Page 61 of Aisle Come Back to You

The faint sound of heels lightly clicking on the hardwood floor has me glancing over my shoulder. Relief washes over me as I spot Blair walking back in alone—Max nowhere in sight. As happy as I want to be, a small voice inside warns that this might not mean what I think it does. It’s not like there are any open seats for him, and perhaps she just told him to wait a few hours and ultimately plans to bring him as her date to the wedding tomorrow, as originally planned.

Against my better judgment, I stand as quietly as possible, and instead of letting her walk back to her seat, I grab her hand and lead her right back out.

“Ford, what are you doing?” she asks once I’ve quietly let the door shut behind us, doing my best to not totally disrupt Ronnie’s special night.

“You can’t choose him. You can’t be with him, Blair. I know I’ve given you so many reasons not to trust me or to think that I’m not serious about us, but I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. I love you, Blair. In fact, I’ve always been in love with you,” I ramble, but I can’t stop, nor do I plan to until she fully hears me out. “Maybe it was a platonic kind of love when we were just children, and part of me isn’t even sure when it turned into something deeper, but it has. I’m so in love with you and I don’t want to live a life without you. I refuse to keep going on like this when I’ve always known it was supposed to be you. We’re supposed to be together. I know it.”

She lightly bites down on her lip, despite her growing smile. “Ford,” she starts, a short, soft and melodic giggle leaving her lips. “I choose you.”

“Really?” I eagerly ask, a huge smile of my own breaking through.

“Of course I do. It was never Max. He was only ever a placeholder. If anything, I think the reason I chose him for so long and kept going back to him was because I knew it couldnever last or go anywhere, and that it could never work with anyone else, either. It’s always been you or nobody. There’s never been any other choice for me.”

Closing the distance between us, I pull her closer, my hand finding its place at the back of her neck, my thumb lightly rubbing her jaw as our lips collide in a passionate yet tender kiss.

Her lips move in sync with mine as her hands land on my chest. The kiss lasts nowhere near as long as I’d like as she pulls back to look at me, her gorgeous blue eyes staring into mine. “Oh, and I love you, too.”

“Really?” I ask, a boyish grin creeping onto my face as she nods.

“So, so much,” she assures me before pressing her lips into mine once more. I want to get lost in the kiss, and as she deepens it, I do, but luckily I manage to pull away first this time, even if I do sneak in one more quick peck in the process.

“We should probably head back in there, huh?” I ask, my hand instinctively reaching up to fix my slightly askew glasses after our heated kiss.

She lets out a sigh. “Do we have to?” she whines.

“Well, we don’t, but we probably should.”

“I think you’re right,” she agrees, letting out a breath as she wrinkles her nose.

“But don’t worry,” I assure her, slinking my arm around her waist as I slowly guide us back in the direction of the banquet hall. “It’s almost over, and afterward we can go back to my place where I can show you just how much I really do love you.”

“As tempting as that sounds, I’m supposed to be sleeping over at Ronnie’s tonight. Our last sleepover as single ladies.”

I place a hand over my heart as if offended. “And you didn’t invite me? That’s messed up.”

“Last I checked, you aren’t a lady, and honestly, I’m grateful for that, because tomorrow after the wedding, I’m all yours. I promise.”

“Well, as long as you promise,” I smirk, leaning in to kiss her one last time before heading back inside. While tonight might not be ending completely how I’d hoped, knowing that Blair loves me just as much as I love her is more than enough to get me through until tomorrow.

32

Blair

Sitting on Ronnie’s couch,I pop another piece of popcorn into my mouth as I watch Julia Roberts and Dermot Mulroney on the screen inMy Best Friend’s Wedding. It just seemed fitting, especially since tomorrow is, after all, my best friend’s wedding. At least this time I’m no longer mimicking Julia Roberts’ character as she tries to steal the groom away from the bride. Then again, I suppose I wouldn’t be too upset if the roles were reversed a bit and the bride chose not to go through with it anyway.

“You know, I’m starting to think we messed up by not bursting out into our own rendition of ‘I Say a Little Prayer,’” I joke as Ronnie comes back into the room, carrying a glass of wine for each of us.

“Can you imagine?” she giggles, passing me a glass before settling down and pulling her half of our shared blanket over her legs.

“I think we would’ve totally rocked it,” I decide, taking a sip. Sure, neither of us is a singer, and it would’ve been totally off key, but that’s beside the point.

“Oh my God, can you imagine Pete’s reaction if we had?” she asks, and while there’s still a smile on her face, a tiny knot forms in my stomach.

I’ve been trying so hard not to think about how wrong Pete is for Ronnie, especially since she deserves to have someone who would’ve found it just as hilarious and adorable for Ronnie to do something so silly and spontaneous. Even at the bachelorette party, Gemma had suggested we make up a choreographed dance to perform during the reception for Pete, but Ronnie had quickly shaken her head and shut that idea down, knowing just how much her fiancé would hate it.

With all the dumb stuff we did as kids, that totally should have been something she jumped all over and loved. And considering who Ronnie is, her husband should’ve wanted and expected this from his bride. But nope, it was brushed it off just as quickly as it had been suggested.

“Yeah, I imagine he wouldn’t have been too happy.” I frown, taking another sip as I do my best to focus my attention on the screen. “I know you mentioned him being stressed earlier, and I totally get that,” I start again, doing my best to tread carefully. “But he’s not always like this, right? You guys must have your silly and spontaneous moments, too?”

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