Page 65 of Aisle Come Back to You

“Now go,” Blair encourages as she pushes Ronnie toward her brother and the car.

With a slight moment of hesitation, she takes a step forward before she lifts her dress to make her escape easier and rushes toward Miles. He opens the passenger door, offering his hand to help, before carefully tucking the large skirt of her dress inside.

As Blair slinks an arm around my waist, I instinctively drape mine over her shoulder as we watch the car drive away. “I have a feeling today is going to be a really good day,” she says, letting out a contented sigh.

“I think you’re right.”

34

Blair

“Ihope Ronnie’s doingokay.”

“I’m sure she’s fine, or at least she will be,” Ford assures me as his hand that’s resting on the back of my chair reaches out to give my shoulder a small comforting squeeze.

Per Ronnie’s wishes, we’d made sure to inform both the groom and Ronnie’s parents about the situation, and even took it upon ourselves to be the ones to stand in front of the assembled guests to deliver the news.

Unsurprisingly, Pete hadn’t taken it very well, making me even more thankful that I’d been the one to deliver the news, and not my best friend.

As expected, he’d unleashed his fury by fuming, yelling, and hurling objects around the room, looking exactly like a child throwing a temper-tantrum. I’d never felt unsafe for a single moment, though, especially with Ford by my side. Just as Pete was about to direct his anger in my direction, Ford confidentlyinterjected, maintaining a poised and authoritative demeanor. He’d fearlessly informed Pete that he’d no longer tolerate his yelling, and that I was to be treated with the respect I deserved. I’m not sure if it was his teacher instincts kicking in or what, but there was something undeniably sexy about seeing him step up like that.

After Pete, we’d gone to her parents, and while they were understandably worried and a little panicked, they were in no way angry or upset. If anything, they seemed just as relieved as we were, which only seemed to prove how right about Pete I’d been this entire time—he isnotthe one for our girl.

As for the people of Evergreen Grove, they acted in typical Evergreen fashion and seemed to relish the excitement and buzz of it all. All they cared about was having a new juicy topic to gossip about and were particularly relieved to know that the party was still going to take place despite the broken nuptials.

“While I’m glad she isn’t here, I still feel bad that she’s missing out on all of this,” I say, letting my head fall to rest in the comforting nook between Ford’s shoulder and chest.

“It is pretty amazing, huh?” he asks, as his eyes wander across the decked-out property.

When we were kids, Ronnie used to talk all the time about her dream wedding, and this was definitely it. The area where the aisle and chairs had been earlier, offering the most perfect view of the pond, has now been transformed into a lively dance floor for the party tonight. They’d also brought in beams adorned with an abundance of blue and white flowers, to hold up a magical canopy of sparkly lights overhead with a few random tables surrounding it.

The area where we’re currently seated is in a spacious white tent, adorned with elegant table settings and vibrant floral arrangements. The whole scene is illuminated by even more magical twinkling lights.

“It’s everything she ever wanted,” I sigh, watching people hit the dance floor while the DJ plays Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”

“Don’t worry. When she finds the right guy, she’ll have an even better wedding,” he promises, pressing a tender kiss to the top of my head.

“Definitely,” I agree, tilting my face to look up at him. “She just needs to find herself her own Ford,” I joke, especially since I easily feel like I’ve hit the jackpot. Sure, I wasted a lot of time and this should’ve happened a long time ago, but I also want to believe that everything happened for a reason. Everything we experienced, and everything we went through to get us to this point, shaped us into the people we are today, and it only makes me love and appreciate him more.

The music changes to a slow song, as “You Are the Reason” by Calum Scott plays across the speakers. With my mouth dropping open, I sit up and turn to face Ford. “We have to dance to this song. It’s my favorite,” I all but beg as I grab his arm and give it a gentle shake.

“Didn’t you learn your lesson the last time?” he asks, his eyes nervously darting between me and the dance floor. “I’m pretty sure I almost broke your foot more than once at Ronnie’s bachelorette party.”

I scoff and brush his words off with a small wave. “That’s because I was trying to teach you a line dance. This is a slow song. All you have to do is hold me while you sway back and forth. You won’t even have to worry about leading. I’ve got us covered.”

He scrunches his nose, but as he lets out a large exhale, I know I’ve got him.

He rises to his feet first before offering his hand to help me up. “Thank you, kind sir,” I tease, placing my hand into his before he leads us out toward the lit-up dance floor.

I’m both a little surprised and taken aback as we walk onto the floor and he uses his hand to spin me around in a small twirl. “Are you serious? I thought you always complained about not knowing how to dance?” I ask, my mouth open in pure adoration as we now face each other.

“That truly is the extent of all my dancing knowledge, so tell me: where do I put my hands?” he asks as I let out a soft giggle.

“You really are pathetic,” I tease. “But luckily for you, I’m a patient teacher. That, and I find you extremely sexy,” I add, lowering my voice at the last bit. I guide his left hand to rest on my hip, while interlocking our right hands together, and gently placing my free hand on his bicep.

“So I’m not supposed to just put both my hands on your hips as you hold my shoulders?”

“Maybe if we were high schoolers, or if you were just trying to cop a feel of my ass.”

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