Baking Me Crazy (Donner Bakery, #1)(58)

Even though I rolled my eyes, I felt myself go warm and melty. "You'll have to work on your lines, mister."

He winked as he backed up, then notched two fingers to his temple and gave me a salute as he walked away. "I look forward to it."

The stupid dopey grin on my face didn't disappear as I pushed my chair down the gentle slope of the grass toward the chairs. Levi's parents were waiting at the edge for me, talking to a few people.

Gentle bluegrass music started up in the background, the plucking strains of a banjo and fiddle giving a soft, romantic atmosphere. Mrs. B laid a hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently as I stopped next to her. Yeah, she saw everything, I realized when she dabbed under her eyes again.

"Twenty bucks, huh?" I muttered in her direction. "I would've paid you forty for a heads-up, you know."

She laughed under her breath, leaning down to wrap an arm around my shoulder. "Oh, sweetie, I love you so much."

"Love you too," I said after I swallowed around the emotions gripping my throat with a tight fist. "I'm going to find my seat, okay?"

The usher, one of Sylvia's cousins, showed me to the freaking front row, and I cursed under my breath when I pulled my wheelchair into the empty spot right on the inside of the aisle, where they'd moved a chair out of the way for me. The seats filled up while the music slipped seamlessly from song to song.

I tipped my head to the side to see who was playing, and I grinned when I realized Cletus was on the banjo. Joy would've had a heart attack if she saw him right now, cleaned to a spit shine and as dressed up as I'd ever seen him. A couple of others joined him. One was definitely his brother, judging by the build and the beard, and their sister, Ashley, sat on a bale of hay next to them, swaying gently to the music with a mic in her lap.

Connor seated both sets of parents, and Mrs. B slid her arm around my shoulder the moment she sat down. The groomsmen filed in behind Connor, and I caught my first glimpse of the elusive oldest Buchanan brother. He was taller than his brothers and had darker hair like their mom but with a more serious face. Where Levi grinned at me as soon as he took his place at the front, Hunter gave me a curious once-over, then scanned the people sitting in the chairs. Grady, Grace's twin, stood on the other side of Hunter, just as handsome as his sister was beautiful.

Seriously, what was in their DNA? It should be bottled and sold on the black market.

"Where's Hunter's wife?" I whispered to Mrs. B.

She sniffed. "Didn't come."

"Oh," I answered knowingly.

"Mm-hmm. Isn't right," she mumbled. "But it is what it is. Today will be beautiful, and that's all that matters."

"It will." I patted her hand.

And it was.

When Ashley and her brother started a sweet, lilting harmony, Cletus providing a soft background on his banjo, the audience stood, as did I. I locked my chair and held hands with Mrs. B as the bride started her journey. Sylvia was radiant on her father's arm as they walked down the flower-lined aisle. Her eyes shone with happy tears, and when I caught sight of Connor's face, I almost lost it completely. He hid nothing. His smile was wide, and when Levi slapped him on the back, he wiped at the tears that spilled over his cheeks.

Even Hunter cracked a tiny smile behind his dark beard.

The pastor's message was brief and heartfelt, talking about the selfless love that should be the foundation of marriage. The two clasped their hands and couldn't break their eyes away from each other. Mrs. B quietly cried, leaning her head into her husband's shoulder when they said their simple vows, making promises to love and cherish. Sylvia gave a watery laugh when Connor promised never to finish the last of the coffee.

Everyone cheered when he wrapped her in his arms for a passionate kiss. Levi's eyes glowed happily in his handsome face when he looked over at me, and I was sniffing into a balled-up tissue from his mom.

People began to file out both sides of the rows of chairs, and I told Mr. and Mrs. B to go ahead so I could wait for the crowd to dissipate a little bit. As people milled around, chatting happily, I saw Levi's tall frame weave toward me.

He set his hands on the armrests and leaned down to kiss my forehead. "You were crying," he accused with a sly grin.

"I was not."

With a cocked eyebrow, he looked at the tissue that I still held with a death grip. "Really?"

"Shut up." I sighed. "It was a really beautiful ceremony."

"It was." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder toward where we'd be eating dinner. "Do you want to stay in your chair for the meal?"

"As opposed to what? You gonna make me stand?"

Levi growled under his breath, "You make me insane, Sonic."

I laughed. "Normally, I'd say my chair, but …"

"What?"

I scrunched up my nose. "I don't want to be sitting lower than everyone in the pictures."

"That would be awful," he said seriously.

The band continued to play softly in the background, but it was a tune I'd never heard before.

"I think we should dance now," he told me.

"Why now? Everyone will stare."

Levi looked over his shoulder. "Nah, they're all too busy gabbing. No one will even notice us over here."

Staring hard at everyone, I knew he was probably right. Not one single set of eyes was on us as far as I could tell. They were looking at photos of Connor and Sylvia, taking pictures, and milling around the tables full of different teas, lemonade, and appetizers to tide them over until the dinner started.