Page 155 of Westin

“Really?” Keira says.

She nods. “I wore my mother’s dress, but it had the waistline lifted to cover my bump.”

“I’ll bet you looked beautiful,” I say.

She shrugs. “I was scared. But that’s a story for another day. Let’s get you ready and into that beautiful dress, Miss Diane. We don’t want to be late.”

I’m dying to know more, but she’s right, so I bathe and sit on the bed and let her and Keira brush out my curls and do my makeup. It’s soft, with a hint of blue on my lids and a touch of pink on my lips. They pin my waves at the nape of my neck and weave daisies from the field into them.

I slip on the satin dress Keira and I labored over for the last few months. It settles over my body like a cloud, soft, hugging my curves in all the right places. Keira turns the mirror around.

I’m quiet, just taking in my reflection.

The gunslinger’s bride looks back at me in shades of white, pink, and gold.

Beautiful. Ready for her wedding day.

“Westin won’t know what to do when he sees you,” Keira says, her eyes wet.

“He probably will,” I say.

Keira giggles. “At least he will…later on.”

Eve pretends she doesn’t hear us. “We don’t have much time. We should go.”

Outside, there’s a tent set up that’s shielded from view. The aisle runs behind the ranch house, with what will serve as the altar beneath two trees by the lake. The day is warming quickly, buteveryone will be shaded and cool by the water. I sink down and fold my hands in my lap. The chatter of distant voices wafts up the drive.

I was shocked by how many people Sovereign and Westin know. But then, they’ve lived in the South Platte area for their entire lives. I just assumed their reputations would scare people away from attending. More likely, their reputations made everyone too afraid to refuse.

My mouth is dry. I wonder what Westin is doing right now.

“Here are your flowers,” Keira says, appearing at my elbow.

She puts a bouquet of yellow lilies in my lap, tied with a blue ribbon. From somewhere far away, I hear a violin. It’s isolated, but the hills echo it back in a chorus. My heart aches, in the sweetest way.

“Is everyone here?” I ask.

“Everyone but Westin,” she says, chewing her lip. “He’s a little late, but I’m sure it’s okay.”

“He’s late?” I ask, standing up. “What time is it?”

“He’s late to being early,” she says. “Sovereign went after him.”

My heart jumps in my chest. If this had happened months ago, I would assume it was all a dream, but I know he won’t walk away. I close my eyes, standing at the edge of the tent, and turn my face up to the warm sun. He’ll be here; I feel it deep in my heart.

He’ll always be here.

We wait a few more minutes, then Keira disappears and returns in a flurry. She seems more out of breath than usual, but she’s brimming with excitement.

“He’s here,” she says. “Everything’s ready.”

Time slows down as I turn and look out over the lake. The row of trees shelter the guests from my view. I know there’s at least two hundred people, and at the front of the aisle, Westin is waiting for me.

“You okay?” Keira whispers.

I nod. “I’m just…happy.”

She hugs me gently so she doesn’t crush my dress. Then, she tugs a little curl free by my ear, adjusts my neckline, and takes my arm to lead me out to where Sovereign waits. I stand alone, my palmssweating against the flower stalks while he walks his wife up and seats her. Then, he’s back, and it’s time.

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