Page 155 of Cinder
“Oh, dang it, I think my tears have made my eyelashes come loose,” Mya says, fanning her eyes.
Even Annika looks glassy-eyed. She looks up at the ceiling to control her tears and swears under her breath when one of them slides down her cheek. She quickly swipes it away. “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she mutters.
The door opens again, and Lucretia walks in with Mrs. V. and gasps when she sees me. “Oh, Ella, you look like a fairytale princess.”
She gently wraps her arms around me, and I squeeze her tight.
Mrs. V. claps her hands. “Okay, you lot. We’ve got a room full of bikers and a groom looking like he’s about to combust with anticipation. Let’s put him out of his misery, shall we?”
“You ready?” Belle asks, and when I nod, she hands me my bouquet of flowers.
“Well hot dang, let’s do this,” Mya chirps happily.
I follow my bridesmaids out of the bedroom and along the hallway to the top of the grand staircase. Below, in the cobblestoned foyer, my groom awaits me at the end of a long red carpet.
When he asked me where I wanted to get married, I remembered how he had waited for me at the base of the staircase on the day of Sticky and Dani’s wedding, and how beautiful and loved I’d felt as he’d watched me descend each step.
I remembered the look on his face. The affection in his eyes.
And I knew I wanted to meet him at the bottom of that staircase again.
Chatter drifts up from the foyer below. I can’t see Lars, but knowing he is down there waiting to become my husband fills me with so much excitement I could burst.
Music starts, and my bridesmaids descend the staircase ahead of me, walking into gasps of appreciation from the guests.
Mrs. V. hangs back. Today, she is walking me down the aisle. My father is still in a wheelchair as he continues his rehabilitation. But he is meeting me at the end of the aisle to escort me toward my husband-to-be.
Taking my arm, Mrs. V. gives me a warm smile. “I don’t know if I ever told you. But you’re a damn good kitchenhand.”
I laugh. “Better than the new one?”
She pretends to look annoyed. “Let’s not get started on his inability to make a good cup of coffee.”
“Give him a chance. You might be pleasantly surprised.”
It’s her turn to laugh. “Right, shall we get you married?”
We descend the staircase to the crowded foyer. But in a room full of people, I only see Lars standing at the end of the red carpet. He looks so handsome I feel it all the way down to my bones. Dressed in a suit, he looks incredible. My inked Viking god.
Standing beside him is Beast.
Dressed in a suit.
Including the suit jacket and a tie.
I meet my father at the base of the stairs, and his pride is rampant on his face. “Bambina, you are so beautiful. Your mother would be so proud of you today.”
I bend down and kiss him on the cheek, and give another silent prayer of thanks that he is still alive. The doctors expect him to make a full recovery, and I don’t doubt he will come back stronger and more fierce than ever.
Together we make our way down the carpet, and as I walk toward Lars, my eyes lock with his and I can see how much he loves me. His face is tight with raw emotion. Tears fall down his cheeks, and he fights to control the quiver in his chin as he watches me approach.
It sets off my own tears. And who gives a damn about makeup when you’re walking toward the most handsome man in the world who is also crying because he knows you are the love of his life.
At the end of the aisle, my father and Lars shake hands, before I take my place next to the man I can’t wait to call my husband.
He takes my hands in his.
“You are so fucking beautiful,” he says, his tears glittering in his eyes.
