Page 103 of Fear of Love
It was now Saturday morning, and I was in one of the rooms at Graydon Hall Manor helping Josie get ready to marry the love of her life. The day her and all of us had been waiting for the last three months was finally here.
Graydon Hall Manor was specular, and the most perfect place for them to get married. The Victorian-style mansion was huge. It had fifteen rooms, and that didn’t include a ballroom for events. Outside was a stunning garden where the ceremony would take place.
Staring out one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, I could see workers from the venue getting the chairs situated for guests. There were four hours until it would start, and there was stilla lot to do. Ironically, Josie was calm while Tasha was buzzing around trying to make sure everything was perfect.
“This place is incredible,” Mila said from beside me, taking the words right out of my mouth.
“Seriously.” I looked over my shoulder at Josie, who was sitting there getting her makeup done. “You guys chose well.”
“You’ve seen the tent where we’re having the reception, right?” she asked.
“Yes! The trees they built the tent around are huge.” Mila all but swooned. “This place is a dream.”
“It really is. I knew it was perfect the moment we came here. Plus, there’s plenty of privacy,” Josie gushed.
In the last four days, the coverage on Josie and Wyatt’s wedding increased tenfold. Paparazzi were set up outside their apartment yesterday to see if they could get a glimpse of the bride-to-be.
When she and Evelyn went to get her wedding dress, they were followed, and within minutes, pictures of them were plastered all over social media. So now everyone knew the wedding was close, but they didn’t know it was happeningtoday.We were all hoping it would stay that way.
“Okay, everything is on track.” Tasha walked into the room, Evelyn on her heels. “The guys are in Wyatt’s room getting ready. The finishing touches on the seats and arch are getting done,” she listed off as she slumped in a chair. Like the rest of us, she was in her white robe and slippers we had put on when we arrived hours ago.
The mention of the guys had my heart contracting in my chest. Landon was here. I wanted nothing more than to go find him and talk but right now wasn’t the time. My best friend was getting married. I’d focus on that later.
“I also have the cake in the fridge downstairs ready for you and Wyatt,” Evelyn said with a soft smile as she walked over toJosie, putting her hand on her shoulder and looking at her soon-to-be daughter-in-law through the mirror while the makeup artist continued. “How are you doing, sweetie?”
After many cake tastings Josie and Wyatt decided instead of getting one made somewhere, why not have Evelyn make it. She’s known for her delicious chocolate cake, a cake that the guys go feral over, so it made sense to have it.
While Josie and Wyatt would eat Evelyn’s cake, the guests would get a separate one.
“I’m good.” Josie smiled at her. “Thank you for making our cake.”
“I’m honored you wanted me to.” Through the mirror, I could see Evelyn’s eyes getting misty. “Although, you might have to fight the boys off from eating it first.” Josie’s laugh was watery.
“Thank you for everything, Evelyn.”
I knew Josie and Wyatt’s mom were close, but I was sure they were both helping fill a void in each other’s lives. Evelyn becoming the mother Josie never had, and Josie becoming the daughter Evelyn always longed for.
“You’re family now.”
I looked away from the pair as they murmured to each other. Wyatt and his brothers had no clue how lucky they were to have a mom as great as Evelyn.
As my hand throbbed in its cast, I went over to take a pain pill so I could make it through the rest of the day. I’d slowly gotten a little better at using my left hand and just the fingertips of my right, but it was still a bitch to twist the lid off the bottle. Not having Landon there to help me, I started leaving the lid half screwed, but I couldn’t do that when I threw them in my purse this morning, too afraid they’d spill out.
As I struggled to open it, someone came up beside me, extending their hand.
“Need some help?” Tasha asked.
I handed over the bottle with a sigh. “Why do they make pill bottles so hard to open with one hand?” I muttered.
“To make you feel inferior,” Tasha joked. She opened the bottle and handed over one pill.
“Thanks.” Swallowing it with some water, I glared at her hand. “Unfair you only slightly bruised your knuckles.” Tasha laughed and held hers up. The tops of her knuckles were a lighter purple color compared to my fractured ones.
“I took a defense class, and they teach you how to throw a punch without hurting yourself.”
“That would have been nice to know,” I grumbled. “Who knew a guy’s face was so fucking hard when you hit it.”
“For being such babies, they sure have hard bones.”
