Page 90 of The Mistletoe Bluff
Ican’t believe this is happening,” Elsie muttered, making me laugh.
“What?” I asked, eyeing her simple sage green dress, a small bouquet of flowers in her hand.
Elsie fixed me with alook. “You’re getting married before I am.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not my fault that you’re taking forever with the wedding plans.” I fought the urge to stick my tongue out at her.
“Yeah, but you didn’t even plan a wedding, Maya. You’reeloping.”
The way she said the word made it sound dirty.
But it wasn’t. This was what Oliver and I had chosen. We didn’t want a big wedding, and instead wanted to celebrate with the people closest to us.
Plus, with me and Oliver’s photography business exploding over the past few months and all the resulting traveling we’d been doing, neither of us had the time or energy to plan a big, elaborate wedding.
This made sense for us.
“It’s what we want, Els,” I said, smiling at my best friend. “Are you actually upset?”
Elsie’s smile was bright as she grinned at me. “Of course not, Maya. I’m so happy for you.” She pulled me into a hug, squeezing the living daylights out of my lungs.
“Though, technically,” Emma said as she came around the corner in a green dress of her own, breaking up our hug, “can it be called eloping since we’re still in Meridel?” She cast an anxious look around. Emma had been on edge ever since we told her where the ceremony would be held.
I stuck my tongue out at her. “Well, it’s sudden and last minute, and only possible because the Walker family allowed us to use the gazebo on their property for the ceremony, and only you two, Jameson, Aunt Maggie, and Molly will be here, so I’d consider it eloping.”
She was clearly nervous about being here. She had a lot of memories that haunted her, but I wasn’t about to let it ruin my day.
I let out a long shaky breath, smoothing down the white, satin dress I was wearing.
Oliver and I were getting married.
It was just shy of six months since he had asked me to be his girlfriend beneath the lights of that evergreen tree.
So much had happened in such a short time.
We started our photography business together, and any anxiety I had about it was quickly erased. Thanks to his endless connections, our business grew in the blink of an eye, way faster than either of us expected, and we were so busy that we were already booked halfway through next year.
I never imagined this could be my reality, going from enemies to owning a business together, but the fact that I got to do what I loved next to the man I loved made it even more special.
Plus, it didn’t hurt that within a few months, my debt was paid off, removing that weight from my shoulders. For the first time in almost two years, I could breathe—and it was all thanks to the man I was about to marry.
Since we both withdrew fromRising Star,we never learned who won, and frankly, neither of us cared. The way things turned out was so much better.
His dad went back to England, and we visited his mom often since she had decided to remain in Iowa full time.
“Are you ready?” Emma asked, grabbing her bouquet.
I smoothed down my dress once more before picking up a larger bundle of cream and blush themed flowers. It was full of poppies—my favorite—pink roses, baby’s breath, and chrysanthemums. It was stunning and smelled like the first day of spring.
“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life,” I replied before following Elsie and Emma out to the field which held the gazebo where I would marry Oliver.
Someone must have given Jameson the signal because music started as soon as my feet hit the grass, and Elsie and Emma walked down the path ahead of me.Molly stood next to Oliver, and Aunt Maggie sat in a wheelchair next to the other girls.
Time sped up—like it always did around Oliver—as I walked down the rose petal covered grass toward the man in a tux standing under the gazebo.
His smile was like a secret meant only for me—full of joy and dreams.
A year ago, I would have laughed at the idea of getting married, let alone to Oliver Lewis.
