Page 88 of One More Shot
I lean back into the armchair and try to sort through my thoughts. Do I love Eliott?
Really, genuinely love her?
I care about her. I know that for sure. I want to be the reason she wakes up with a smile every morning. I want to be the person she can rely on without even having to think twice about it. I want to be the constant in her life – the one thing she never has to worry about because she knows I’ll always be there.
Is that love?
Almost as if on cue, there’s a sharp knock on the door and Eliott’s voice suddenly floats through the wood. ‘Are you guys decent? I’m here to take your “getting ready” photos.’
Just the sound of her voice realigns my entire world. The walls stop spinning and everything comes back into perfect focus.
Cash gives me a knowing smirk before he turns his head and calls out, ‘Come on in, Eliott. We’re good.’
My heart stops, then starts and then stops again as the door is pushed open and Eliott comes striding in.
Do I love Eliott? I ask myself the question again as I take in the sight of her. She’s wearing a flowy green dress that pinches at her waistline, showing off the beautiful curves I spent the previous night tracing with my fingers. She looks absolutely gorgeous. That goes without saying.
But do I love her?
The smile she’s wearing softens slightly as her brown eyes scan the room and eventually land on me. All the moisture in my mouth evaporates and I choke on any hope of a greeting I had on the tip of my tongue.
Yes.
The answer comes to me with unwavering clarity.
I do love her.
Now I’ve admitted it to myself, it seems so obvious. How could I not love someone as brilliant, as sweet, and as caring as Eliott? Someone who gives her all to the people she cares about without asking anything in return.
She might not ask for it, but I want to give it to her, anyway.
I want to give her the world if she’ll let me.
I love this woman with every fibre of my being, and the thought terrifies me.
Because I’ve been here before and I know how this ends. And it can’t end like that this time. Not again. Not with Eliott.
A memory floats to the forefront of my mind.
Eliott, sick in bed and curled around me for extra warmth. I remember that day perfectly. The way she leaned on me and let me take care of her when she needed it. How she felt pressed up against me as we cuddled in her bed. And how she made my heart stop when she lifted her head and murmured, still slightly delirious, ‘You’re more than enough for me.’
Did she mean that or was it a sickness-induced bout of insanity?
I’m running on autopilot as Eliott stages us for photos. I can barely remember a word anyone says as I let them shuffle me this way and that, forcing a grin onto my face for the camera.
Part of me wishes that Cash had never said anything at all. That he just let me live in my self-imposed delusion for the rest of my days.
But another steadily growing part of me is grateful he said anything, because now I’m allowing myself the opportunity to imagine a world where me and Eliott have the chance to grow into something amazing.
And I’m starting to like the idea of living in that world.
Chapter Twenty-EightELIOTT
The excitement in the bridal suite is infectious.
Bailey is sitting on the bed, holding back tears as her mother zips up her wedding dress for her. She’s not the only one with tears threatening to destroy three hours’ worth of make-up.
Amber’s standing off to the side, her shoulders shaking every few seconds as she tries to choke back her sobs. Bailey’s other bridesmaid, a young woman named Bea who arrived on the first flight in this morning, is using a beauty blender to dab at her own tears.
