Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66570 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66570 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
The excess and over-the-top day gave me a headache. Kelsey’s constant griping about the things she didn’t like was endless. Thinking back to the fake smiles on both of our faces in the photos made me shudder.
Today, I woke up excited, hopeful, filled with a sense of purpose. Today, I would marry Amy. Mia would have a mother who loved her. I would have a wife who wanted me for me. Loved me for me. Wanted to build a forever life with me.
Today was going to be an amazing day.
The cabin felt empty. I had spent the night alone, Mia with Amy up at the main resort with her mother, Holly, and the girls. Amy wanted to observe the last night apart custom and wanted to stay in the main lodge with them. I hated the idea of being without her but agreed. I wasn’t sure our late-night phone sex was considered customary, but I enjoyed it. My little Chippy had a lot of pent-up energy she needed relieved. I slept far better than I expected once we hung up.
After the wedding, we would come back to this cabin she loved so much and spend four days alone. Mia was going back to the house with Amy’s parents, who would take care of her while we had a brief honeymoon. I planned a longer one for next summer, and Amy had asked if we could go away as a family over spring break. I was only too happy to grant such an unselfish request.
I glanced at the clock with a groan. It was only nine, and the ceremony wasn’t until six. Luckily, Evan was coming over to take me to town for breakfast and some bonding time. We could walk around the town and burn off some of this nervous energy. I had been told not to come to the main building until an hour before the service. I didn’t dare defy Alex.
When the knock on the door finally sounded, I was pleased to see not only Evan, but Sheldon and Dylan as well.
“Many hands make light work?” I quipped.
“I don’t want to know what your hands have been doing. Holly said she heard Amy on the phone late into the night and she wasn’t only talking,” Evan said with a wide grin as he went past me.
“Oh God, that is my sister,” Sheldon groaned.
I laughed. “Never mind your sister. What were you doing trading spit in a dark hallway with Eleanor?”
Evan gaped. “Eleanor?”
Sheldon smirked. “I call her Ellie. It confounds her. She is lovely. Just fucking lovely.”
His words and the tone he used surprised me, and I recalled when Eleanor had shown up the previous afternoon.
She walked into the large reception area, wearing a green coat, snowflakes in her burnished hair. The unexpected storm had slowed everyone down, and she was the last to arrive. Amy heaved a sigh of relief, worried over the weather and a last-minute case of nerves on Eleanor’s part. She was still hesitant around us, although when she relaxed, she was great company. When I gently suggested that perhaps Amy should not have tasked Eleanor with bringing her dress, Amy rolled her eyes.
“Eleanor prides herself on completing a job. Getting me the dress will override the nerves. That way, I know she will come.”
On my other side, Sheldon breathed out a long whistle. “Who is that gorgeous woman?”
I had to admit, Amy and Holly had transformed Eleanor. I wasn’t sure about gorgeous, but she was pretty. She wore her hair down more, ditched the drab clothing, and smiled a lot. And today, with a flush on her face, the snow in her hair, and a beaming expression, she was captivating. Sheldon certainly seemed fascinated. Eleanor looked around, spotted Amy and waved. Then she looked toward Sheldon and froze for a moment, unblinking and still. She seemed to have recovered, but she blushed when Amy introduced her to Sheldon. Every time I saw her for the rest of the evening, Sheldon was close. The clinch I caught them in later that night was anything but casual. I had a feeling if I hadn’t intruded, that hallway would have been used for things it was not intended by the architect.
Bringing myself back to the present, I met his gaze. “Lovely, is she? Exactly how well did you get to know her last night?”
He shook his head. “A gentleman never tells.”
That said everything.
“Careful,” I said, feeling protective of the woman my soon-to-be wife had become so fond of. “She’s not to be trifled with. Amy will skin you alive.”
“I have no plans for trifling with her,” Sheldon informed me. “I think she is amazing. She seems to like me, so I’m going to get to know her.”
“In the biblical way?”
He narrowed his eyes, and Dylan laughed, interrupting us. “Okay, enough grilling. We’ve got a squash court booked so I can sweat out some of your nerves. Then I have us a pub lunch planned and appointments at the barber. Trims, shaves, whatever you want.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “I promised your bride you would look good, and I always keep my promises.”