Page 116 of Wilder at Heart
Nora
If I’d stood here a few months ago, alone and believing myself heartbroken, and watched these two prepare to pledge themselves to each other, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have survived.
Saoirse I can handle. She’s beyond excited to be marrying Miles and to be surrounded by family. The way she is with Bea is so natural no one would believe she’s not her biological mother. She’s one of the genuinely nicest people I’ve ever met, and I could never begrudge Saoirse her happiness.
Miles, on the other hand, is such an emotional mess it kills me. Before yesterday, I’m not sure I could have borne seeing a man look at a woman the way he looks at Saoirse.
Like he’s ripped his heart out for her and he’s promising it to this woman. Offering it to her, so she can hold it in her hands.
But today, I observe him not with envy, but with understanding.
Because today, I know what it’s like to have a man look atmelike that. Like I hold his heart in my hands.
His future.
Being part of a wedding weekend where the best man is insanely hot is a lot of fun.
Being part of a wedding weekend where the best man brought you to earth-shattering orgasm last night, and again this morning, is downright amazing.
Especially when the sinful looks he’s been casting you promise more of the same tonight.
Said insanely hot best man slips away from his brother the first chance he has at the informal pre-wedding brunch, and slides a muscular arm around my waist. He tucks my face under his chin and I inhale his scent through his soft t-shirt about as subtly as he buries his nose in my hair.
‘Not too stressed?’ His lips vibrate against my scalp.
‘Nope.’ I tug him closer. ‘Saoirse’s the dream bride. And all the helicopter guests have arrived, thank God. There are a few more dribbling down from London this afternoon, but they can look after themselves.’
‘Well done. And no last-minute calamities? I hope they’ve kept Bea away from the cake?’
Theo’s little niece has a well-documented sweet tooth. With their budget, Miles and Saoirse could have had the fanciest cake in London, but they opted to have it crafted from scratch down here at the farm instead. Saoirse brought Bea along with her for the critical tasting session, and the farm’s pastry chef, Molly, passed the Beatrice Montague approval process with flying colours.
Not only did her creations taste like the work of angels, but Saoirse admitted to having a mega girl-crush on Molly. She wasn’t the only one. I was similarly fascinated by her. She was like a haunted princess from an ancient fairytale.
‘Is it weird that I really want to see her hair down?’ Saoirse whispered to me one time, when we were debating cake toppers.
‘No,’ I hissed back. ‘I’m dying to unpin it. Maybe she’s secretly Rapunzel.’
Molly always wore her hair up in golden swirls and knots that had me captivated. It looked endless, from what I could see. If I had hair like that, I’d wear it loose the whole time. Health and safety regulations be damned.
‘She always looks sad,’ I said. ‘Don’t you think?’
‘I think she’s just exhausted,’ Saoirse said. ‘She’s got a little girl Bea’s age, and an older son. She’s a single mum, you know?’
‘What kind of idiot walks away from that?’ I wondered out loud. ‘She’s so gorgeous it’s obscene.’
‘Some men are a lot dumber than the Montague brothers,’ Saoirse pointed out.
‘Yeah, and from the sounds of it, they weren’t always this smart,’ I said drily. ‘Not until they met us.’
I turn now to my highly intelligent boyfriend.
‘The cake’s under lock and key,’ I assure his firm pecs. ‘And it’s bloody amazing. But you look like you’re doing more babysitting than me. How’s the groom holding up?’
Theo pulls away enough to look at me.
‘He’s a fucking mess.’ He shakes his head in mock disgust. ‘Honestly, he’ll be blubbering like a baby when they say their vows.’
I look over at Miles. His eyes are red and puffy, but he has a delirious smile on his face as he chats to his future mother-in-law.
