Begin Again

chapter twenty two

"OH MY GOD, I can't get my dress zipped up!"

I wince at the high-pitched scream that has just left Monica's lips as she stares at her back in the mirror, trying to pull up the zipper of her wedding dress. Her demeanor is almost hysteric, and I'm pretty sure she is close to jumping up and down any minute now and potentially damaging her dress.

Talia rises from the couch before anyone else can say anything. She gently pries Monica's fingers away from the zipper before she rips it and causes an even bigger fiasco. She quickly pushes the zipper up higher, securing Monica in the dress.

"There you go," Talia affirms.

Monica swivels around with a grateful expression on her face. "Thank you so much; you're a lifesaver."

Suddenly, the door opens, and Nick pops his head in with a massive grin.

"Five minutes left, Mon."

I swear, as the words leave his lips, I notice all the color draining from her face. She nods stiffly at him as Nick gives her a thumbs-up, clearly not sensing the sudden mood drop, before disappearing again.

One of her bridesmaids, Harper, shoots Monica a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

Monica violently shakes her head; her red hair curled to absolute perfection spinning all around.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Veronica looks wide-eyed as she hurries further away from the hysteric bride-to-be.

"Should we get her a bucket?"

I shake my head, looking at Monica, whose face has grown considerably paler.

"You'll be fine. You want to marry Wes, right?" She nods, not even hesitating in the slightest. To my amusement, everyone in the room sighs in relief as if she were about to pull an escape before walking down the aisle.

The door flies open again, except this time it isn't Nick but Monica's older sister, Callie, who also happens to be her maid-of-honor.

"It's time," she announces with a massive grin.

Walking over to Monica, I try to be as reassuring as possible. "This day is about you and the man you're about to marry, okay? No one else matters." Monica relaxes, shooting me a look of gratitude.

Turning to her sister, she nods. "Let's do this."

We all let out synchronized cheers of excitement, clapping our hands as we file out after Monica.

The church they've picked is gorgeous, the stained glass windows practically glinting from the sunlight, flowers placed all over the area in large bouquets. Everything seems to be done to perfection, though knowing Monica, I wouldn't have expected anything less.

I quickly walk behind Talia and Veronica and shuffle into our seats before the ceremony begins. Immediately after sitting down, I spot Miles by the alter, laughing with Nick, the other groomsmen, and the best man. His smile causes butterflies in my stomach as he throws his head back in laughter.

"You're staring," Talia teases as she elbows me on my side.

"Yeah, I know."

It's nice to be in a stable place with Miles, finally. After the entire airport scene, he flew to Los Angeles, mostly because I wasn't letting him miss such an ample opportunity. I told him we would sort through everything when he got back. He spent two and a half weeks in California, and with any free time, we were texting, calling, or FaceTiming. It was nice, and honestly, those two weeks practically solidified that I wanted to make it official with him when he returned to New York.