Page 136 of Fall I Want
Harper nods and moves out of the way as I walk by. As soon as I step out, the bedroom door swings open and my sister enters.
“Autie! Holy shit.” Winter is speechless. So are Blaire and Julie.
Harper grins wide. “You’re a showstopper, babe!”
My sister immediately bursts into tears and hugs me, pushing hair out of my face. “You’re beautiful. Look at you.”
“I missed you,” I tell her. The last time I saw her was two years ago. She’s been busy with school and work. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Yeah, well, I kinda quit my job to be here,” she says.
“Winter, no.” I shake my head. “Please tell me you’re kidding.” My sister has worked her ass off to be where she is.
“You’ll only get married once.” She grabs my hand. “No way I’m missing it.”
“Well, shit, there goes our maid of honor title,” Julie says. Blaire snort-laughs.
“Can you go get Mom?” I ask Winter.
She nods and walks away. I spin around, placing my hands in my pockets. Harper puts the shoes on the floor and I step inside the two-inch heels.
“Taylor does four-hour shows in that brand. You could run a marathon in them,” she says. They give me the perfect amount of height for where the dress falls on the ground. “I’m good at this.”
“You are,” I say with a laugh. “My fairy godmother.”
A minute passes and there’s a light tap on the door. Harper walks over and cracks it open, then steps to the side to let my mom in the room. As soon as she sees me, she rushes over and hugs me tight.
“Autie. Wow. My beautiful daughter. I’m happy for you. Zane is agoodman.” She meets my eyes and tears well again. She lets me go and reaches into her pocket to pull out a black velvet pouch. “They were your gran’s, that she wore on her wedding day, and that I wore on mine. It’s tradition.”
My mother hands me a pair of earrings and I put them in, then she places the matching necklace around my neck.
“Thank you, Mom,” I whisper. She smiles brightly. It’s true happiness for me.
“Okay, now, if we don’t stop with all this, I’ll cry the rest of the day and I probably shouldn’t do that.”
“And we have makeup and hair, so please, kindly change. I’ll make sure your gown is at the chapel waiting for you.”
I nod and excuse myself. Harper unzips me halfway, knowing I’d need the help, and after I’m back in my jeans and T-shirt and the dress is on its hanger, I return.
“Oh, almost forgot to tell you, Oliver and April are already at a salon close to the venue.” She checks her watch. “You have to arrive within the next thirty minutes to be ready in time.”
“Seriously?” I ask.
“Should probably get going.” She glances at her phone.
“Already?”
“Yep. Now. Don’t want to be late. Too many moving pieces.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
“The next time we see you, you’ll be saying ‘I do,’” Blaire says.
“All of you have to promise me you won’t drink too much, okay?” I ask as Harper guides me out of the room.
“We’ll save it for the after-party,” Julie says, and Winter laughs.
Harper’s hand is on my back and Zane follows us. As soon as I’m close, he cups my palms in his hands and kisses me. “You have to go now, don’t you?”
