Page 63 of Always Yours

I move my fingers to the rubber bands, knowing I need to remove them. Surely I can’t go to a wedding with them on, but I don’t know that I can go without them. They may help me think sometimes, but when things get overwhelming is when I really snap them. Given the knowledge that Dimitri will be at the wedding, I may need the bands more than ever. Though, he might not let me snap them. Oh man, that has the butterflies awakening in my stomach.

“I’ve never been to a real wedding,” Eliza says beside me, doing her hair. She’s leaving it down, crimping it so she has endless waves. “Have you?”

I shake my head. “No. It’s my first time.”

“Mine too,” Louisa says as she stands behind us, straightening her hair. She already has her dress on, and her face is fully made up in a dark, sultry look.

Eliza did my makeup with light eyes but a dramatic purple lip color. It’s not what I usually wear, but Eliza was sure it would bring everything together. My hair is down, straight until the ends, where I curled it so it fans against my skin.

“Peepaw said they drink and dance at the reception,” Louisa says. “Which I am stoked for.”

Eliza nods. “Same. Hey Austen, maybe Dimitri will ask you to dance,” she offers, and I shoot her a look.

“Cut it out.”

“Just saying. It’d be rude to say no,” she says, and I snort.

“No, it wouldn’t, and he’d expect me to,” I tell her, fixing my lash. “Though, I have no intention of saying no.”

I watch as their lips turn up, their eyes sparkle, and I can’t help it, I do the same.

Eliza leans in. “Yes, girl. Yes.”

Louisa squeals behind me. “I can’t wait to watch all this go down!”

I look between them. “Please don’t tell the girls. They’ll tell Peepaw.”

Neither of them says anything, and when we get to the church, I realize why. The baby, Clara, with her dark hair in gorgeous, loose curls and wearing a stunning pink bodycon dress, leans into me once we find a pew to sit in. “Is he here?”

Damn it. “Who?” I ask, and she waggles her brows at me.

Elliot, with her long, dark, bone-straight hair and her wild hazel eyes, leans over Clara. “Dimitri. Is he here yet? We stalked his Instagram.”

Why are my sisters insanely annoying?

“What’s going on?” Peepaw asks from beside Eliza.

And all at once, we say, “Nothing.”

He doesn’t believe us at all, but I don’t meet his gaze. I know he’ll ask me, and I don’t want to lie to him. Clara asks again, but I ignore her as I take in the huge and stunning cathedral that has been fully decorated with big purple and white flower arrangements. Light-purple and gold fill the church in all kinds of beautiful ways, be it flowers, candles, and even long drapes of fabric. I may be taking in the beauty of the ceremony, but mostly, I’m looking for Dimitri.

When I see him, my breath catches at all his glory. He’s wearing a maroon suit, perfectly tailored to his body, tight in all the right spots. He has on a white button-down that is open a few buttons, showing his impeccable chest, where his gold chain and cross sit right in the middle of the opening. His hair falls into his eyes, nicely trimmed along the sides, and he shaved, so his face is clear of some of the hair that had grown in along his jaw and cheeks. I watch him walk in, looking around as he removes his dark sunglasses. He tucks them into his pocket as his blue eyes search the space for whoever he is looking for.

“There he is,” Eliza calls to the girls, and soon, everyone is breaking their necks to look.

Dimitri moves his fingers along his mouth, fixing his ’stache, when I guess he sees who he was seeking. His lips curve up as he gives a short wave. I watch him, feeling like a stalker, as he heads down the aisle, but then his eyes meet mine. Everything inside me goes liquid. I start to feel self-conscious, very aware that I am wearing a dress. I may like it, but will he? I feel uneasy as I hear my sisters gasp, and slowly his dimples deepen.

“Good God, they are made different here in Nashville,” Clara gasps.

“Does he have a brother?” Elliot asks.

“Can I just lick him?” Eliza asks.

“He has to have a friend he can hook me up with. Someone hot like him,” Louisa mutters, but I don’t hear any of them.

I can’t speak or even process what they’re saying. His gaze is locked with mine, and I know the letter is fresh in his mind. He comes toward us, and my stomach clenches. Surely he isn’t dumb enough to come over here when my peepaw is right here! Especially after whatever happened between him and Shelli this morning. Apparently, he doesn’t give a shit, because he stops right beside Elliot.

Elliot’s wide golden gaze meets mine as she mouths, “Oh my God, he smells like heaven!”

---