Page 48 of Harrison's Wedding

“Gabriel and Ariana said to wish you good luck,” I say as an opener, unsure how this will go down.

“Oh, that’s early for them, isn’t it?”

I’m encouraged by the fact she hasn’t immediately shut the conversation down, so I tell her, “I was speaking to Gabriel last night after you’d gone to bed.”

“That makes more sense. Well, let them know I said thank you.”

“I will.”

I smile at her, pleased to note that she said to letthemknow. Not just Gabriel, but Ariana as well. It gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, we can all get back to being friends in the future. I know that if Heather comes around, then Sebastian probably will too.

All of this stuff with the paparazzi getting more intense really shows that we need to stick together, and Ariana is a part of our team. She’s proven herself time and time again. Being photographed in public with Gabriel, and now she’s even a target for the media herself. We need to stick together and support each other, and not let old hurts tear us apart.

Today is not the day to have this discussion with Heather, though. She needs to be focused, but this feels like a step in the right direction, at least.

When I finish eating, I tell her, “I’m going to shower, angel; I’ll be ready to leave in half an hour.”

I stand up and walk over to Heather to kiss her softly before making my way to the bathroom. I shower and wash my hair, toweling it dry when I get out of the shower. I wrap my towel around my waist and use a comb to slick my hair back from my face before I shave and put on cologne.

I pull on some black jeans and a gray t-shirt with an open black blazer before I put boots on. I call the car company to confirm we’ll be ready to leave in a few minutes, then head out to the living room to see Heather. She’s relaxing on the sofa with her head resting against the back of it, and her eyes are closed.

As I walk toward her, she must hear me, because she opens her eyes and grins at me before standing up and coming over to kiss me.

“You look great, honey. Shall we go?”

“Yup, I’ve called the car company. They should be here and ready when we are.”

“Well, I guess there’s no sense in delaying, is there.”

I take her hand in mine as we head toward the elevators. Sebastian and Hayden are coming to the show together later, with Heather’s mother and both my parents. I had decided to go early with Heather so that I could be there with her for the dress rehearsal.

We arrive in the lobby, and as soon as the doors of the elevator open, it’s easy to see the crowd that has already gathered at the entrance of the hotel. I squeeze Heather’s hand to comfort her. The limousine isn’t too far behind the crowd, near the front of the hotel, and I’m surprised there are so many people here this early.

As we walk across the lobby, the hotel manager approaches us.

“Good morning, Mr. Fletcher. Miss York.”

“Morning.” I smile brightly at him.

“We have prepared some security personnel to assist with yourself and our other guests getting to and from their transport today.”

Heather says, “Thank you, Daniel. We really appreciate it.”

“No worries, have a great day, and good luck today, Miss York!”

We’ve almost reached the doors, and she thanks him politely as the security guards walk through the hotel doors ahead of us, clearing space in the crowd for us to make our way through. There’s a barrage of camera flashes and questions, but we get through the crowd easily with the assistance of the security personnel, and I thank them as we slide into the limousine.

“That wasn’t too bad,” I say.

“No, it really wasn’t. Maybe Ally is right.”

I’m beginning to think she is, and there’s definitely a discussion to be had around ensuring that we remain safe at all times.

“It’s possible. We’ll see what happens; I might talk to Cooper and see what he says.”

Heather nods, then falls into silence. I put my arm around her shoulders and pull her into me. The second her head falls against my chest, her body relaxes against mine. I stroke her skin softly with my thumb, and she puts her arm around me, squeezing me tightly for a second before easing her grip.

We travel like this to the venue for her show, and when we arrive, there’s already a group of people gathered out the front of the venue. It’s barely past eight in the morning, but both reporters and fans have hauled themselves out this early to try and catch us heading inside.

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