Page 79 of The Glass Dolphin

Eloise and Clara wore blue too, like Robin, and Jean, Kristen, and Alice wore pink. AJ and Kelli had chosen a lighter plum-purple. Julia wore apricot too, and as the last couple of women entered, Maddy felt like they’d pretty evenly distributed the colors.

“Tessa,” she said warmly. “How are you, my friend?”

“I made it,” she said breathlessly. “Nothing would’ve kept me away, though.” She hugged Maddy too, and Maddy was glad she’d made it. Things in Tessa’s life had not quite worked out the way she’d anticipated, and as a result, she hadn’t been around the cove as often.

She smiled and faded out of the way, the way she normally did. She wore a lovely lavender dress that flowed all the way to the ground, her silver heels just peeking out of the bottom.

“Helen,” Maddy said to the older woman. “Thank you so much for coming.”

The white-haired woman smiled, her face wrinkly but absolutely gorgeous. “Of course, my dear. I can’t miss out on this.” She wore a blue dress that wasn’t as long and flowy as the others, but she still somehow fit perfectly.

“Ladies,” Robin called as Maddy stepped out of the hug with Helen. “Ladies!” She clapped her hands together three sharp times, and that finally got everyone to quiet down a little bit. Maddy stepped into her shoes, pulling the back strap up and over her ankle on her right foot.

“We need to get Maddy into her dress, and she needs to be ready in fifteen minutes.” She clapped again. “I have it on good authority that Ben is already pacing in his suite, so let’s not keep him—or the guests—waiting. Okay?”

Maddy stood and cocked her hip. “Do you think I can walk down the aisle in this?” She currently wore a slip and her wedding heels, and she grinned down to her toes which peeped through the ends of her shoes.

Robin blinked like Maddy would really walk down the aisle in her slip and heels. Alice pressed one palm to her heart, and then voices broke out. Chelsea unzipped the bag holding Maddy’s wedding gown, and Maddy took Julia’s hand to balance herself as she stepped into it.

Her daughter and daughter-in-law shimmied up over her hips, and the zipping and lacing commenced. Maddy stood still and let Alice weave one more piece of ribbon through her hair.

“Almost…done,” Chelsea said, and she pulled one more string tight. She stepped back, and Robin stepped in front of Maddy.

“One look in the mirror. Then we have to go.” She took Maddy by the shoulders and turned her. Maddy pulled in a breath as she took in herself in the reflective glass. Robin fell to her side, as did Chelsea and Bea. All of the other women crowded around her, and the moment paused as they all gazed at each other in the mirror.

A couple of people sniffled, and Maddy’s own emotions stormed and marched and surged through her body. She linked one arm through Julia’s and lifted the other out in front of her. Alice almost immediately covered it with hers, and then Clara lifted her hand and placed it on top of Alice’s.

One by one, each woman reached and touched the arms or hands of the woman next to her, until they had formed a link, a bond, forged through contact. Maddy felt her heart knitting with the others too, and she sniffled as tears filled her eyes.

“Don’t cry, Mom,” Chelsea whispered from right over Maddy’s shoulder. But she definitely wore water in her eyes.

Maddy took a big breath, which broke the moment. It didn’t matter. She’d committed it to her memory, and she turned into Julia to hug her. Around she went, giving every woman a hug until Robin stood near the door, tapping her toe.

“It’s time, right?” Maddy asked as she reached the woman.

“It is.”

Maddy drew her into a hug and said, “You have already made today perfect. Thank you.”

“He is going to tear me apart if you don’t get out there soon,” she whispered back. “Like right now.”

Maddy giggled as she pulled back. “Okay. Where’s my son?” Her parents had come to the wedding, but she hadn’t wanted her father to walk her down the aisle. That felt so…twenty-five years ago, for a wedding she’d thought would initiate a marriage that would last forever.

“He’s standing right outside the door.” Chelsea smiled as she opened it, and she joined her brother in the hall. Kyle wore a black suit, his tie the color of bright blueberry skins, and his smile showing off the bright white, straight teeth his teenage braces had given him.

“Mom, you look amazing.” He hugged her, then offered her his arm. She slipped her hand through the crook, then kissed her daughter’s cheek as women started to flow out of the room in pairs. They’d all walk down the aisle ahead of her and Kyle, and then finally, Maddy would come face-to-face with her husband-to-be.

The hallway in front of them emptied, everyone taking a left at the end of it. Maddy’s heart pounded faster and faster until her son said, “Ready, Mom?”

“Yes,” she said, raising her chin. “Yes, I’m ready.”

ChapterTwenty-Nine

Julia could absolutely not stop smiling. She carried her bouquet of flowers down the aisle, her eyes on Ben Downs—aka Captain Gorgeous—for the first few steps. She walked next to Laurel, as instructed by Robin, and the moment she caught a view of Liam, she couldn’t look away.

He wore a gorgeous black suit, his smile as contagious as his kisses, and his hands clasped in front of him like a perfect gentleman. Julia went all the way to the altar, where Ben stood, and he took her flowers from her, the faintest of smiles touching his lips for the briefest of moments.

She turned and went to stand next to Liam, who received her with joy, those big hands sliding along her waist, and his lips landing on her temple. “Who’s the most gorgeous woman in the world?” he murmured.

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