Wicked Heart (Starcrossed #3)(98)
At the end of the aisle, my brother turns. As soon as he catches sight of his bride, his jaw clenches and his eyes fill with tears.
Oh, Ethan.
I well up just looking at him. I can’t remember the last time I saw my brother cry. He used to be so closed off and damaged, and now look at him. I never thought I’d see the day he’d stand in a church and take a wife, looking so handsome in his suit, with so much love on his face I can’t even deal with it.
Beside him is Tristan, Cassie’s other best friend. Tristan is huge, exotic, and gorgeous, and he isn’t even trying to hide his tears. Behind me, I hear Ruby and Cassie sniffling as well.
Man, we’re all going to look like raccoons in the wedding pictures.
As I pass Liam, I reach out and he gently grazes my hand. That tiny touch brings everything into sharp focus. How lucky I am. How lucky my brother and Cassie are. Even Josh and Angel are here. As I make my way to the front of the church, I see old friends from e Grove: Miranda, Aiyah, Lucas, Jack. Zoe is here with a boy who’s mildly famous. Connor Baine, who loved Cassie from afar for years, seems to have a new girlfriend. Even Erika Eden, the head of acting at The Grove, is here. She grips Marco’s hand and lays her head on his shoulder as they catch sight of Cassie in all her glory.
As we take our positions at the end of the aisle, I float between grinning and weeping during the whole ceremony. Ethan and Cassie recite vows they’ve written themselves. By the time they’re done, there’s not a dry eye in the house.
What is it about weddings that reduces us all to romantic saps? Is it the presence of such incandescent happiness and love? The miracle of two souls finding perfection in each other when so much in this world is imperfect and wrong?
Whatever it is, everyone in the church feels it today. Having Liam here after so many years of struggling without him, I feel it more than most.
After the ceremony, everyone decompresses with lots of hugging and laughing, and then we all pose for photos until our faces ache. Cassie and Ethan are radiant in their happiness, and every now and then I see them gaze at each other, and I know that for those few seconds, no one else on the planet exists for them except each other.
I feel the same way when I gaze at Liam. It’s like everything else fades into hazy black-and-white while he glows in brilliant color.
It’s not until hours later, when I finally have my arms wrapped around him on the dance floor, that I can take a moment to just exhale.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look today?” Liam asks as he strokes my cheek.
“Just a few times,” I say. “Well, that makes number twenty-seven, but who’s counting?”
“Hmm. Only twenty-seven? I’m slipping.”
He tightens his arms around me.
In the six months since the news that almost broke the Internet aired on prime-time television, it’s been a long road to get to where we are now.
Mayhem erupted after Angel and Liam “broke up.” The interview that had been hailed as their phoenix moment ended up being their swan song. When they both admitted to having fallen out of love with each other, the whole country gasped. They vowed to remain lifelong friends, but they announced that the wedding had been canceled. Liam was being sincere when he said he’d always love Angel. In a way, Angel is Liam’s Josh. She’ll always be in his life, come what may.
Of course, the fans were devastated. Some of the YouTube reactions were extreme. Blame was thrown everywhere, but mostly onto Liam. “If only he hadn’t cheated!” they cried. Conspiracy theories flourished, with some clever commentators doubting the relationship was ever real. And yet, to this day, some die-hard fans still believe the breakup was a smoke screen to cover up the fact that they married in secret and are expecting their first baby.
Ah, sweet delusion.
“Hey. Are you asleep?” Liam asks with a low chuckle as he strokes my back.
“No. Just resting my eyes and thinking.”
“About?”
“You. Me. You know, the usual.”
“Hmmm.” He rests his cheek against my forehead. “You and me is my favorite thing to think about, too.”
I open my eyes and smile up at him. He rewards me with the world’s softest, yet most arousing kiss.
“Aw, get a room.” I look over to see Josh and Angel dancing beside us.
“We’ve got one,” I say. “It’s right next to yours. And that leads me to ask if it’s absolutely necessary for you two to make quite so much noise when you’re expressing your physical love.”
“It’s all Josh,” Angel says with a roll of her eyes. “I’ve tried to get him to be quiet. He sounds like I’m murdering him, for God’s sake.”
I give her a wry smile. “Oh sure. So I know that you call him Mr. Jackhammer because you’re so quiet?”
She giggles and leans over to kiss my cheek. “Shut up. You’re making me horny.”
“So, Lissa,” Josh says, trying to ignore the fact that his girlfriend is now nibbling on his earlobe. “Are you going to put on your big-girl panties and stand beside your man at his fund-raiser tomorrow night?”
Liam looks down at me. “Good question. Are you?”
One other thing the Tori Bell interview did was enable Liam to tell the world about his dyslexia. Now, he’s the founder and CEO of the James Quinn Foundation for Dyslexia Research, named for his twin brother, and he’s garnered the support of dozens of other celebrities who’ve followed his example and admitted to their disorder. The foundation’s inaugural fund-raiser is tomorrow night, and he’s been trying to convince me for months to let him show me off for the first time as his girlfriend. Every time I think about that level of scrutiny, however, it gives me the heebie-jeebies. I adore Liam with all my heart, but revealing myself as the woman who’s replaced Angel in his affections is going to get me swift and vicious hate mail. Still, I realize we can’t hide our love forever. And I do want to be there to support him.