Page 65 of Shameless With Him

Chapter 13

Zoey

Somehow,today was the wedding rehearsal. It seemed like only yesterday that I had walked into my mother’s home, unknowing that everything would change so quickly. It honestly felt like a blink ago that my sister had handed me the tablet and the wedding book from hell, asking me to be her maid of honor.

I didn’t regret doing this for my sister, though I did lament the amount of time it had taken.

However, I did get to know Caleb along the way, so maybe it was all worth it.

I shook my head. No, I wasn’t allowed to think about him too often today. Even though he would be right there with me, for the entirety of the wedding rehearsal, and maybe a little bit after.

We didn’t have plans that evening other than being near each other, and I couldn’t help but want more.

How had I fallen for him so quickly?

I knew a crush from childhood and then on into adulthood was far different than what it was like to be with the man himself. And as I understood the different layers of him, and I got to feel him against me almost every night this week, I couldn’t help but need.

It should’ve worried me, but it didn’t. Not in the way that it probably should have.

I pushed thoughts of Caleb out of my mind because this was not about him. Today was all about Lacey and John. Okay, so the whole weekend was about them.

The wedding was on Saturday, and they’d scheduled the wedding rehearsal for Thursday. There had been another event booked for Friday at the place they were holding the rehearsal, so they’d made this work. Plus, John was able to make it work for his job, and now we were here at a beautiful, old, and rustic-looking farm, ready to have the rehearsal.

They would be getting married here on Saturday, as well, and I honestly could not imagine a better place for the two of them.

Because Lacey might seem chic and city-like, but she loved nature and adored old farmlands and mountains. The same with John. Soon, they would be living in the big city and wouldn’t have this view every day.

So, they were going to take advantage of every ounce of it that they could.

And I was happy that I could be a part of it.

The old farm was still a working farm, but they had made half of it a place for people to visit, and they had even built an inn on the grounds. We would be staying at the inn on Friday and Saturday night. Tonight, we’d be going home, which I didn’t mind because I would probably need a break from Lacey and my family for a while.

Not that I didn’t love them, but weddings always brought out the scary in people.

“Wow, pumpkin, you’ve sure done it, haven’t you?” my dad asked, and I grinned and looked over at him.

“This was all Lacey.”

He shook his head and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, kissing the top of my head. He had always done that, and it just reminded me of home.

Because when Mom and Lacey had been stuck at the hospital, Dad had been with me to make sure I got to school, help me with my homework, and to work far too many hours to make sure we could afford everything that my little sister needed.

It had never truly been him and me against the world, but he’d always been my person within the family.

“It looks wonderful. And I never would have thought of having a wedding and a rehearsal at a farm. But this works.”

“This doesn’t really scream farm to me,” I said honestly, looking around at the elegant area with the Rocky Mountain backdrop. He laughed.

And the place really didn’t feel overly country. The inside of the old barn, the one that the farm owners didn’t use anymore because they had built a refurbished one that was actually meant for farming, had been turned into a hall of sorts.

It was all grey wood and rustic-looking. There were long benches inside, as well as some outside since the weather had cooperated.

Everything had clean linens and white and light gold plates and accessories. The tables had been set beautifully, and I couldn’t actually wait to see what would happen on the wedding day. The rehearsal was just part of it. This was but a glimpse into what the wedding day would be like, but the colors would be even more vibrant and stunning on Saturday.

“It looks beautiful, the lighting’s great, and I know that your sister is going to have the time of her life, especially once she blinks and realizes that her future husband is standing at the other end of the aisle.”

“She’s been fun these past few weeks.”

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