All of Me (Inside Out #5.5)(43)

“None. Chris has all of me.”

? ? ?

Chantal leaves to get herself ready when the makeup and hair women arrive. I change into the sexy white bra and panty set I bought for today, with thigh-highs and garters. My face is then soaked in some sort of mask, and after that the true styling process begins. Once my hair and makeup are done, the two of them help me into my dress without mishap.

I’m standing in front of the mirror, admiring the long, sheer sleeves of the dress when a knock sounds and Katie pokes her head in. “Need help?” She quickly enters the room, shutting us inside, her face glowing with excitement. “You are such a beautiful bride. I’d worried about you not having a veil, but you’re elegance personified. Absolute perfection.”

“Thank you. I hope Chris thinks so, too.”

“Of course he will. And I’ve never seen that man nervous until today. He’s very eager to have his wife by his side.”

“Chris doesn’t get nervous.”

“He’s pacing, and on his sketch pad he’s drawn everything from stick people to someone’s coffee cup.”

“Stick people? Chris? Okay, maybe he is nervous.”

She glances at her watch. “They should be ready for you in five minutes. I’m going to check on things. Don’t sit, or you’ll get wrinkled.” She exits and isn’t gone more than a minute before a knock sounds on the door.

I open it and peek around to find Mark standing there. “I’d ask how you got to me, but something tells me it involved Jacob or Blake.”

“It did,” he confirms, and I open the door.

Mark steps inside the room, consuming it as he does most rooms he enters, looking his normal, immaculate, good-looking self in a blue pinstriped suit and matching tie. “You look lovely, Sara. Chris is a lucky man, and I just finished telling him that.”

“You did?”

“Yes. I did. I asked his permission to come and talk to you. I was hurting and in denial, just like you said I was the night I tried to kiss you. I tried to break you and Chris up, and it ended up delivering me to the doorstep of the woman I plan to call my wife. And she’s an amazing woman. She wouldn’t let me deny what Rebecca was to me, then or now. I am forever in your debt. Anything you need, just ask. And when I say you, I mean both you and Chris.”

“Thank you, Mark. I’m so happy you’ve found a way to heal with Crystal.”

“It’s a work in progress, but I’m getting there. I asked Chris to be my best man.”

“Now you’re going to make me cry and mess up my makeup.”

“No tears, Ms. McMillan. That’s an order.” He closes the space between us and hugs me, holding me for a long moment. “You have affected my life in ways I’m not sure you’ll ever fully understand.” He releases me and leaves, shutting the door behind him.

When the door opens again, it’s Katie. “It’s time, honey.”

“Oh,” I whisper, nerves exploding inside me. “It’s time.”

“Your man is already in the gazebo, waiting for you.”

I step into the hallway and Mike is waiting, looking sharp in a tuxedo. “I have the rings.” He takes my arm. “And now I have the beautiful bride.”

I cling to his arm. “Thank you. I feel unsteady.”

“I won’t let you fall. And I promise you, neither will Chris.”

There’s a tiny pinch in my chest at his sincerity, and a wish that my father could say such things and mean them, but I quickly shove it aside. “I know,” I say, eager to get to Chris.

Jacob and Blake are at the exit when I arrive, and Jacob hands me my bouquet, giving me a grand bow before he opens the door for me. I pause and kiss him on the cheek. “Thanks for taking good care of us.”

“What about me?” Blake demands.

“You stole Jacob from us. You get no kiss.” I walk out of the chateau with Mike, and freeze with the realization that hundreds of eyes are upon me.

Then the music starts, and goose bumps rise on my skin. This is it. This is where Chris and I have been headed since the day we met. My feet carry me forward as I scan the crowd, and I find Chantal sitting with Rey, several famous artists I’ve only dreamed of meeting, Gina Ray, the famous actress who’d come to my aid when I’d faced Michael in Los Angeles. . . . The list goes on.

I hold tight to Mike, focusing on the words of the song. ’Cause it’s you and me and all of the people . . .

I clutch my flowers.

Nothing to lose, nothing to prove. And I don’t know why I can’t keep my eyes off of you.

I step onto the bridge and finally see Chris. He steps to the center on the other side, looking like pure masculine perfection in his tuxedo. His eyes meet mine, and everything else fades. No one else matters. It’s just me and him.

I’m steadier, my pace quicker now, and when Mike releases my arm, I step in front of Chris.

His hands go to my waist and he pulls me to him, his eyes warm with promise. “You look beautiful, Sara.”

“I can’t believe we’re finally doing this.”

“Finally,” he echoes as the music stops and we step under the pink rose-covered gazebo. We stand in front of the preacher, facing each other.

The ceremony starts and Chris and I stare at each other, the words barely registering for me. I hear the call for the rings, though, and the preacher gives me Chris’s ring. I take it, my hands trembling so badly, I can’t get it on him.