Page 54 of Wishes at Water's Edge
“Oh, perfect.” Julia grinned. “Then let’s all get dressed.”
Her wedding dress had arrived that morning with her. It was hanging up on a hook near one of the windows, and the morning sunlight was gleaming on the folds of lace. It looked like something out of a fairytale, Julia thought, and her heart began to beat faster when she thought about putting it on.
Once everyone was dressed, they worked together to zip up each other’s dresses. Julia’s wedding dress had a row of tiny white buttons down the back, and it took a long time to button each of them. Vivian did the first half and Alexis did the second half.
“Everyone looks so beautiful,” Julia said once they were all ready, looking around with tears in her eyes.
“So beautiful,” Hazel agreed, gently turning her sister toward a mirror. “Look at you, Julia. You look like a queen or something.”
“You do, you look so beautiful,” Alexis said, squeezing her sister’s hand. Everyone else echoed their agreement.
Julia smiled, feeling tears spring into her eyes. She loved her dress, and the way the full skirt swished around her legs definitely made her feel like a princess—or, yes, maybe like a queen. Her hair looked exactly the way she’d hoped it would, and she turned slowly in a circle, inspecting her reflection.
Everything feels perfect,she thought, feeling happiness sweep over her like a sunrise.I can’t believe it’s really today. I get to marry the man of my dreams.
“How do you feel, Aunt Julia?” Samantha asked. “Are you nervous?”
Julia shook her head, smiling. “Not at the moment. Right now, I just feel incredibly happy.”
“It’s okay if you do get nervous,” Vivian said, wrapping her arms around Julia. “Sometimes we get nervous before doing something big with our lives just because our bodies realize how monumental it is. It doesn’t mean you don’t really love Cooper or that you don’t want to be married to him.”
Julia held her mother back tightly, grateful for her words of encouragement. “It is a big deal, that’s for sure. I feel like I’m in a daze. I can’t really process it yet.”
“That’s okay,” Alexis reassured her. “You’ll process it all later. For now, just float on this cloud you’re on, and when you come back to earth, you’re going to be married to Cooper.”
“Who is an extremely lucky man,” Hazel said, grinning.
“Come here, everyone,” Julia said, holding her arms out. “Group hug.”
They all clumped together for a group hug, with Macey held in Hazel’s arms.
“I love you all so much,” Julia said, holding onto the women in her family tightly. “I couldn’t have done today without you, and I’m so happy you’re in my life.”
“We love you so much too,” Alexis said, squeezing her hand, and everyone else chorused agreement.
Faith poked her head out of the group hug to check the clock. “We’d better go,” she said. “It’s time to get to the church.”
Although they’d gotten ready at Turtle Dove Hall, Cooper and Julia’s wedding ceremony was set to take place in the beautiful old stone church in the center of Rosewood Beach. It wasn’t a long drive, but Julia agreed with Faith that they should leave sooner rather than later. She wanted to make sure they arrived at the church in plenty of time.
They left the bridal suite, stepping out into the main room of Turtle Dove Hall, which had been decorated gorgeously forCooper and Julia’s wedding. The beautiful trees that Julia had made with her mother and sisters were in the center of the dinner tables, and colored lanterns in the royal blue and orange wedding colors were hung over the dance floor, along with the usual twinkling lights.
Julia half-shut her eyes, imagining the reception. She could just picture herself and Cooper waltzing across the dance floor together, and the people that they loved most in the world sitting at the tables and chairs, clinking their champagne glasses with knives so that Julia and Cooper would kiss.
Smiling with joy, she followed the women in her family out to the parking lot, where they piled into Vivian’s car and Hazel’s Jeep. During the drive to the church, Julia kept thinking to herself how happy she was that she had decided to move back to Rosewood Beach. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have found Cooper, or the wonderful community that was so supportive and made her feel so at home.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the church. Hazel went inside first to make sure that Cooper was safely stowed inside the sanctuary and that he wouldn’t see Julia when she went inside. She hurried out a moment later to announce that the coast was clear.
They left the car and darted into one of the small rooms that bordered the lobby of the church. Julia’s heart was fluttering, and she finally felt a little nervous. They waited there for about ten minutes while the last of the guests took their seats. Then there was a soft knock on the door. Dean opened it a moment later, a huge grin on his face.
“The signal has been given,” he said. “You ready, Julia?”
“Yes.” She laughed breathlessly and was soon surrounded by another group hug.
Vivian hurried off to take her seat, and then the music began. Macey toddled up the aisle, tossing white rose petals and lookingextremely proud of herself. Julia could only see her for a few feet of the aisle from her hiding spot in the lobby, but she couldn’t wait to see Cooper’s face on the recording of their wedding. She could just imagine the way he’d be grinning adoringly at his little girl.
Next, the bridesmaids began to troop down the aisle with Cooper’s groomsmen. When Alexis, Julia’s maid of honor, started down with Cooper’s best friend, Dean turned to Julia with a smile and held out his arm.
“Here we go,” he whispered.
