Page 72 of Wedding Bells in Silverwood

“But the guests have already started to arrive.” Holly bit her lip.

“Don’t worry,” Rachel said. “We’ve kept them in the main room and won’t allow them in the winter garden until the flowers are set up. Kim is keeping them entertained. And I think she’s enjoying the limelight.”

“We have to wait for Father William anyway.” Lucy cringed as soon as she said it.

Holly’s eyes widened. “Wait for him? What do you mean?”

“He got stuck at his apartment. Apparently, he has two flat tires.”

“But we’ve got it under control,” Rachel said. “Eddie called one of his buddies to drive out and give him a ride.”

“They’ll be here soon,” Lucy added.

Holly rubbed her neck, which felt unbearably hot. “This is all Grayson’s doing. I can’t believe this. I wish I’d never met the creep.”

“Holly, breathe.” Rachel held Holly’s shoulders. “We’ve got it under control. He’s not going to ruin the wedding.”

Nausea reared its ugly head. Holly covered her mouth and ran toward the changing room, slamming the door behind her.Oh, God. He’s doing it, isn’t he? Grayson’s ruining my wedding.Pressing her back against the door, she fought to catch her breath and not empty her stomach.

She couldn’t get any air. The walls were closing in. There were two windows in the room. Despite the chilly weather, Holly hurried and opened each, but it was still too hot. Holly wasn’t sure what hyperventilating felt like, but this had to be it. She paced the small room, pushing down on her abdomen to get the churning to stop, all while sucking in deep gulps of oxygen.

Is there even air in this room?It didn’t feel like it.

A knock at the door made her jump. With everything going wrong, she was glad her gasp hadn’t caused the bodice of her dress to rip.

“Holly, are you okay?” Her mother cracked open the door and peeked inside. “Rachel and Lucy said you went pale. Kim thinks you’re climbing out the window and running back to New York.” Vivian glanced at the open windows. “Maybe she’s more intuitive than I thought.”

Holly’s knees felt weak. She wasn’t convinced her legs would hold her up anymore. She settled in a chair, forcing herself to take deep breaths.

Vivian stepped into the room and shut the door. She wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s freezing in here. Is it okay if I close the windows?”

Holly nodded, biting her lip.

Vivian’s dress swished as she moved. “That’s better.” She sat next to Holly and ran a hand down her arm. “Now we just have to get the chill out of you.”

Holly blew out a shuddered breath. It was only a matter of seconds before the threat of tears spilling over onto her cheeks would become a reality. “Mom, do you believe in signs?”

Vivian took Holly’s hands in hers. “Holly, these are just hiccups. Maybe even little tests. Things go wrong. You can’t control everything. But you can choose what to do with the hand you’re dealt.”

“This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life. I didn’t want to believe Grayson could ruin it, but look at all the chaos he’s created.”

“Think of it as failed attempts,” Vivian said. “Whatever he threw your way was overcome. We matched him, play by play, move for move. Don’t focus on what’s going wrong. There’s always a way to turn it around.”

“You don’t think this is the universe’s way of telling me I shouldn’t be getting married? I mean, Nick and I have only been together for a year. Maybe we rushed into this.”

“No. Not at all.” Vivian trailed her fingers along Holly’s veil. “If I were certain of anything at all, it’s that you and Nick belong together. I’ve seen how he looks at you and you at him. I can practically feel the chemistry. It checks all the boxes.”

Holly mustered up a small smile. “Really?”

“Definitely. Couple goals, as they say.” Vivian chuckled. “You know how long my parents—yourloloandlola—knew each other before they got engaged?”

“No.”

“About six weeks. And they got married two months later.”

“Wow. Okay, that’s fast.”

“And they’re still together. Because they knew it was right.”

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