“Oh my God.” Alice clasps her hands over her mouth and her eyes begin to well up.

“Don’t cry. You’re going to ruin your make-up.” I smile as I look at her reflection in the mirror in front of me. My own make-up artist is brushing my face with some kind of powder. She’s put so much product on my face I’ve stopped keeping track.

“You look beautiful.” She approaches the table where I’m sitting, grabs a tissue and carefully dabs her eyes. “You don’t have cold feet, do you?”

“Of course not.”

“Good. I was going to tell you if you do we can just spend the rest of our time here visiting temples and beaches together.”

“We can still do that.” I laugh. “But I’m sorry I can’t check out the men with you like I said we would.”

“Are you crazy? I’m happy enough I get to fly to freaking Bali in business class and stay at a five-star resort for free.” She takes a seat on the bed and continues staring at me in my white A-line dress, her eyes shining with happiness for me.

I smile. Cole and I have flown the closest people in our lives to the tropical island for the wedding. I ask, “Is everyone getting along okay?”

“Cole’s Dad is being kind of an asshole, but your wedding planner is handling him pretty well.”

“Well, I expected that and I already warned her.”

“He’s not happy about the wedding at all, is he?”

“Nope,” I say. “Cole didn’t want to invite him at all, but I told him I’m no longer in contact with either of my parents so we should keep all the family we do have.”

“You’re a better person than I am,” Alice says.

“Only sometimes.”

“All done! You look beautiful,” says the make-up artist, a Balinese woman who speaks impeccable, if heavily accented, English.

“Thank you,” I say.

I get up and walk across the hotel room toward the full-length mirror that’s propped against the wall. I nod my approval and the make-up artist leaves the room through the traditional, intricately carved double doors. It’s just Alice and me now in this swanky hotel room.

“You know, when Cole called me to ask for my opinion about the ring, I thought he was moving way too fast. You just started seeing each other again, for God’s sake. I told him what I thought, but he insisted. I told him, ‘Okay, just don’t blame me when she says no.’ And then he told me you already said yes. I feel like you undermined my credibility a little bit,” she says without taking her eyes off my reflection.

“Hey, I called you that same day and you pretended like you just found out. You liar.”

“Yeah, well, he only called an hour or two before you did. It’s your own fault for always waking up so late,” Alice says. “I’m surprised you guys managed to sort everything out so quickly. That was quite a bit of mess you were in.”

“Yeah. But in the end, the only thing I was worried about was his tendency to want to be in control and solve every problem himself. That’s how he got us into the mess in the first place. I made him promise that he wouldn’t meddle in my career and that we’d solve all our problems together. I also insisted that he let me get my own apartment, although I ended up spending most nights at his place anyway.” I giggle.

“Oh, Em.” Alice sighs. “If I were in your position, I don’t know if I’d even want to continue working. Seriously. How do you even get the motivation to work when Cole is perfectly willing to give you the life of a Kardashian?”

“Well, it’s different for you, Alice. You’ve worked really hard your whole life,” I say. I have to laugh at the Kardashian comment. “I’d only just started my career and I wanted to know if I could make it on my own without his involvement. I may find myself having to stand on my own two feet again someday.”

Alice grows quiet. We both know what I’m talking about. I’ve lost one love and, eager as I am to jump into a new life with Cole, I’m aware that I can lose him at any time.

“Are you ready?” My Australian wedding planner pops her head into the room. Having lived on the island for decades, she has a year-round natural tan and speaks the local language fluently. “You look like you’re ready. Beautiful, blushing bride. No cold feet, I hope?”

“Nope. I’m ready.”

“Great. All the guests are seated. There’s a buggy just outside waiting for you,” Denise says.

As I make my way outside, Alice helps me with my dress. I’ve deliberately chosen a simple, no-fuss dress to match the beachy setting. Keeping a floor-length white dress from getting dirty is no simple task.

Hot, humid air hits me as soon as I step outside. The afternoon wind makes it bearable, although I still wish I could jump into the private swimming pool to cool down.

Alice and I sit on the back of the little buggy that takes us to the wedding venue, a beautiful green clearing at the bottom of a set of stone steps that overlooks the ocean.

It’s late in the afternoon and the sky is just beginning to turn pink and orange. A warm breeze flirts with my loosely curled hair. The sound of waves crashing into the rocks helps calm my nerves.

I’m not used to this, any of this. Getting all dolled up in a designer dress, taking a vacation to a tropical island, or being the center of attention. I’m completely out of my element. At the same time, everything feels magical.

As Alice and I approach the top of the stone steps, men wearing checkered sarongs and Balinese cloth hats start playing a tune on their traditional musical instruments. The guests stand up and turn around to look at us.

Alice and I giggle as we walk down the stone steps hand in hand, trying not to fall while we balance ourselves on our high heels. I feel like it’s only appropriate for her to walk me down the aisle, seeing as she’s the only parent I’ve ever had.

On both sides of the aisle, I see the smiling faces of Marco, Sally, Caine, and even Cole’s father. I guess he has finally resigned himself to the fact that we’re definitely getting married after all.

Several of our colleagues and friends from Seattle whom we’ve grown close to over the past few months are also in attendance. We’ve even invited Linda, the old woman we met on the plane when we first landed in Seattle, the first person to ever predict our nuptials. But it’s still a small ceremony with only twenty people in attendance.

At the end of the aisle, Cole stands by the wedding officiant with a big grin on his face.

He looks dapper in his navy three-piece Armani suit. He’s wearing a crisp white shirt underneath and a light gray necktie. A single white rose is pinned onto his left lapel.

As I cast my eyes on Cole, our gaze lock. I almost can’t believe I’m about to marry this magnificent man. Looking into his piercing brown eyes, I know he has no doubt in his mind either that he wants to do this. Despite our stormy beginnings, there are no cold feet for either one of us on this warm, sunny day.

Alice lets go of me with a smile when we reach the altar and takes her seat on one of the gold Tiffany chairs in the front row.

Cole takes my hands in his. I look up into his eyes and smile as I think about how I’ll be holding these same hands for the rest of my life. And if we’re lucky, I’ll get to watch them age until they become wrinkled, old-man hands.

I’m ready for the rest of our lives to begin.

* * *

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed Emily and Cole’s story.

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