Page 104 of The Girl I Once Loved

Nervous energy runs through me as I turn my head over my shoulder, wondering what’s taking them so long to come out. My mother is the first to leave the changing room, followed by a now composed Curt and my beautiful sister hanging on his arm.

“Here we go,” my mother whispers, throwing me a conspiring wink before she walks through the grand arches of the cathedral and slowly makes her way down the aisle to her seat on the first row opposite Derrick’s parents.

When I verify that she’s now seated, I turn around and mouth an ‘I love you’ to my sister and then proceed to follow in my mother’s footsteps. All eyes are on me as I walk down the aisle, while my own gaze finds the boy I used to hate up on the altar, looking every bit as handsome as the groom.

Noah smiles back at me, with a mischievous grin on his lips that tells me he not only approves of my dress, but is eager to strip it off me later tonight. My cheeks heat up at his penetrating gaze, wondering if everyone here can also read the salacious thoughts in his head as well as I can. Once I step onto the altar, I take my spot and wait for Daisy to make her grand appearance.

Five seconds later, and on cue, Daisy steps into the limelight, with a proud Curt at her side.

“Fuck,” I hear Derrick mutter under his breath, pulling my attention towards him and away from my glowing sister. “Have you ever seen anyone more beautiful?” he adds, his own green eyes starting to sparkle with unshed tears. “Pinch me, asshole, just to make sure I’m not dreaming.”

“Pull it together, D,” Noah whispers beside him, giving Derrick a good pinch at his side for his troubles. “Or Daisy will have your balls.”

“Like she already doesn’t?” Derrick retorts, wiping his tears away just so he doesn’t miss a single minute of my sister walking towards him. “I’m the luckiest fucking guy in the world.”

“Second luckiest,” Noah drawls, throwing me a wink, while the priest clears his throat, not exactly thrilled with their banter.

But Derrick doesn’t hear Noah’s last remark or the priest’s not so subtle reprimand, too busy basking in Daisy’s light to care about anything else but her.

When she finally reaches him, he quickly walks down the stairs to take her off Curt’s hands.

“Take good care of our girl, Monroe. She’s one of a kind.”

“That she is, sir. That she is,” Derrick agrees, his attention fully on my sister’s smile.

He helps her onto the altar, taking both of her hands in his as they get lost in each other's eyes.

“Took your sweet ass time to get here, Petal,” he says, lifting her hands so he can kiss her knuckles. “Was your objective in making me wait just to see me sweat, or were you thinking of making a run for it?”

“Neither thought ever crossed my mind,” she teases him.

Derrick leans in just a bit and then whispers in her ear, but since I’m just a few steps away from the loving couple, I hear every word.

“Good. Because there isn’t a place in this whole world where I wouldn’t go to find you.”

“Promise?”

Derrick's wicked smile pulls at the corner of his lips at her reply, pressing a tender kiss to her cheek, before pulling back to give the priest the order to start.

Yep. No doubt about it.

After that little exchange, there is no question in my mind that Daisy and Derrick are perfect for each other.

He matches her crazy perfectly.

And as the priest begins to talk about love and marriage and how this new journey they are now on will be filled with highs and lows, but ultimately love and understanding, my sight leaves the two love birds and falls on the man who has been staring at me the whole time.

Noah.

Yes. Love does have its peaks.

It can make you feel like you’re flying one minute and drowning the next, but as long as the person you are with holds your hand throughout all of it, there is nothing you can’t withstand.

Noah and I have suffered our fair share of heartbreak.

But we’ve loved each other through all of it.

Even when we weren’t physically together, our hearts never allowed anything to sever our bond.

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