Chapter Twenty

I felt like I was flying around my bedroom as I rushed to get dressed for the wedding.

Sky was sitting up in bed, his eyes following me as I quickly paced all around. We'd spent the earlier part of the morning just hanging out in bed as I'd rested my head on his chest, and he'd told me about the myriad of memories he had about Trent when they were both little kids. Sky had also run his idea for a wedding toast by me a few times, keenly listening as I gave my suggestions about what to keep and what to throw straight in the trash.

It was nice, spending time with him like that. And I had to admit that waking up beside him made me want to wake up beside him, again and again, for as long as he'd have me.

But I didn't have time to think about that right now. And even though I still felt the L word somewhere in my throat, my future confession of love was going to have to wait.

I caught a glimpse of the time as I glanced at my alarm clock on the other side of the room.

I needed to get to the wedding venue in the next thirty minutes. Thankfully, I'd just finished putting my shoes on, so I was pretty much ready to walk out the door.

"I'll see you at the wedding?" I asked Sky as I headed out of the apartment.

"See you at the wedding." His response sounded like there was a smile on his face.

And because I'd become the kind of person who loved seeing his smile more than anything, I turned back around and rushed toward the bed, giving him a quick kiss.

He smiled for the second time.

And then, I finally left my apartment.

* * *

I still felt like I was flying.

But maybe that was because ever since I'd shown up at the wedding hall, I hadn't had a chance to sit down, and had barely been given a moment to breathe. I was in charge of overseeing every last detail, which included the flowers, the decorations, the cake, the DJ, the dress, the glitter, the hair pieces, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the seating arrangements, the way Clarissa didn't like the way one of the chandeliers in the reception hall leaned slightly to the right.

And now, I was with the bride as we finished getting her ready to walk down the aisle. She seemed calm, which I was grateful for, especially with so much else going on around me. And as I was mentally marking her off my wedding to-do list, assuming that I wouldn't need to comfort a nervous bride, I heard the sound of a small cry.

And then, that small cry turned into a sob.

And the sob turned into a wail.

Clarissa.

I looked down at her as I watched her wipe tears away from her cheeks.

"Oh, Clarissa." I crouched down beside her in the makeup chair and placed my hand over her own. "What's wrong?"

"You can just never be sure, you know? If you're making the right choice." She let out another sob. "I love Trent so much, but what if this whole ceremony is just a waste of time?"

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know. I saw the chandelier was a little off earlier, and then I thought, what if it's just a sign?" She let out a shaky breath. "What if it doesn't matter how much you love someone? If it's wrong, it's just wrong."

"Yeah, but what if when it's right, it's just right?" I offered. "What if things between you and Trent are so right that there's nothing you can do to ever make it wrong?"

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Duh." I smirked up at her. "But trust me, Clarissa. If you sit around thinking about all the ways something can go wrong, you're never going to go after anything worth having. Sometimes, it's better to just do something while you're a little bit scared, instead of never doing it, at all."

"Is that the same philosophy you're applying to your own love life?" She smiled.

"Nope. Not going there with you today."

"Why not?"

"Because today isn't about me. It's about you, princess," I replied as I stood up beside her chair. "Now, look straight up at me and then close your eyes. We need to reapply your eyeshadow. You don't want people to think you've been crying on your wedding day."

"Good call." She chuckled as she followed my instructions. "And I really like Sky for you, Raven."

"Yeah? Is that why you chewed us out at your rehearsal dinner?" I joked.

"Hey! You two had that coming," she answered. "Seriously, though. I think you two could work. I mean, you're like the most detail-oriented person I know, and Sky is basically like if a bank came to life."

"I don't know what that means, Clarissa."

"You know what I'm talking about," she insisted. "Sky wouldn't let anything come between him and his inheritance. He may act like he doesn't care about it, but please. He's just biding his time before he takes over for his dad. And then, you two get to be all cute and rich together."

"Can we just keep the focus on you today? Please?" I grinned as I finished reapplying her makeup. "We can talk about Sky later. I promise."

"Fine. We'll talk about him later." She sighed. "Although, with the way you're being so secretive about it, we probably won't get around to it until we're both 76."

"Maybe not." I grinned again and closed the makeup palette.

* * *

The wedding went off without a hitch.

I watched Trent and Clarissa exchange their vows in real time and I had to turn away from the crowd as tears streamed down my face. I hadn't expected to be more emotional than I'd been during the rehearsal, but their vows were even more beautiful than I'd ever imagined.

By the time I'd gotten myself together, they had already shared their first kiss as a married couple, and Clarissa was encouraging everyone to meet them in the reception hall.

And so far, the reception, much like the wedding, seemed to be going perfectly. I was making my way through a slice of cake, as I hung out near the DJ booth. I wanted to make sure the DJ was only playing the songs that Clarissa had pre-approved for the ceremony, but I also wanted to make sure I got some cake before it was all gone, so I was killing two birds with one stone.

"Hey," Sky said as he walked up to the DJ booth. "How's it going?"

"Fine?" I was a little confused as to why he was talking to me like it was the first time we'd ever met, but I decided to go along with it. "Are you having a good time at the wedding?"

"Yeah. I am. Thanks for asking." He smirked before he stepped closer to me. "You're hot."

"Thank you?"

"Do you want to dance?" he asked as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Yo! Buddy!" the DJ yelled over the song. "The wedding planner doesn't want to dance with you! Buzz off and find a bridesmaid or something!"

"Oh, we know each other--" Sky started.

"Yeah, I'm sure you do! Get out of here before I call security!" the DJ threatened.

"No, we really do know each other," I clarified, taking Sky's hand in my own. "But thanks for having my back, DJ!"

"No problem, wedding dude!"

"Fuck. I was just trying to do that thing where we pretend like we're strangers..." Sky sighed as he pulled me onto the dance floor. "I thought it could be kind of fun."

"Yeah, no. That DJ was about to call the cops." I chuckled. "But it was cute while it lasted."

We both slowly swayed to the music as he kept his hands on my waist, and I kept one hand on my fork as I took another bite of cake. "How was the wedding, though? Really?"

"It was good," he answered. "Kind of surprised my dad didn't make it, though. He was in town for it, but I guess he got called away for a last-minute business meeting or something."

"Is that something he did a lot when you were growing up?"

"What?"

"Disappear, after he said he was going to be somewhere. Just seems like you're not too upset about it."

"Yeah, I guess I'm not too upset." He shrugged. "Just part of his pattern, I guess."

"Are you two... close?" I was fishing for information as Clarissa's words still swirled around in my mind.

Sky wouldn't let anything come between him and his inheritance.

"We're close enough." He chuckled. "I wouldn't say he knows me too well, but I know he loves me, even if he has a strange way of showing it."

"Yeah. I get that." I smiled back at him as I tried to get Clarissa's voice out of my head.

He's just biding his time before he takes over for his dad.

There wasn't any reason for me to not trust Sky, and yet, it was starting to feel like something had gotten mixed in with our magic. Something that was probably going to tear us apart. Something that made me wonder if his time in my life was already close to coming to an end.

But I didn't want to think about that tonight.

Tonight, I wanted to dance with the man I loved.

And I wanted to pretend like we were set in stone, immovable, unbreakable, together.

Always, always together.