Page 49 of Breathe Again

He moved the half step necessary to bring him right into my space, his hands cupping the sides of my face, tilting my lips up to meet his still smiling ones. His kiss was achingly sweet as he brushed his lips softly over mine. It was not quick, it was not hard, and by the time he finished I had his t-shirt fisted in my hands at his sides, holding myself utterly still under his sweet attention.

“Mara,” he muttered, his thumb stroking my cheek, his mouth a millimeter from mine, his deep, mellow voice sliding over my soul, “please have fun today. Buy whatever you want. If you guys hit the lingerie store for Rhys, don’t forget about me, okay?” He smiled again.

I smiled back, my lips still imprinted with the feel of his. I explained, “Well, it would be for Bex, not Rhys.”

He laughed, his big body shaking with it. “It’s for Rhys, believe me.” He drew me into his arms, “I love you, gorgeous.” Then he patted me on my ample ass and led the way back to Bex and Olivia.

Bex looked up as we came back in, took one look at me, and ducked her head with a big smile on her face. She stood up and winked at Zale, his eyes crinkled back at her.

“Right, dazed and confused,” she called to me. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

I mentally shook myself out of my Zale-induced euphoria, kissed Olivia, lifted my face to Zale for his quick, hard kiss, and left with Bex.

She tucked my hand firmly into the crook of her arm as we went down the path to the driveway. Filled with love for her, and happy to be going out with her to look for her wedding dress, hit by a sudden burst of uncontainable joy, I squeezed her arm, pulled her even closer, and threw back my head and laughed. She grinned back at me.

For the first few minutes of the drive, Bex was thoughtful, bordering on pensive.

“You okay, Bex?”

“I’m good, babe. Thinking about a few things I’ll bounce off you later. Want to sort it out a bit myself. But nothing to worry about. Honestly.”

She reached over and squeezed my knee and glanced at me with a smile. She leaned over and turned up the tunes which turned up the mood.

Willa was waiting at the food court, three coffees already on the table in front of her, when we got there. In the past few months, she seemed to have given up being late. I wondered about the change. Maybe she was less busy?

Bex sat down, examined the sides of the coffee cups for her regular order and took a sip.

“Yum. See, this is why you’re my best bitch, Willa.”

“I aim to please.” Willa rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Mm. Your aim is true.”

“Thank you, Willa.” I smiled.

I leaned over and kissed my baby sister on her cheek. I loved her, and her growing up to be one of my best friends was a dream come true. Me being her go-to support person was a fulfilment of a life’s goal for me. We didn’t have much in the way of support from our mother, I was the best she could get. I often told her she was my guinea pig for Olivia.

“Right,” Willa began. She was a planner, and this was her planning voice. “Here is a list of the stores that sell the good stuff we’re looking for today.”

Willa pushed a piece of paper forward across the table toward us.

“Seeing as Bex doesn’t want a traditional type of dress, and we have to hoof it all over the mall to search for not one dress but three, I have listed the stores in order to cut down as best we can on the legwork, to conserve your energy Bex.” She handed Rebecca a pen. “Cross off any stores you don’t like.”

“Wow, you’re really freaking prepared! I’m impressed!” I looked to Willa first to see her looking pleased by my compliment, then to Bex to see her looking pensive, again.

She looked up at Willa. “Rhys said something to me awhile back, that my company was worth the accommodations people would have to make for my fibromyalgia.” She tapped her finger on the paper. “You just proved his point. Thank you, Willa.”

I looked at Bex, surprised to see the sheen of tears in her eyes. “Are you crying?” I asked in amazement. Bex was usually not a crier.

She turned her shiny eyes my way. “No!”

I laughed and threw my arms around her shoulders, even as my own eyes filled. “You are! You goose!”

Willa rolled her eyes again and laughed. Only Olivia and I got the soppy stuff from Willa.

“Okay hormones, we’re going to stop crying, drink our coffees, and Rebecca soon-to-be Griffin you’re going to give us the run-down on your vision for your dress.”

Bex didn’t care what style we all wore, but requested we buy either white, grey, or black as she had a theme going for the photography. With the whole guest list being as short as it was, we would be in all the pictures, as if we were her wedding party, and she’d like it to be cohesive. I was good with buying black. It was slimming.

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