Page 89 of One More Shot
I don’t blame them.
Bailey looks stunning, like she stepped right off the pages of a fairy tale. Her hair floats around her in a beautiful, voluminous cloud of black curls and her dress, a flowing white gown that looks like a shimmery wave when she walks, fits her like a glove.
‘You lookphenomenal,’ Amber cries, giving up any pretence of holding back her tears.
‘Beautiful,’ Bea sniffs, still dabbing away with the blender.
I cling to the outer edges of the room and snap photos as I go, documenting every watery smile, every choked laugh, every tight hug. I capture it all and my heart swells with each press of the shutter button.
Bailey’s mother and Bea both leave after a few minutes to run downstairs and help with a handful of last-minute preparation tasks, leaving me alone in the room with Bailey and Amber.
‘I’m so happy you two found each other,’ Amber says, still blinking back tears. ‘That you’ve found the person who loves you the way you deserve to be loved.’
‘And you,’ Bailey says, pulling Amber into a tight hug. ‘Every time Finn even looks at you, I just melt.’
Amber uses a finger to wipe away one of Bailey’s tears. ‘Today isn’t about me.’
‘But I’m not wrong.’
‘You’re not,’ Amber laughs. ‘We both got lucky, I guess.’ She takes a step back and runs her hand along the front of her pale pink bridesmaid dress. Bailey’s hand follows the same path and they both stop just above the slight, barely noticeable bump of Amber’s stomach.
I snap a shot of this intimate moment, blinking back tears of my own. I’m not usually this affected by displays of love,but there’s something about Bailey and Amber’s friendship that tugs at my heartstrings.
It’s beautiful and pure and I can’t help but want the best for these two women I barely even know.
‘God,’ Bailey sniffs, wiping away the last remnants of her tears. ‘If we don’t stop soon, we’ll have to call the make-up artist to come back and fix all of this.’
‘You look beautiful,’ Amber says firmly. ‘Perfect. If Cash doesn’t burst into tears the second you step onto that aisle, I want a redo.’
They both burst into contagious giggles, spreading a warmth that seems to fill the entire room.
I can’t help but wonder if this will be me and Sasha one day. It’s only a matter of time before Sasha and Wes tie the knot, and then will it be the two of us standing together in her bridal suite, blinking back tears as we talk about the turn our lives have taken?
Sasha has Wes, and I – who do I have?
Dane?
Will I still have Dane?
Do I even have himnow?
Five years from now, will Dane be my person in the same way Bailey and Amber have Cash and Finn? Or will the last six months become nothing more than a blip in my life?
I really hope not. I don’t want this to be just a brief flingthat we both move on from once we’re back in the UK. There’s somethingmorebetween us. More than just sex, more than just a fiery physical attraction.
But he has to want it as much as I do for anything real to happen between us.
And I’m not sure that he does.
I don’t think he even believes that he’s capable of wanting more. Ofdeservingmore.
‘Hey, Eliott?’ Bailey’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts.
I blink back to reality and find her staring at me with a cautious expression on her face. ‘What’s up?’
She hesitates for a moment, steeling herself for something. ‘Do you mind if we get a photo together?’
‘We?’ I frown. ‘As in, you and Amber? Sure, I can get some more. Did you have anything in mind?’
