Page 149 of Snowed In
Molly nods, even as she fiddles with fabric at her waist, smoothing out a nonexistent wrinkle. “Yes.”
“No second thoughts?” Hannah continues and gives me a wicked grin over her shoulder. Molly doesn’t notice, too busy staring at her reflection like she doesn’t recognize the girl gazing back at her.
“You look stunning,” I tell for her the millionth time, and I mean it. The dress is simple and perfect for her. A long white gown. No veil, no frills. Just a sweep of fabric down to the floor and a short train to make it look like she’s gliding when she walks. Her blonde hair is pinned up and back and dotted with flowers, like she’s stepped out of a fairy tale.
She’s a beautiful bride.
And also, apparently, a hungry one.
With a sharp exhale, Molly turns abruptly from the mirror, almost making me drop the necklace I’m clasping at her neck as she crosses the hotel room to one of the many boxes of treats arranged on the table.
She barely glances at them before she pops a truffle in her mouth. And then another.
“Chocolate dehydrates your mouth,” Hannah tells her. “You don’t want a dry mouth.”
“I don’t want a wedding,” Molly retorts. “Why did I agree to a big wedding?”
“Because you want to make my brother happy. And he is going to be very, very happy when he sees you walk down the aisle in this dress with no chocolate stains on your face.” She takes out a tissue as she speaks, dabbing it at the corner of her lips.
They had a small civil ceremony in Chicago for their friends over there. But this is a proper Irish wedding. It’s big. It’s a party. And at Christmastime, no less. There’s a lot of guests down there.
“I’m not good at talking in front of people,” Molly continues.
“You talk in front of people all the time,” Zoe says as she exits the bathroom. “It’s literally your job. You stand in front of people, and you talk.”
“I stand in front ofstrangers,and I talk aboutfood.”
“We should start thinking about going downstairs,” Hannah says, the official schedule keeper of the room. “They said eleven.”
“I’m not ready.”
“Yes, you are,” I remind her. “There’s no one but family and friends down there. And the man you love more than anyone else in the world.”
“I just don’t like attention.”
“Would you like me to make a scene? Distract them a little?”
That gets a smile out of her. A small grateful one as she squeezes my hand. “Can I have a minute instead?”
“You can have five,” I say, as Hannah checks the time with a pointed look. “If you can’t run the show on your wedding day, then when can you? I’ll let everyone know.”
“And I’ll hide the chocolate,” Zoe says, taking the box from Molly’s hands.
I slip out of the room, grabbing the navy shrug that each of the bridesmaids has. Hannah made all our dresses, deep forest-green ones that she designed as a present to her brother, and as I head toward the hotel elevators, I delight as I always do in wearing something new, something beautiful. I’ve already decided to wear it again at our New Year’s party. With the right shoes I can dress it down and maybe add some—
“Hi.”
My eyes widen as the elevator doors slide open to reveal Christian standing inside.
“Where are you going in such a rush?” he asks, as he steps smoothly out into the hallway.
“Molly needs five more minutes.”
“What a coincidence. So do I.”
I’m confused for an instant before I catch the look on his face. “No,we—”
“Maybe ten.” He grabs my hand, whisking me a few steps down the corridor and around a corner, where he brings me to a stop, my back against the wall. “I missed you last night.”
