Page 39 of Destined For Forever

Her cousin was an absolute vision. Her waist was nipped in with a sparkly sash, and a gauzy overlay of floral embossing covered the skirt. Bodice straps made of sheer, scalloped lace left a daring vee of skin in both the front and the back. Since Evie wasn’t busty, it showed enough skin without looking too “boobish”, as her cousin put it. There were also tiny shimmering crystals in the centre of a few of the flowers on the outer layer, just enough to give a subtle sparkle when she moved.

“You look like a million bucks.” Lily went over to give her a hug, being careful not to disturb the beautiful makeup or fancy hairstyle Evie was sporting. “Thank you for giving me a ‘mini reveal’ for the dress. I wish I could have done all the bridal stuff with you, but work was…”

She sighed and shook her head. Evie was one of her favourite people in the world and it had killed her to not fly home and take part in the pre-wedding activities.

“We missed you so much.” Evie squeezed her. “We all kept saying, ‘I wish Lily was here’ whenever we did something fun.”

“It’s true,” Katherine piped in. “We were thinking of you the whole time.”

Her cousins’ comments hit hard. She had missed out on so many things that were happening back home in Australia—birthdays, engagements, hen parties, weddings, births. She’d missed her father celebrating his big six-oh, and she’d missed being there for her mum when she’d had shoulder surgery. And it was all the smaller things, too. Brunches, girl’s nights out, Christmas lunches and lazy days on the beach.

“I miss you all, too,” she replied, finding herself choking up. “So much.”

Evie made an aww sound and hugged her again. “I am not putting the guilt on you about leaving home, okay? I respect that you’re over here chasing your dreams and doing amazing things with your life. But it’s so great to have you here.”

A lump lodged itself in the back of Lily’s throat. She’d known that seeing her family was going to bring up a whole host of emotions—guilt and regret chief among them. Oh, and their good buddy FOMO. She remembered learning about the concept of opportunity cost back in her high school economics class—the lost benefit of the options not chosen. Moving to LA had jump-started her film career. Benefit. Living there alone had meant it was easier to work all hours of day and night to get ahead. Benefit. But she’d missed out on important family things. Opportunity cost.

Not to mention giving up other dreams, like working on your novel.

Last night, she’d snuck away for an hour while everyone was sitting around drinking because inspiration had struck like lightning. A scene had rushed into her head and she’d bolted upstairs to put pen to paper. Sean had found her sitting there, scribbling like a woman possessed.

When she’d finished, her hand ached and he’d coaxed the notebook from her so he could bring his lips to hers. His kisses made time stand still, suspending her as if they were trapped inside a snow globe. That moment, where she felt desirable and creative and so full of potential… she hadn’t felt like that in a long time. Not since the early days of being in LA with Brock, before the shine wore off her life.

Classical music wafting up through the inn cut off her thoughts.

“That’s our cue,” Evie said, drawing in a shaky breath. “Are we ready?”

There were excited squeals all around as the women gathered themselves to head downstairs for the start of the ceremony. But Lily had a stone in the pit of her stomach. It was like the universe was trying to make sure she knew the consequences of her actions. If she continued to stay in LA and chase career success in film and television, then she would give up a lot. But she’d always believed the alternative was worth it.

Is it worth it, still?

The question lingered in her mind as they made their way downstairs and, for the first time, Lily wasn’t quite sure she knew the answer.

13

Sean stood at the head of the Forever Falls Inn grand room, sandwiched between his best mate and his little sister. The room was decorated beautifully. There were white chairs set in neat rows, with small bunches of holly and red ribbons adorning the aisle seats. Ethan had strung fairy lights around the room and they twinkled softly, reminding Sean of the way the snow had glittered the day he and Lily had their snowball fight.

Jasper shifted on the spot beside him, tugging at the bottom of his tuxedo jacket.

“You okay, mate?” Sean clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Can’t get cold feet now.”

“Nah, it’s not cold feet. I’m just…” He bounced on the balls of his feet. “I’m so ready to be married to Evie.”

The proud, excited smile that pulled at his lips made something shift in Sean’s chest. He was thrilled for Evie and Jasper, but especially for Jasper. The dude had it rough when he was a kid and he didn’t have a single family member at the wedding. He and his dad had nothing to do with one another, and his mother had passed two years ago from cancer. Now he was marrying into a great family—the Dunns were top-notch people.

And Evie was a wonderful partner for him.

What? No cynical thought about how love only exists in the movies and happily ever afters are designed to sell chocolates and greeting cards?

The more he saw the people he loved find their perfect partners, the harder it became to cling to the idea that love was a sales tactic. Especially since he found that “pretending” to be in love with Lily was a whole lot easier than it should have been.

“You’re so cute.” Zoey pressed a hand to her chest. “There’s nothing better than seeing a guy get all mushy for his one and only.”

As the other “groomsman” in the bridal party, she’d chosen to wear a fitted silk tuxedo jacket and tight black pants with a pair of staggeringly high black heels. Her multicoloured hair was pulled back into an elegant twist. The effect was fun and stylish, while matching well with Jasper and Sean.

Classical music played as they waited for the bride to arrive. The seats filled with guests, all dressed to the nines. Evie’s mum was flittering around like the social butterfly she was. Ethan and Monroe ushered people in and made sure everyone was comfortable.

“Make sure you hang around for the bouquet toss later,” Jasper said, nudging Sean with his elbow. “Might give you and Lily some added luck to manage the long-distance thing.”

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