Page 56 of Our Big White Lie
“And… stop.”
I did, and he smiled at me. “You ready?”
I couldn’t help beaming as I nodded. He handed me my bouquet, winked, and stepped away.
Behind me, Gail asked, “You ready, kiddo?”
Ava’s voice was thick with emotion and taut with excitement. “I’m so ready!”
I had to swallow my own emotions. Deep breath. Behind me, Ava was doing the same.
“All right, ladies, stay just like that.” Mariah snapped a few shots. Her second shooter did the same, and I stood there, smiling as my heart pounded beneath my dress. I was dying to see Ava, but I waited as patiently as I could. Everything from the rehearsal to this moment had been a blur of activity, but now time seemed to stand still. I was seconds away from seeing the woman I loved in her wedding dress, and I was sure those seconds would kill me.
Finally, Mariah said, “Okay. On the count of three, you’re both going to turn around. Tori, you’ll turn to your left. Ava, to your right. So you’ll both face me before you face each other. Got it?”
“Got it,” we both said.
I took another deep breath.
“One…”
My heart pounded even harder.
“Two…”
Oh God, here we go, here we go…
“Three.”
I turned. Ava turned. And I…
Just… stared.
I barely even registered the dress at first. All I could think was, how had I ever doubted for a single second that I belonged with anyone but this amazing woman?
Ava’s smile was huge, and the way her brown eyes welled up made my throat tight. The cameras were snapping all around us, and I was grateful because I wanted this moment frozen forever. I didn’t imagine I could ever forget it, but I still wanted the images to immortalize it.
“You look amazing,” she murmured, letting her gaze drift up and down. My whole body tingled; I hoped it never stopped being novel, seeing the desire in her eyes as she looked at me. Or feeling this incredible desire when I looked at her.
And the fact that she was wearing a wedding dress blew my mind. She was gorgeous, of course. The dress was white and simple—nothing shimmery or poofy or over-the-top. It was just so… her. Exactly what I would’ve expected her to wear when she got married.
I’d just never imagined she’d be wearing it to marryme.
Our eyes locked, and we both stared for a moment. I wondered if she was as stunned as I was, taking in the reality that we’d made it to this. That we’d come stumbling into it and realized it was exactly where we needed to be.
She stepped closer, cupped my neck in her free hand, and pressed the softest, sweetest kiss to my lips. I wrapped my arm around her, struggling not to break into a smile against her lips as cameras clicked and people “aww’ed” all around us.
When Ava drew back, her eyes were the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. So full of love and fixed right on me.
“I love you,” I whispered.
“I love you, too,” she said. “Even if we were slow learners about it.”
That had us both laughing, and I was glad to still hear cameras clicking. I wanted these photos plastered all over our house, on the refrigerator, as my laptop background and phone lockscreen.
I could’ve stayed in this moment forever, but we were on a bit of a schedule, and there was another super important item on that agenda: the ceremony.
“Okay.” I squeezed Ava’s hand. “You ready to do this?”
