Beautiful Beginning(26)
hair. “Don’t you think that’s cutting it a little close?”
“It shouldn’t be—”
“Not good enough. I’ll pick them up myself.”
“But—”
Having overheard, my brother stepped up and placed a hand on Kristin’s
shoulder. “Just nod,” Henry said. “It’s easier that way, trust me.”
The rest of the wedding party arrived and I made my way over to Chloe. The
pacing had stopped and she was sitting on the beach now, her delicate pink
dress pulled up the length of her legs, toes buried in the sand.
“You ready to do the rehearsal?” I asked, testing the waters. I reached
out and helped pull her to her feet, taking her hand as we walked toward
the others. “You seem a little quiet.”
She shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said simply, and moved to stand
where Kristin had indicated.
Okay then. I looked up at the sky, actually expecting clouds to have formed
overhead.
The thing that had always driven me crazy about Chloe was that I couldn’t
ignore her, whether she was in a room, or out of it. It had been that way
since the day we met. I wanted her every second of every day, and it pissed
me off. I’d lash out at her for distracting me and she’d dish it right
back. This only resulted in my wanting her more. Always.
Even now, standing on the other side of the aisle as we listened to the
Honorable James Marsters, our officiant, explain where we would be and
when, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her.
“Bennett?” I heard someone say, and looked up, surprised to find everyone
watching me, waiting. The distinctive sound of Max’s laughter floated up
from somewhere over my shoulder and I mentally flipped him off. “Are you
ready to run through it?” Kristin said, slowly, as if it wasn’t the first
time she’d asked.
I frowned, annoyed to have zoned out. I was pretty sure it was important
for me to know what the hell was going on. “Of course.”
“Okay then. Guys?” Kristin said. “Can we get the wedding party to line
up?”
A murmur of voices surrounded us and we turned to watch as everyone got
into their places near the end of the aisle.
As best man, Henry lined up first, offering his arm to Sara.
“All right, everyone,” Kristin announced, “let me explain what will
happen. Best man and maid of honor will line up on this section of Windsor
lawn. The chairs will begin here,” she said, moving down the aisle and
motioning to a spot near the edge of the grass, “and move this way up
toward the beach. Approximately three hundred and fifty of them—just
beyond the two orchid arrangements—which will be placed right here.”
Kristin reached for Henry and Sara and moved them into their spots. “Okay,
first bridesmaid and groomsman?”
Julia stepped forward, but so did both Max and Will.
Max clucked his tongue at Will, reaching out to take Julia’s arm. “This
lovely one’s mine, mate.”
“But I thought—” Will asked, searching the area. “Where’s my
bridesmaid?”
“Right here, pretty boy.” I looked behind Will to see our fourth
bridesmaid, Sara’s assistant, George, step up to the line, and reach for
Will’s arm.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Will said, then jumped and let out what
could only be considered a manly squeak as Chloe’s aunts passed by, one of
them laying a sharp pinch on his ass.
“Looks like you might have a bit of a fight on your hands there,” Max
said to George. “Those two ladies look like they could take you if things
went badly.”
“Oh hell no,” George said in the direction the aunts had gone. “Those
two cougars better watch their Raquel Welch wiglets because until that hot
piece of ass and the ice queen are married tomorrow night, Sumner here is
mine.”
“And mine,” Mina said, taking Will’s other arm. “This lucky man gets
both of us.”
George leaned over to smile at Mina. “Are you willing to be inappropriate
at all times?”
Mina winked. “Every second of every day.”
Chloe turned to Kristin. “Will there be an open bar? Like, at the end of
the aisle? For me? Can I request that?”
“What is even happening here?” Will said, looking to each of us and then
back to wherever the cougars had wandered off to. “Am I drunk? Hanna, they
just pinched my ass and this one”—he motioned to George—“wants to claim
me for his own. A little help?”
Hanna took a sip off her frilly girl drink, complete with big pink umbrella
and some sort of neon glow stick. “I don’t know, you seem to be doing
pretty well on your own there,” she said, then took another long pull of
her straw. Hanna really wasn’t much of a drinker; I was willing to bet