Page 42 of The Love Chase

The two of them burst into giggles as we headed back to the Walker house.

We had barely crossed the threshold into the blessed air conditioning when Bridget ordered, “It’s time to get in your dress.” She was waiting in the kitchen, clipboard in hand, wearing a tight black pantsuit that looked like it belonged more at a funeral than a wedding. “The ceremony will begin soon, and we need to finish getting you ready.”

Without another choice, I swallowed down my nerves and nodded, following Bridget up the stairs to the bedroom where Elsie, Maya, and I had stashed our dresses. It was a room of Liam’s parents’ house that I’d never been in, and I assumed it used to belong to one of his older sisters. As soon as the door opened, I was hit with a wall of hairspray and perfume, still lingering from an hour ago when we had our hair done.

“You have thirty minutes,” Bridget snapped before disappearing back the way she’d come.

My dress hung from a ceiling hook in the corner, still hidden in a garment bag, while Elsie’s and Maya’s dresses hung on a rack next to it. As much as Bridget wanted to plan the whole thing, I did put my foot down when it came to the bridesmaid dresses. I wanted my friends to be comfortable, not shoved in frilly dresses that I hated. I told them the color needed to be some shade of dusty rose and they’d picked them out themselves.

It only took moments for the two of them to slip into their dresses, and my heart swelled at the sight of my two best friends. Elsie looked stunning in a satin dress that hugged her curves and wrapped over one shoulder. She looked like a goddess from the fantasy books she liked to read. Maya’s dress was equal parts classy and sexy, which fit her perfectly. It was an off-the-shoulder A-line velvet dress—which she’d be sweating to death in—with a sweetheart neckline that accentuated her figure in all the best ways.

“You guys look beautiful,” I said, emotion clogging my throat, and I cleared it, trying to force it away.

Elsie and Maya beamed at me before taking my arms and dragging me over to the garment bag. Before I could even protest or be embarrassed, they had the robe stripped from my body, and were easing me into the lace monstrosity.

Monstrosity was probably too mean a word for the dress. It really was beautiful. It just put my…assets on display a little more than I was comfortable with.

It was a gorgeous off-white lace dress that wrapped over my shoulders but had a plunging neckline that went nearly to my stomach. The sheer mesh holding the fabric together was my only saving grace for having any sort of modesty. The skirt was loose and flowy, something I imagined a princess might wear. I had to admit, the dress was very romantic.

Elsie’s eyes filled with tears, and Maya just grinned.

“You look magnificent,” Elsie commented. Maya nodded in agreement.

I could only stare at myself in the mirror. My brown hair was left down in loose waves, and the two of them had weaved small wisps of white and dusty roses throughout to make me look like a woodland princess. I didn’t hate it.

I opened my mouth to say something—what, I didn’t know—but a knock at the door sounded before Bridget popped her head inside.

“Are we ready?” she asked, and her eyes widened as they landed on me. She stepped fully into the room. I expected her to demand that they take the flowers out of my hair since the hair stylist hadn’t put them there, but to my surprise, she smiled at me.

“You look lovely, Emma,” she said. The look on her face was something like pride—but not pride that I looked nice, pride that she had pulled all of this off.

I didn’t like her much, I decided.

“Everyone is waiting and ready if you are.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

With Bridget in the room, Maya and Elsie stayed quiet, though I knew Maya was bursting to speak her mind. But the silence was probably for the best. I didn’t know what they would say to Bridget or me, and I didn’t need another reason to consider running away.

What was wrong with me? I should have been happy. I was marrying my best friend, helping both him and me out in the process. This was a good thing.

Right?

Elsie and Maya followed Bridget down the stairs and into the main level of the house. Bridget spouted off several instructions, but it felt like I had cotton in my ears. Since we had run through the rehearsal the night before, my feet knew where to move and when, but my head wasn’t in it. I felt like a zombie walking toward the back door that would lead outside.

The Walkers’ back yard was truly stunning. Even before Bridget’s wedding transformation, there was acre after acre of lush, green grass, with large, mature trees spaced evenly throughout the land. A pond sat in the distance with a burbling creek that ran through the rest of the acreage. I had always felt like the Walkers’ yard was nothing short of fairytale-esque, and even if the wedding was fake, I was glad it was here.

Adjusting my dress and smoothing down the lace over the bodice, I took a deep breath, readying myself to walk down the stairs that would lead me to Liam.

Bridget had had a set of double doors built to sit at the beginning of the aisle, so I could come down the steps from the back porch without being seen. Two ushers in suits—whom I had never seen before—waited on either side to open it for me.

Maya was just entering through the doors, on her way down to her spot, which meant Elsie and my brother should already be down by Liam, waiting for me.

The beautiful music, the sweat dripping down the back of my neck, and my clammy hands holding my bouquet all faded away as I stood there, waiting for those doors to open.

I was about to marry Liam. I couldn’t help wondering, not for the first time, if I was dreaming—if I would wake up soon and all of this would vanish, never existing in the first place.

As I stood there staring at those doors, I felt so alone.

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