voice making me both nervous and intrigued.

“You can open your eyes now, baby girl.”

The unmistakable voice of my Pop causes me to whip my arms down, taking a second for the intense glare to fade as my eyes adjust to the brightness.

“You ready for this sheriff?” Charlie asks.

Ready for what?

Moving closer, I step into the shade of the barn, gasping at the sight of my Pop standing in a crisp black suit.

“Pop, why are you in a suit? And why ... ” my breath hitches at what I notice hanging behind him.

“Is that a wedding dress behind you?”

Chapter 22 - Nova

Heal - Tom Odell?

The squeals of my two best friends make my ears ring as they jump up and down in excitement, but my gaze doesn't waver from the wedding dress hanging behind my Pop. He remains stoic in his presence, letting the squealing die down before I'm dragged closer to him.

“Ladies,” he says, tipping his head at us. “I love this enthusiasm but if you keep screaming I'll end up getting hearing aids. Can I have a moment to talk with my girl before you both start the transformation process?” He says grinning, wiggling a finger in his ear to try and get his hearing back.

“Of course. We’ll head up to the apartment and get everything set up,” Mila says, motioning to the stairwell further down the barn, practically leaping with excitement.

Ace has converted and built on to this barn so much over the years that I can barely remember what it used to look like. But I do know that through the old sliding door at the other end, is a beautiful small pond. His favourite place on the property and one that he’s already mentioned he could be married by.

Is this what's happening? My marriage to Ace?

I wish it were real.

Taking my cheek in his hand, my Pop looks down at me his expression full of affection.

“I’m not sure if I ever told you about the night you first came to stay with us. I heard you get up, and then I heard both you and Ace walk back to your room. I was about ready to grab my shotgun and tell him to get the hell out of my house for even thinking of staying with you that night. But, Martha ... she.”

He chuckles at the memory he's reliving, quickly wiping away a tear that threatened to fall.

“She stood in front of our bedroom door and told me flat out, that just because I had a daughter now, it didn't mean I could go barging into her room in the middle of the night, especially when the man she had in there loved her ... protected her. She always knew that this would happen. She told me there would be a day when I would get to walk you down the aisle and that Ace would be the man standing at the altar.”

“Pop, it's not real,” I sob. “This is all just for show. Something we can tell my family about to cover up my lies .”

He pulls me into his firm chest, holding me tightly as I try to control my breathing. I wish it was real, but it's not. I've never met another man that elicits the feelings Ace gives me. There was always a spark but then one day his touch made my heart beat a little faster and my breath would catch when I caught him staring at me, always the same faint blush on his cheeks when he realised I'd seen.

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