She took a deep breath of the air that held the faint scent of crushed grapes. As she put her hand in Justin's and headed into the throng to congratulate Ashley and Drew, she was pleasantly surprised to see Michael coming toward them.
She gave him a big hug, knowing it must have been incredibly hard to watch one of his children get married without his beloved wife at his side. "Ashley and Drew's vows were beautiful, weren't they?"
"They were." His voice was a little hoarse from the tears he'd shed during the ceremony. "Lisa and I wrote our own vows back before it was really the thing to do. She would have loved to have heard theirs."
Justin, who hadn't yet spoken, enfolded his father in a warm hug. Everything was going to be all right between them, Taylor was certain of it. Because if anything did happen to her, he was going to need his family more than ever...
Soon, the three of them made it to the front of the receiving line. And as Taylor hugged Ashley and Drew, though they were Justin's family and not hers, she still felt the pull of an extra strong bond.
A bond that strengthened even further when, fifteen minutes later, instead of standing to one side and chatting with the other guests while family pictures were being taken, they insisted she be included in the photographs.
"You're family, Taylor," Drew said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
It really was the perfect day, not only for the bride and groom, but for her too. Dinner was delicious, and then the dance floor beckoned. The Morrison clan certainly knew how to bust a move, and it was tempting to watch from the sidelines, but Justin clearly had other ideas.
He guided them into the middle of the dance floor where the bride and groom were holding each other tight and slow-dancing despite the upbeat tempo of the music. He twirled her and dipped her and made her laugh like crazy. She'd never had so much fun, never felt so carefree and happy.
After all these years of longing to be with him, it felt so incredible to have her dream come true. Okay, so maybe it was more complicated than she'd planned, but they were managing all right so far, weren't they? Whatever happened next, they'd figure it out together.
Taylor was flushed from dancing when the DJ announced that it was time to cut the cake. She felt a little lightheaded and hoped some cake, and a glass of water, would help set her to rights.
The bride and groom were adorable as they first sliced the delicious-looking three-layer chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet cake. Drew made his new wife laugh, then blush, at whatever he whispered into her ear. They fed each other pieces of cake...then kissed off the mess they made.
"I'm so glad they found each other," Taylor said, even as she blushed at the heat currently being generated by Justin's brother and his new wife.
"I used to worry about Drew," Justin told her. "Especially once his music career took off--that's just such a crazy world. But once I met Ashley, I knew she was exactly what he needed. And I also knew I didn't need to worry about him anymore."
It was how she wanted his family to feel about her--to know that they didn't have to worry about Justin anymore because she would always take care of him. Unfortunately, her diagnosis meant they were more worried about him.
She sighed, and of course Justin picked right up on it. "I know what you're thinking," he said. "But you're wrong. My family knows I'm nowhere near whole without you, because you make my life better in every single way. That's why they sent me to you in St. Helena, remember?"
She laid her head against his chest. "I think I'm still just overtired from the all-nighter."
He didn't poke holes in her excuse as he stroked her hair. She'd slept well last night--she couldn't actually remember Justin carrying her to bed from the car--but she still felt as though her body was running on fumes.
Since her diagnosis, she had tried to be extra careful about eating right and getting enough rest, but it had been an absolutely crazy week. She wouldn't have wanted to give up any of the time she'd spent with Justin, nor would she have wanted to miss Drew and Ashley's wedding festivities.
"Taylor--" Maddie grabbed her hand and pulled her into the center of the dance floor, where the other single women were assembling. "It's time for the bouquet toss. And you too, Olivia," she added, ignoring her older sister's protests. "I mean, odds are that Taylor will get married first since she's already engaged and all. But you're always a dark horse, Olivia, so I suppose anything is possible."
Only Maddie could get away with saying such things to her sister. Taylor had meant to ask Olivia if there was someone special in her life, but Justin's eldest sister was a slippery one. It was almost as though she could read Taylor's mind, and every time she thought she finally had a chance to ask some gently probing questions about Olivia's love life, the other woman found a reason to escape the conversation. Olivia hadn't brought a plus-one to the wedding, but she had spent quite a bit of time smiling into her phone as she texted someone.
In any case, though Taylor was quite tall, she'd never caught a bouquet at a wedding. Then again, she thought as Justin gave her the thumbs-up, she hadn't been with Justin either. Now, she could almost feel her fingertips tingling, especially when Ashley looked straight at her and winked before turning to fling her bouquet over her head.
Taylor stood perfectly still as she watched the flowers sail through the sky as if in slow motion, heading right toward her. She lifted her hands to catch the bouquet, but it slid between her fingers...and hit her on the head.
She scrambled to grab it before it fell to the ground, and when she did, instinct took over. She lifted it above her head like a victor with her spoils, and soon, Justin was there too, spinning her around in circles while everyone laughed and cheered.
And then, as a wonderful surprise, Drew took the stage, pulling Ashley up with him. Never one for the spotlight, Drew's new bride blushed as he kissed her in front of everyone. "I've vowed never to keep secrets from you, Ash," he said, "but I hope you'll forgive me for keeping this one." He picked up a guitar. "The song is called Beautiful. And every wo
rd of it is from my heart to yours."
They were so wonderful together, and so in love, that Taylor was already tearing up before Drew played a single chord. And when he did begin to sing, it was no exaggeration to say that every woman in the room wished for a love like theirs.
Warm all over in the knowledge that she and Justin already had just that, Taylor settled into the circle of his arms as they listened.
The most beautiful song I've ever heard
Is you
Your voice is the melody
Your heartbeat is the rhythm
And when you whisper, "I love you"
They're the lyrics of my dreams
You're my heart
My soul
My one true love
The most beautiful song I've ever heard
Is you
"That was incredible, wasn't it?" Taylor said to Justin once the last notes faded and everyone in the crowd was going wild, yet again, for the newlyweds.
"I'm not normally jealous of my brothers," Justin said, "but I wish I could write you a song like that."
"You've already given me everything I could ever want." She brought her mouth only a breath from his. "You."
They might never have stopped kissing had the bride and groom not come to say good-bye before heading off to the airport to catch an overnight flight to the beaches of Thailand for their honeymoon.
By the time they'd seen the happy couple off, Taylor realized she was well and truly pooped. Justin knew her so well, thankfully, that she didn't need to say a word.
"Ready to head home?"
"It was the most magical wedding ever, but it probably is time for me to hit the sack." She couldn't wait to crawl under the covers with Justin and make some magic of their own. But by the time they said their good-byes to the rest of his family and got into his car, she could hardly keep her eyes open. "I don't want to fall asleep on you again tonight," she said, her words sounding like one huge yawn. "Promise me you'll wake me when we get back."