Page 92 of Seeing You

“You mean because there was so much to do in such a short amount of time?”

“No, because I was beginning to think it just wasn’t going to happen for me,” she admitted. “There was a part of me that said you only get one shot at falling in love and I had it and lost it.” She shrugged. “I guess that’s partially true. I mean…I fell in love with Marcus when we were just teenagers and eventually, things fell apart. Then he came back, and I realized I was still in love with him.”

“I don’t think you only get one shot,” Ryleigh said thoughtfully. “But clearly the two of you found each other and your hearts knew you were the ones. The timing just had to be right.”

She had to agree.

Reaching over, they held hands. “I’m so happy for you, Billie. Ryker and I were supposed to be at a tattoo convention this weekend, but there was no way I would miss your wedding.”

“Thank you, and I really appreciate you changing your schedule for me. We knew there was a chance that a lot of people wouldn’t be able to make it, but I am loving how many did.”

Ryleigh looked around. “Your poor sister has her hands full. I didn’t think this many Donovans would take her up on the offer to come in to get their hair and makeup done!”

Laughing, she nodded. “Ash has a great staff, so they’re happy to do it.”

“And can I say how freaking adorable it is that your sisters are pregnant at the same time? That’s just perfect!”

“I think they were bummed that they’re three months apart. Chloe said they used to talk about being pregnant at the sametime and having their babies on the same day. It would have been amazing, but…”

“Three months isn’t that far apart, trust me. Once we all got married and started having kids, I feel like there was never a break. Someone is always pregnant!”

As if on cue, her sister Arianna walked over with her hand on her tiny baby bump. “How are you this calm on your wedding day?” she teased. “Ask Ryleigh and she’ll tell you how much I freaked out on mine. I ran around worrying about everything!”

“She was the worst,” Ryleigh agreed. “We considered shooting her with a tranquilizer dart, but we couldn’t find one.” Winking, she added, “Then she tried to demand that we start the ceremony early!”

“It was all taking too long! I wanted to marry Will and the whole day was dragging!”

“The whole thing was outrageous. I didn’t carry on, Tessa didn’t act crazy, and she’s the one I really thought was going to go wild,” Ryleigh went on.

“That’s only because we distracted her with decorations.” Turning to Billie, she explained. “Tessa has a weird obsession with holiday decorations. To her, there is no such thing as too many. So the day she and Liam were getting married, we told her there was a problem with some of the centerpieces.”

“That’s just mean!” Billie stated.

“Maybe a little, but playing with flowers and bows kept her incredibly calm,” Arianna explained. “But the calmest out of all of us was Fallon. She was so chill!”

“That’s because she had multiple spreadsheets that had everything planned down to the second,” Ryleigh reminded her. “It worked, but whenever she pulled out that binder, we all cringed.”

“How are Fallon and Jamie doing? They just had their second baby, right? I seem to remember that happening right after Chloe and Tanner’s wedding.”

“Three days after we got home, she went into labor,” Arianna confirmed. “Three kids, all under the age of five.” She shuddered. “It’s total chaos at their house sometimes, but they love it!”

“Aww…that’s so sweet!”

“And naturally, our parents are over the moon because of all of the grandchildren,” Ryleigh commented. “How many are we at now? Ten? Eleven?”

“Eleven,” Arianna replied. “But this little bump here will make twelve.” Then she frowned, glancing around. “Unless anyone else is going to announce they’re pregnant.”

“Stop making such a scrunchy face! You’ll stress the bride out!”

“I’m fine,” Billie said, still feeling completely peaceful. She was surrounded by all the people she loved, so all was right in her world.

“What about Ash and Chloe? Were they calm on their wedding days? We didn’t get to hang out with them before their ceremonies.”

“Chloe’s always calm, but that morning she was feeling a little tense because her dress was a little loose. Other than that, she was fine.”

“And Ash?” Ryleigh asked.

“She just walked around barking orders at all of us. So really, nothing out of the ordinary.”

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