- EPILOGUE -
Ellie
THREE YEARS LATER
“You look beautiful, babe…” Hazel says, her eyes bright. Noah clears his throat from beside us and Hazel spins and rolls her eyes at him. “Yes, darling… You look good, too. Nice touch with the pink tie, by the way.”
Hazel winks at me and I can’t help but beam.
Minutes from now, I’ll be walking down the aisle, arm in arm with my twin brother as he gives me away to his best friend. Not only has he agreed to be a ‘bridesmaid’ for me, but Noah has been a rock for the past year, ever since Dad passed away.
“Red would have been better you know? Everyone knows red is the best colour,” Noah grunts, tugging at his soft pink tie. “I think the Viking’s would have sponsored the dress if you went with red… Not that you and money bags need the money anyway…”
Rolling my eyes, I slap Noah’s shoulder and glance up at the clock.
It’s time.
Actually, it’s well past time. Miles would be standing up there in a nervous pile of sweat, pacing back and forth like he does when he’s nervous. And that’s exactly how I had planned it. The bride’s allowed to be late, right?
I’ve done my sweating and painful wait. Thirteen hours of labour is what it took to get our feisty little bundle of joy into this wonderful world. And I don’t regret a single second of the thirteen-hour process.
OK, I’m lying. It fucking sucked.
But I would do it all over again because now we’ve got the sassiest little girl.
“Are you ready, sweetheart?” I drop down to Lucy’s level and see her eyes a clear reflection of mine. “Time to go and see Daddy.”
Lucy bounces on the spot, her blonde hair perfectly straight for her parents’ big day.
“Yay! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”
Lucy is a Daddy’s girl through and through. It’s no wonder. Miles adores her. All she has to do is look at him and he melts. It’s a privilege to watch them grow with each other, both learning as much as the other, but every now and then, would it be a crime to let Mummy in? I’m the one who spent thirteen hours pushing her out for God’s sake!
“Yes, yes… Daddy…” I roll my eyes and Hazel chuckles while pulling Noah along behind her.
We reach the door of the bride’s suite, and when Lucy yanks it open, my feet are glued to the floor. Nerves pin me to the ground and suddenly, I’m a statue.
I’ve been waiting for this moment my entire life, and now that it’s here, I can’t believe it.
I look around.
It’s just how I imagined it. Miles had made damn sure of that. Whatever I wanted, I got. My dream wedding. Right down to the tiny people on top of the cake, hand-crafted to look exactly like us.
Hazel slides up beside me and links her arm through mine. Her crystal blue eyes shimmer and I swear she’s crying already.
“Come on. You’re ready for this,” Hazel says.
She gives a tug of my arm and when I step out of the doorway, I see Lucy is already walking up the aisle at the end of the corridor, her flower basket dangling on her forearm as she throws petals down the aisle quickly and runs out of sight, assumedly into Miles’ arms.
“Yeah, come on, sookielala,” Noah barges past, still fiddling with his tie. Music begins playing and my brother is right when he chuffs, “It’s showtime.”
“Stop playing with that!” Hazel smacks his hand, and he mocks an upset face. “I’m tired of telling you!”
Noah frowns with wide eyes. “Don’t even think about treating your husband like she does.”
He steams off, leaving Hazel and me laughing. He’s only joking, of course. Hazel and Noah are the perfect married couple. And the growing pop in Hazel’s belly is making Lucy incredibly excited for her first little cousin.
We follow Noah up the hall, and he joins up with the other guys who all poke and pull at his tie, sending Hazel’s hands into tight fists. They make fun of Noah for having to stand on the ‘girls side’, but I don’t care.
He’s my brother. And although he might be Miles’ best friend, he was mine first.
Noah links arms with Miles’ brother, a kind guy from down south. They act romantic and chuckle as they break through the doorway, gasps and giggles replacing the ‘naw’ noises that Lucy received.
The guests in the other room are met with the site of Hazel and an old friend of Miles’ from London. There are some special guests at this wedding, but James Hawkes, a famous soccer player from Hampstead FC might just be the cream on the cake.
And then, I’m alone.
I draw a deep breath. In my head, I can hear my wedding planner screaming the countdown at me.
“Wait for the beat to die down and then take your steps…”