Page 100 of Full Mountie

Beth winks at me, and I can practically hear her impersonating the stiffness of the language.I ask you to give answer to this most important question.My place or yours?My lips twitch.

“Do you, Gavin, commit to Eleanor the love of your person, the comfort of your companionship, and the patience of your understanding; and to share equally in the responsibilities of your life together?”

His mouth curls up in a soft smile, and his eyes are locked on his bride’s face. “I do.”

“Do you, Eleanor, commit to Gavin the love of your person, the comfort of your companionship, and the patience of your understanding; and to share equally in the responsibilities of your life together?”

“I do,” Ellie breaths, nodding as she says it.

I do another scan of the crowd, letting my gaze settle on Hugh next as they begin their exchange of vows. What would it be like to share equally in the responsibilities of life with him? Not boring, that’s for sure. Ache explodes inside me. No, there’s no making light here.

Fuck me. Now is not the time to have an emotional breakthrough. Six more hours and they’re all mine. And I’m all theirs. But right now, I’m on the clock.

Watching your boss get hitched—there are worse jobs. I need to keep that in mind.

“Please join your right hands, and once you’re settled, Gavin, please repeat after me.” Ellie passes her bouquet to Sasha, then the officiant lowers her voice to a murmur, so the vows ring out in the groom’s voice only.

“I, Gavin, take thee, Ellie, to be my lawful wedded spouse, to have and to hold, from this day forward, in whatever life may hold for us.” A light wind picks up and he reaches across to tuck an errant strand of hair behind Ellie’s ear before she repeats the same vows back.

“I, Ellie, take thee, Gavin, to be my lawful wedded spouse, to have and to hold, from this day forward, in whatever life may hold for us.”

Max remembers his cue at this point and is already holding out the pouch with the wedding rings when the officiant turns to him.

“Inasmuch as you have made this declaration of your vows concerning one another, and have set these rings before me, we all recognize these rings as a seal and a confirmation and acceptance of the vows you have made.”

Gavin and Ellie exchange their rings quietly, without the officiant prompting from the script.

After he slides her ring on, he reaches up and brushes a tear off her cheek. I sneak another look at Beth, and at the same moment, she turns to catch my gaze. This time there are no smiles, but the look we share is warm and understanding.

The official photographer scurries backwards down the aisle, breaking our private moment, and then officiant raises her voice again. “Upon the authority vested in me by the Province of British Columbia, I pronounce you duly married.”

Gavin and Ellie look at each other, smiles spreading wide across their faces. He cups her cheeks in his hands and kisses her thoroughly. I think he was supposed to wait for instruction, but it doesn’t matter.

Her hands come up to curl around his arms, and when he eases back, she chases him for another quick kiss of her own. It’s adorable and I hope the photographer caught that moment. That’s the kind of moment they’ll want to remember.

When they turn to their guests, they’re holding hands, fingers entwined, and everyone who wasn’t already on their feet now stands, cheering loudly.

34

Beth

After the ceremony, Gavin and Ellie sit for a few formal family portraits with the wedding photographer, then carefully make their way onto the footbridge that sways high above the valley below, and runs from the lodge to a hiking trail beyond.

Most of the guests, myself included, stay on the viewing platform and cheer them on, champagne in hand, as Gavin kisses Ellie over and over again so the photographer can capture that one image that they’ll send out to the world in a few hours.

When they return to the lodge, we make our way inside for a wedding luncheon. Quebec cheese, at the bride’s request, and B.C. salmon at the groom’s.

The food, like every other element of the day, is incredible. Even though a lot of wedding details crossed my desk over the last four months, seeing it all come together is something else. The dogwood blooms that decorated the invitation were echoed across the top of the program, and now they’re in front of us again on the printed menu. And that gorgeous lavender colour I’d teased Lachlan about is everywhere, with purple hydrangeas and sea holly tucked into urns overflowing with white flowers, most of which I can’t name, but I love them all.

Ellie’s bouquet is drawn from the same flowers, and framed in green leaves.

The same musicians who played during the ceremony, a guitarist and a cellist duo, have come inside, and continue to play during lunch. I have a clever app on my phone that recognizes music so I can buy it, but I don’t want to pull out my phone lest Gavin and Ellie think I’m taking pictures of them.

They didn’t go so far as to confiscate phones at the door, although it was discussed—but they decided they trusted their friends and family not to tweet about their private moments.

I’m not going to risk them questioning that when they’re having such a good time, so instead I get up and head over to the musicians. They have some business cards, and I pick one up.

The cellist smiles at me. “We play weddings, corporate events, whatever you need.”

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