Page 60 of The Runaway Bride and the Billionaire

“I know it’s a really emotional day, but you have to be careful,” Lisa chastised fondly. She smiled at me and I could tell her own tears were fast approaching.

The make-up artist stepped forward and added a bit of powder to my cheeks. “I’ll be on standby in case you need touch-ups,” she said. “But please try not to need touch-ups.”

I couldn’t promise her that this would be the last time I cried. How could I contain my tears of joy when I was getting married to the man of my dreams today? Just thinking about it made me so happy that my eyes watered again. I tilted my head back this time to keep from ruining my makeup. The artists had also advised me to sniff several times to pull the tears back.

I blinked gently when I felt the tears recede. Then I looked at myself in the mirror again, at the mermaid gown that hugged my curves before spreading out at my knees. The lace sleeves that covered my entire hand, its gorgeous detailing matching the details on my veil. The dress was stunning but the best part about it was that I picked it out myself. My last wedding dress was picked out by my mother, but this one was my choice and that made it even more beautiful.

“You make a gorgeous bride,” Lisa said as she adjusted the sleeve of my dress, her hands moving cautiously so she wouldn’t cut the delicate fabric.

I smiled at the care she was showing me. I was certain I’d made the right choice, making her my chief bridesmaid. She was part of the reason Matteo and I got back together. I would always be grateful to her for giving him her key that day. There was no better person to stand beside me on this special day.

Lisa’s blush pink dress fell graciously over her stunning figure. Her blonde hair which she typically styled in a messy bun was styled in an elegant chignon. And on her nose, her wide-framed glasses sat. The clear lens made it easy to see the beautiful green eyes behind them.

I turned to look at the rest of my bridesmaids. All of them wore similar dresses to Lisa but where hers was blush pink, theirs waslilac. The three women, Camille, Nicole, and Sandra, looked at me and smiled.

I’d met Camille and Nicole in college so they both knew Lisa. While Sandra was a family friend. Her family and mine had been connected for generations. Our parents used to force us to be friends but somewhere along the line, it became genuine. I couldn’t be happier having all four women with me. This was my dream wedding.

Unlike the wedding my mom planned last year, the one where I simply attended instead of contributing to how I wanted the wedding to go, this wedding had been meticulously planned by me. Every detail came out of the dreams I’d always had for my wedding.

This time I didn’t numbly attend dress fittings. I was happy to try on dress after dress in my search for the perfect one. My mother also spared me the long speeches on what would be expected of me as a wife. Those were never in short supply during the last wedding.

She’d been different since everything that happened with Matteo was revealed. As more time passed, she started to value my opinion more. One time, the wedding planner called her to ask a question and she immediately passed the phone to me. I’d never really had my mother’s respect before, but I could tell I was getting there.

We made most of the decisions together. However, I always had the final say. I trusted my mother’s opinions on decorations, so I was always willing to hear it as long as she didn’t override my own desires for my wedding.

The woman in question stepped into the room, looking regal as ever in a gray floor-length gown with silver detailing. She smiled at me, a soft show of affection that crinkled the corners of her eyes. “You look beautiful, my dear.”

“Thank you, mom.”

We stared at each other for a moment, both our eyes welling up with tears as we did. “No tears. No tears,” the make-up artist urged as she walked over to me.

“If she’s crying now, I can only imagine what’s going to happen when Matteo says his vows,” Sandra joked.

Everyone in the room laughed. She was right. I expected that I would be an absolute mess when I heard Matteo’s vows. It was a good thing most of the products used on my face were waterproof.

I thought of how what I felt today was so different from what I felt last year. When I was going to marry Lucas, I had numbed my mind and my body just so I could go through with it. But today, I was feeling everything.

Every wave of emotion hit me like a freight train and it took all my willpower not to weep with joy. After five painful years of being apart, I was finally going to be with the man I loved. He was going to be my husband and we would spend the rest of our lives making up for the time we lost.

“I’ll let your father know you’re ready,” my mother said as she walked out of the room.

Shortly after, she returned with him. The makeup artist cautioned against tears once again but to me, she was wasting her time. My father hardly cried or showed emotion. I was certain that his impassive expression would help me keep it together.

That was what I thought. Imagine my surprise when I saw the ever-stoic Joseph Pierson rub his eyes with the back of his hand. Seeing my dad so emotional was enough to make the tears return. I tilted my head back again and stayed like that until I felt ready to continue.

The walk down the aisle was also different this time, for many reasons. For starters, the faces I saw in the crowd were not only familiar, they were friendly. There were a few peoplefrom college, some from high school, and some from work. Agnes and Eddie were also in attendance. And so was Matteo’s grandmother. It felt good to see all of them and my heart warmed when I thought of the effort they were making to be here today.

The second difference was my pace. For the last wedding, I’d walked slowly down the aisle, in hopes that I could somehow prevent what I knew would be a miserable arrangement. This time I couldn’t get to the end of the aisle fast enough. I was eager to marry Matteo.

I looked at my future husband and I smiled brightly. There was so much love in his eyes that I felt it even though we were far apart. In his eyes there was no pride like there was with Lucas, it was just love, satisfaction, and joy. Matteo looked just as eager as me. His excitement made me feel so lucky. I felt lucky to have a man who was so in love with me.

Behind Matteo was Nico, my boss and his best man. It should have been strange seeing my boss standing behind my husband but it wasn’t. It felt right. This whole wedding felt right. It felt like it was always meant to be.

We made it to the end of the aisle and my father handed me over to Matteo. He kept his head bowed as he did so. He was still ashamed of the way he’d treated Matteo years before. Matteo always assured him that he’d truly forgiven him but the shame my father felt seemed greater than Matteo’s forgiveness.

I truly hoped that one day he would forgive himself just as my husband had forgiven him.

My husband. The words made me giddy with joy. I looked at the man in front of me and that joy turned into a wave of emotions. Love. Admiration. Desire. Gratitude. Awe. I felt all those things for him and more.

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