No Promises

chapter twenty-four

WHEN I WAS little, before the divorce and everything in my life changed, I used to be obsessed with weddings. I loved them. Everything about them screamed happily ever after to me. Professing your undying love for your soulmate. To young me, the idea was thrilling. I didn't understand how it was possible to know that you had found the right person. It seemed impossible, but I couldn't wait until it was me in the fluffy white dress, proclaiming my love for the rest of my life.

The idea now seems unrealistic, and slightly impossible, but maybe that's the cynic in me. I'm not the same little girl I was, the one that believed prince charming would come and sweep me off my feet. Now, I'm prepared to be my own happy ending.

No matter what, I'm always going to have me to rely on, and that's a promise I can make to myself and always keep.

"Hey girlie!" Emmy pinches my waist as she comes to a stop next to me in the chapel entrance. "Trying to up show the bride?"

"Never!" I shake my head, a smile gracing my lips as I turn to face her. Her dark hair hanging around her shoulders in loose waves, harmonizing beautifully with the sparkle in the burnt orange fabric of her dress. The deep swoop next drawing attention to the thin gold chain around her neck. "You look amazing."

"Thank you," she says, grinning at me. "So do you."

"Thanks," I say as I sway in my step, looking toward the chapel. "I can hardly believe this is happening. I mean, I knew Riker and Lena were madly in love, but actually being here seems surreal."

"You don't have to tell me," she says, shifting her weight. "I remember when Riker was a little kid and he proclaimed he would never get married because girls are gross. Look at him now, getting married at nineteen years old."

"When you know you know?" I ask.

She nods, smiling when her eyes drift to the benches. "I think, I see my parents up there," she says. "I'm going to go join them. Did you want to sit with us?"

I nod my head. "Yeah, absolutely. I'm just waiting for Isla to get here."

"Okay, we'll save two seats then." She smiles and steps into the chapel, heading down the aisle towards the front where I find her parents waiting for her.

My gaze doesn't leave them until I feel a gently touch on the small of my back, earning my attention. It feels as though the air has been knocked out of me when I turn my head and see Greyson standing next to me, a smoldering look on his face. Since I moved in, his hair has grown out and hangs passed his ears in natural waves I didn't know he had. He looks more put together than ever, and I immediately feel the heat raise to my cheeks.

"Hey," he says, a small smile crossing his lips. "You got here, okay?"

"Slowly but surely," I say and turn slightly to face him, taking in the all black suit. "You clean up good, Alexander."

"Yeah, you think?" He grabs the lapel to his suit jacket, holding it open as he does a small turn for me, flashing me a bright smile. "You don't look too bad yourself."

"Oh, yeah?" I hum and smooth my hands down the front of my tight black dress. The fabric hangs off my shoulders in a scallop neckline, the quarter length sleeves tight until just before my elbow, where they flare out into bell sleeves. "It's a bit of a step up from the oversized t-shirt I considered wearing."

He rolls my eyes at the comment. "You'd look gorgeous in anything."

"Anything?" I hum. "Don't make me test the limits of that."

"Anything." He nods.

"Paper bag?"

"Drop-dead."

I narrow my eyes. "Okay, what if I were wearing garbage?"