Page 48 of Stuck With the Billionaire Grump

“I’m so happy for you, Josie. So happy that I don’t even have words for it.Happydoesn’t seem like enough.”

Josie smiles, then glances back in the mirror.

She is glowing with love. True, vibrant, unapologetic love. It’s the same way that Elijah looks when he’s around her. When he talks about her. In fact, I can always tell when Josie is thinking of him because there’s this sudden softness in her expression. As if the mere thought of Elijah is enough to soothe every single molecule in her body.

A pang of longing slices through my chest, causing me to gasp softly. I turn away to fetch Josie’s bouquet from the table.

For the first time in my life, I want to know what it feels like to be in love. To be so madly overcome with adoration for someone that it consumes you. I have always wanted to run from that feeling, to avoid it at all costs, or to pretend that it doesn’t exist in the first place.

But I can no longer deny it, because the evidence is so clearly right in front of me.

I want to know what it’s like to fall in love. I want to plan a wedding that suits me as perfectly as this one suits Josie. I want to wear a white dress and walk down a petal-strewn aisle toward somebody that I love more than anything in the world.

I want it. Iwantit.

Maybe I’ve always wanted it. Maybe I’ve been lying to myself for years.

“Lu?”

I inhale deeply and let the breath out slowly before turning to face her. “Hm?”

“You’re going to have a happily ever after one day, too. I know you will.”

I hand her the bouquet, desperately fighting the tears blurring my vision. “How can you be sure?”

Josie shrugs. “I just know it. Maybe the crown granted me Miss Maisie’s magic powers.”

I burst out laughing. “Or maybe you’re just going loopy with love.”

She grins. “Maybe.”I shake my head and point to her shoes waiting by the foot of the chaise. Josie quietly obeys, putting the finishing touch on her wedding ensemble. When she stands again, I hook my arm through hers and gently pull her toward the door.

“Come on, Jo. Let’s go get you married.”

Chapter Sixteen: Theo

Two hundred people sit in orderly lines on simple white chairs in the conservatory. The scene is flawless. Flowers and leafy vines spill forth from every corner of the room, cocooning the guests in a fragrant, pastel embrace.

I’m seated in the second row on the groom’s side, right next to the aisle. Elijah is already waiting on the altar, with Harry just a few steps to the side.

My watch tells me it’s 1:58 p.m. Any minute now, the ceremony will begin.

Standing in the very center of the altar is the silver-haired woman named Miss Maisie. She’s clad in layers upon layers of silk and chiffon, her bony wrists weighed down with silver bangles that tinkle pleasantly. She has a silver ring on nearly every finger, and her hands are clasped in front of her. The woman has a serene expression on her face. It’s hard not to believe the mystical things Lucy told me about her. She really does look like an ancient goddess or benevolent witch.

At that moment, a string quartet begins playing. The music is soft and lilting, almost playful in its melody. White gossamercurtains fluttering at the doors to the conservatory part just enough to allow a little girl with blonde ringlets dressed in a fluffy pink dress to step through. The girl grins at the crowd on either side of her, reaches her tiny hands into the basket looped on her chubby arm, and tosses a handful of blue and white petals into the air. Several people in the crowd chuckle as the adorable flower girl skips down the aisle.

“Maudette’s little girl,” I overhear a guest murmur to another. “Josie’s youngest niece.”

I am reminded again that families can be so much bigger than what I know. Neither of my parents have siblings, so I’ve never known what it’s like to have aunts and uncles, nor cousins. And, since I’m an only child, I’ll also never know what it’s like to have nephews and nieces. It’s not something I’ve ever bothered to think about before, but in this moment, with everyone’s emotions running high and the violinists playing the sweetest harmony I’ve ever heard, I feel a brand-new sense of longing.

I want to belong somewhere. I want to have a family.

I don’t want to be alone anymore.

As the flower girl finishes her endearing performance, the aisle adequately strewn with petals, my breath catches.

I know what comes next. Or rather,who.

The curtains part again, seemingly of their own accord, and out floats Lucy.

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