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Once he’d
finished, she lifted the heart that held her brother’s name. I wish
I could see him...”

“
Me
too.”

“
Thank you,
Ayden.”

“
You’re
welcome. Anyway, that saves me having to do a speech tomorrow and
ruining my reputation by crying!”

She laughed as
Ayden kissed her forehead and left her to her own thoughts. She sat
basking in the late afternoon sun and watched it dip low amongst
the trees.

4
8

Mascara, nails and Mayhem

Her house was
a place of noise and activity. Ember danced around her, making her
feel nauseous. She was sure if she’d been stood, she would have
fallen over. Ember’s face was close to hers, applying yet more
colours to her eyes. More ‘definition’ as Ember liked to call
it.

She’d glimpsed
what Ember had applied the first time and it looked brilliant. She
wasn’t sure why she would need more. Thick lashes surrounded alert
brown eyes, eyeliner made them pop all the more. Soft eye shadow
added another layer that gave her face whole new definition. Ember
applied lip gloss to her lips and stood back.

“
Perfect.”
Ember admired her work. “You are going to blow Jack
away.”

Cora grinned
as Ember finished fussing with her hair which was piled high on top
of her head. Ember finished the look by attaching her veil to her
hair.

“
Okay, I’m
going to get ready. Don’t mess with anything,” Ember warned
her.

Tabitha had
left her to talk on the phone. Now that she was alone she felt the
nerves kick in again. She picked up her champagne and sipped it as
she looked out of her bedroom window.

The day was a
perfect cloudless blue. A warm breeze touched her skin as it
drifted through the open window. She missed Jack, which was stupid
because he’d only been away from her for one night. He’d spent the
night at Eli and Ayden’s, and under strict instructions from
Tabitha, he hadn’t contacted her at all.

“
Okay, we are
ready,” Tabitha said as they walked back into the room.

Cora had
decided on the summer theme. Ember had told Jack the theme, and
they’d picked their own styles from the mountain of suits they’d
had to sort through. She couldn’t wait to see what they’d chosen.
For the bridesmaids’ dresses, Cora had chosen a different look for
each of her bridesmaids. It seemed strange to put them in the same
dress when the two of them were so different.

Tabitha’s
dress was full length and a pastel lavender colour. From the waist
down on the left side it ruffled, whilst on the right side there
was a gap in the material that, when Tabitha walked, revealed slim
tanned legs. Tabitha had pulled her hair into a messy plait down
her back as escaped wisps cupped her face.

Ember’s long
dress was pastel peach. Organza sleeves flowed down over her
shoulders ending three quarters of the way down her arms. The dress
worked in highlighting her lovely figure. Some of her hair was
pushed up at the front, almost creating something that looked like
an Elvis quiff, whilst the rest of it fell to the side in a
ponytail.

“
You both look
amazing,” Cora gasped. “Ember, Flynn is going to have a heart
attack when he sees you.”

Ember smiled.
“That is what I have planned so that I will never see him
again.”

Ember moved
aside as Tabitha whispered in her ear, “She loves the attention. I
do think something will happen there.”

Cora grinned.
She liked Flynn. He would make an excellent addition into the
group. Ember had heard and turned as she tried to hide a
smile.

“
Right, it is
your turn to look beautiful,” Ember sang.

Cora took a
deep breath and stood as Tabitha helped Ember arrange her dress.
Cora pulled off her dressing gown and put it down on the
bed.

Ember grinned
at what she was wearing, making her feel very self conscious and
fold her arms across her chest.

“
Jack is one
lucky man,” Tabitha teased.

Cora sighed as
the two of them held the wedding dress above her head and let it
fall. The corset gave her a figure she didn’t know she had. The
skirt and train were perfect, and not too long. As they finished,
Cora’s fingers brushed the sea pearls that cascaded down her skirt.
She thought with a white dress she would look too pale, but Ember
had worked her magic again.

“
You look
beautiful, Cora,” Ember whispered as she bent to help Cora into her
sparkly ballet pumps. There wasn’t a chance she would wear heels
today. She would no doubt fall on her face in them.

“
Ayden is
waiting downstairs,” Tabitha told her as she passed Cora her
bouquet.

“
What are these
flowers?” Cora asked, pointing to lilac roses, but she knew they
weren’t roses.

“
They are
lisianthus, I thought they looked lovely nestled amongst the rich
purple tulips, they really stood out against your
dress.”

Cora admired
the bouquet. The bridesmaids were like white, wispy clouds. “What
are your flowers?”

Tabitha
smiled. “Really, Cora, you need to learn your flowers. These are
gypsophila.”

“
I know normal
flowers, like tulips...” she muttered. “But they do look
nice.”

Her bedroom
smelled wonderful. She wouldn’t mind having flowers in here more
often.

Maybe I
should learn to garden? I will have more time once we are married
and life becomes wonderfully boring again!

“
Okay,” Cora
breathed, trying to blow away the nerves, and followed her two best
friends, her family, out of the bedroom. “I just wanted to tell you
both how much I love you and that I’m so happy you are a part of my
day.”

Tabitha pushed
aside a tear that was forming, “I would not miss it for the world.
I’m happy and proud that this day has finally arrived for
you.”

Tabitha waited
for Ember who walked down the stairs first and then Tabitha
followed. Cora took a moment as her heart hammered inside her
chest. She took another deep breath, held the banister with one
hand and slowly descended the stairs, keeping her bouquet tight
against her. Her eyes met Ayden’s. They widened in surprise and
smiled as she approached him.

The suit
surprised her. It wasn’t what she’d expected of a wedding suit. The
trousers were a soft grey which really complimented the white
shirt, a shirt that was open at the collar. The slim black tie with
the black braces made her smile. It was a rather relaxed summer
look. She liked it.

“
You look
great, Ayden!”

Ayden coughed,
forcing back his own tears. “You look beautiful.”

“
Thank you,”
she smiled.

“
Presents,”
Tabitha said as she stepped beside Ayden and handed Cora a box. She
hadn’t expected presents.

Cora opened
the box to find an understated, yet beautiful bracelet. The little
clear jewels winked at her as they caught the light. “Tab, it’s
beautiful!”

“
I know. It was
mine. I wore it on my... wedding day.”

“
Are you sure
you want me to have it?”

Cora only knew
a little of what had happened to Tabitha, and none of it was
good.

“
Yes. It was a
happy day for me. The years that followed were the most painful
ones. Plus, it will suit you, and it will make me so
happy.”

“
These are from
Jack,” Ayden said as he held out another box to her. Where were all
these boxes coming from? It was a small black box, one that always
held jewellery.

She opened it
and gasped. Small diamond earrings glistened. She lifted the note
and opened it as Ember carefully fastened them in her
ears.

‘
These will
only add to your beauty! I can’t wait to see you on the day I can
call you my beautiful wife! Finally!

I love you
xx’

Cora laughed
and let the tears fall down her cheeks whilst Ember dabbed at them
with a tissue. Ember was concentrating at keeping her makeup
looking perfect.

“
You are
fighting a losing battle,” Tabitha sniffed as she dabbed at her own
tears whilst laughing.

Cora laughed,
the action making the tears trickle over her cheeks. “Yeah, but
Tab, you always look gorgeous. After I cry I have a red nose and
red eyes, and I have snot...and it isn’t sexy. Jack doesn’t want to
see that, today of all days.”

“
I agree. Until
she sees Jack, her makeup will remain this beautiful. He needs to
see the whole package!” Ember told them.

“
She would look
beautiful in a black bag...but saying that...Cora, Jack will not
know what has hit him when he sees you. Are we ready to go?” Ayden
asked.

“
Yes,” Cora
puffed nervously.

She couldn’t
understand why she was nervous. She loved Jack. She wanted this.
She just knew she was going to mess up in front of everyone. She
was going to fall over her own feet and face plant the floor.
Usually she never worried about putting one foot in front of the
other, but now that everyone was going to look at her, she worried
a simple thing like walking, would fail her.

Tabitha and
Ember exited the house before the two of them, leaving Ayden to
smile at her as he took her arm and guided her outside into the
lovely sunshine. He squeezed her hand as they closed the door
behind them and headed towards the cottage.

49

Memory

They strolled
lazily to the cottage, enjoying the warm breeze that carried the
smell of early summer. Her dress gently licked at the floor, making
Ayden stop and lift it so that he walked behind her. As they
approached, a man appeared out of thin air in front of
them.

“
Oh, Cora, this
is Cameron, he is your photographer for the day. I do believe wish
number four is complete.”

Cora smiled.
“Thank you, Cameron.”

Cameron, an
elderly gentleman with thinning grey hair, who was agile for his
age, smiled at her. “You are more than welcome. It makes my day
very easy photographing a beautiful woman.”

“
Why, thank
you,” Ember teased.

Cora laughed,
feeling some of her nerves float away.

As they walked
up towards the cottage, Cameron melted into the background. Tabitha
and Ember stopped at the gate, giving her a moment. The green
canopy twinkled as she approached. Roses were twined around the
full length of it as the sheets danced in the soft breeze. Ember
and Tabitha fussed with her dress and hair as she stood,
waiting.

“
We are
ready.”

At those
words, soft instrumental music guided them around the front of the
cottage. Cora could hear the hum of excited people, waiting for
her. Christ. She was sweating in places she didn’t know she could
sweat. Ayden squeezed her hand. She smiled and tried to ignore her
palpitating heart and her jelly legs.

They
approached the corner of the cottage, just out of view. She wasn’t
sure if she was panting. She couldn’t hear herself, the blood had
rushed into her head. The instrumental music changed, the harpist
playing beautifully. Ember smiled at her before she elegantly
walked ahead, her bouquet firmly held in her hands that rested in
front of her. Damn it. Why did she make it look so easy? Why had
she chosen two gorgeous and elegant women to walk down the aisle
before her?

Tabitha turned
to Cora. “Have fun. Enjoy every moment. Take a deep breath, Cora,
you look like you are going to black out on me.”

Cora giggled
and started to breath. Tabitha’s hand squeezed her shoulder. She
smiled, kissed her cheeks and then followed Ember down the
aisle.

Cora couldn’t
feel her legs. She wasn’t sure they would move. Ayden looked at
her. “Keep bloody breathing. I’m not dealing with an emotional,
fainting woman today,” he murmured.

She laughed,
and heard the murmur of the people waiting. They were no doubt
wondering what she had laughed at.

Ayden smiled.
“That’s better, you have some colour.” He stepped ahead and took
her with him. Her legs managed to hold her up.

She took a
deep breath and held her bouquet as Ayden walked her down the
aisle. Everyone she knew was here, waiting for her. They were stood
up, watching her approach. The candles in the vases flickered in
the breeze. Ribbons swayed on the white chairs as she walked by
everyone. She smiled at Iona who was already fussing with a tissue
at the corner of her eyes. Evelyn was smiling at her. Flynn’s eyes
followed Ember’s movement. Cora giggled, and then she saw
Jack.

Her breath
caught. Her heart ballooned.

Clay and Eli
were stood on either side of him wearing the exact same outfit as
Ayden. Jack had gone with something a little different. His
trousers were the colour of light stone. The white shirt was
unbuttoned revealing the beginnings of a rather tanned and toned
chest. The shirt sleeves were rolled to his elbows, showing how
relaxed he probably felt. The cream waistcoat added a little charm.
He didn’t need the suit to look gorgeous. He smiled at her, his
chocolate eyes dancing whilst his dimples popped, and she fell in
love all over again.