Page 133 of Lovestruck at Sundown
The words to adequately describe William fell short. Meanwhile, everything and everyone around us blurred, time stopped, and I silently thanked God that this feeling of lovestruck adoration was still potent and very much alive between us. And I prayed that this feeling never changed or went away.
“I look like what,” he teased, his fresh cinnamon breath hitting me in the face.
I stood on my tiptoes, pressed a soft kiss on his lips, and said, “Like you’remine.”
“No one else’s.”
“Everyone, take your places!” A woman from the wedding planner’s staff shouted. The place was filling up quickly, but William wouldn’t let go of me.
“Ready to walk down the aisle with me, Murph?” Nathan said behind me. William’s grasp on my waist became firmer, and his eyes were suddenly darker. Nathan was clearly taunting him with that double entendre, but that didn’t stop a low, possessive growl from forming in William’s throat.
“No need,” William replied with a glower. “She’ll be walking with me.”
“Alright,” Nathan said with a clap. “I’ll give you a minute or two to sort things out.”
“He’s the best man, and I’m the maid of honor,” I reminded William, unclasping his fingers delicately from my waist. “I’m walking with him, and that’s just how it is.”
“This is not how we do weddings back home,” William scoffed.
“Well, we’re in the United States, and this is how things are done here,” I said with a raised brow.
“Why am I just finding out that your ex is walking you down the aisle?” he kept complaining.
“Could it be that someone was late to the rehearsal because they were busy watching the men’s Roland Garros semifinal match with Liam at the venue’s bar?”
“It was only Federer’s best match this year!” he objected with a laugh. “He stopped Djokovic’s unbeaten run, and my gut tells me he will beat Nadal in the final tomorrow.”
Nathan stood at the front of the line, right behind Nathalie and Joel. It was time for me to join him. One of the musicians started playing a beautiful cello piece in the distance, and that was our queue to let us know the ceremony was about to begin.
William turned toward the dais where the musicians sat, and his brow pulled in as he squinted with inquisitiveness. Then, his eyes widened with shock. I was about to ask what was wrong when someone from the staff grabbed me by the shoulders and placed me next to Nathan.
“Nervous?” Nathan surveyed my face, probably detecting something off in my features. But I shook my head with a smile and looped my arm around his as I secretly wondered what orwhoWilliam had seen to make him react that way.
With everythinghappening after the ceremony, I didn’t get the chance to ask William what his earlier reaction was all about until we sat down for dinner at the reception. We shared a huge table with all the Sjöberg family, including Nathan, Vivienne, and Nathalie’s new boyfriend, Lars. William told me they had dated back in high school. They broke up after two years together, got married to other people, divorced, and now had reconnected after all these years.
Sivert was visibly displeased with Lars’s presence. One could say he was a little jealous by the disdainful looks he shot Lars’s way. But Joel wanted his mother to be happy, and he didn’t mind Lars being invited to the wedding. And it’d been a while since I’d seen her this happy and at peace.
“What happened before the ceremony started?” I finally asked in a hushed voice, trying to be discreet. “Did you see a ghost?” I kept my tone playful so he would feel more inclined to tell me.
“Something like that, yeah.” He sliced a piece of his filet and took it to his mouth. I waited for him to chew and swallow. “See the blonde cello player on the right?”
I nodded. “Cello Player Number 3. I remember her from the audition tapes. Lily and I loved her from the start.”
“Cello Player Number 3 is Astrid,” he said, staring at his plate as he stabbed a potato and dabbed it in the sauce before eating it. He wiped the corners of his lips with the napkin. “My ex. The one I told you about.”
William had mentioned her briefly back in December. He told me they had parted ways when she moved to Gothenburg to pursue a degree in music while he stayed in Stockholm to become a chef. All I knew was that things hadn’t ended on a good note and that they hadn’t seen each other since.
“I didn’t even know she lived in New York,” William added before I could think of anything else to say. “But please don’t mistake my shock of seeing her with anything else. It’s just that I wasn’t expecting to see her, and least of all at Joel’s wedding.”
“No, it’s fine.” I shook my head with a smile. “I was curious to know what made you react that way.”
We didn’t discuss the topic any further.
The final portion of dinner was up, and the musicians stopped playing when the DJ took over. Before the rest of the ensemble finished gathering and packing their instruments, I noticed Astrid heading our way, her cello case strapped around her shoulders like a backpack.
William’s jaw tensed, but he licked his lips and looked away, resting a hand on my knee.
“Is that … Astrid?” Eric said with a surprised smile as she lifted her hand and waved at our table. William perked up in his seat as his family members turned to look at him and see his reaction to Astrid’s presence. Nathan, who sat at our table, looked at me instead.
