Charlie
My heart jumped into my throat as everyone in the magnificent church gasped and turned around to see who the crazy person was running down the aisle.
Leaning around the pillar I’d been resting against to take some wide shots of the couple beneath the stunning stained-glass windows, I gaped and nearly choked on my own surprise.
“Nixon?” I whispered.
“You can’t do this. You can’t marry this guy.” His voice trembled with conviction as he reached Cassie and gently spun her around to face him. If I hadn’t been so dumbstruck, I would have cracked up laughing.
“Hey!” Troy pushed his shoulder while Cole stepped up from his best man post, ready to grab Nixon and wrestle him out of the building.
Nixon blinked and looked at the two towering guys before glancing down at the bride.
He froze for a second, and then his eyes bulged bigger than I’d ever seen them. “Oh, shi….”
He let Cassie go like she was on fire and stumbled back, nearly falling on his ass. “You’re not her.” He winced, then looked to Troy. “Okay, um, man, I am so sorry. I thought… This is the wrong wedding.” He swallowed and looked about ready to puke with embarrassment.
A snort came from the front row followed by a soft slap. Nessa…or Ronnie. They were no doubt fighting giggles. The sound set Jimmy off. He was standing behind Troy and didn’t hold back. His loud laughter boomed through the church.
Troy turned and gave his brother a dry glare, but it quickly turned into a snickering grin when Felix joined the pack of hyenas.
It didn’t take long for laughter to ripple through the entire church.
Poor Nixon.
He looked like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him.
And it only got worse when Cassie started shaking her head and backing away from Troy. “This is just another sign,” she whimpered.
“Hey, no.” Troy jumped after her, grabbing her hand and putting a quick stop to the retreat.
Gently cupping her cheek, he forced her to look at him. I couldn’t see his face, but he was probably smiling with a tenderness that only Troy possessed.
“I know we’ve had some roadblocks, but this is it. This is our day. And I’m not letting some psycho set on reenacting The Graduate stop me from marrying the woman I love.”
A hush settled across the crowd as all eyes landed on the couple.
Lifting the camera, I quietly snapped a few pictures—capturing the beauty that Troy was creating with his heartfelt speech.
“I love you, Cassie. I always will. And I want you and me…and Felix.” He glanced over his shoulder, making Felix blush with a shy smile. “I want us to be an official family. I want it on paper, signed and sealed that you are Mrs. Cassie Baker.”
Cassie’s lips twitched, her voice trembling when she finally found it. “But it’s been so hard getting here.”
“I know, but we’re here now. We never gave up, because we’re meant to be together. And I’m gonna keep fighting for that reality no matter what comes our way.” He leaned forward and kissed her while a soft murmur of approval rippled through the crowd.
My lens ended up on Nixon and my breath caught. He had tears in his eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered again, squeezing the back of his neck and giving the couple a pained smile. “Please, get married.”
Cassie turned, her frown a mixture of confusion and pity.
But then she smiled at him. “I will.”
He cringed and apologized yet again before spinning and practically running for the exit.
He was about halfway down when he spotted Kelly and jerked to a stop.
Her smile was sweet and sympathetic as she pointed to the pillar I was standing behind.
I stepped out of hiding and raised my hand at him.
The look on his face nearly made me cry.
But I was working, and I wasn’t going to let those eyes own me again.
I nearly turned away from him and got back to taking photos, but I just couldn’t do it. With a flick of my head, I ushered him across to me.
He scampered down the aisle while everyone’s eyes tracked him.
As Nixon hid behind the pillar, the gazes all landed on me.
“Sorry about that.” I gave them my best smile. “I’ll explain later, but why don’t we let these two lovebirds finally get married. Third time lucky, right?” A cheer went up from the crowd and I raised my camera to snap photos of their hilarious expressions. Hopefully Cassie and Troy would look back on the moment with a smile and a laugh.
Leaning into a row of seats, I zoomed in on the bride and groom and caught Troy’s sweet, reassuring smile, then managed to get the look on Cassie’s face.
The service resumed and I snapped some more pictures, then glanced at Nixon. He leaned in and softly whispered, “I’m sorry. I thought you were getting married.”
I threw him an incredulous look.
“Your next-door neighbor said… And then Sarah…”
“What’s Sarah got to do with it?”
Oh man, I wondered where she was. She’d be ready to throttle Nixon for nearly throwing off the third wedding attempt.
“Ugh.” Nixon softly groaned. “It’s… It was…a miscommunication.”
“How could you think I was getting married?” I whispered before turning away to snap a shot of the wedding party as they all bowed their heads to pray.
“You said you had a boyfriend.” His whisper was so soft I barely heard it. And then it took me a moment to remember I’d told him that, which meant he figured out my lie within a nanosecond. His deep frown was kind of cute and I quickly snapped a photo of it.
He placed his hand on mine and gently pushed the camera down and away from my face. “I have to talk to you. I can’t keep pretending like there isn’t something between us. It’s driving me insane.”
I stilled, then caught sight of Sarah out of the corner of my eye. She was eyeing me from the other side of the church, an irritated frown on her face. I quickly lifted the camera and snapped a few more photos. Thank God the camera was covering my face as I tried to process what the hell Nixon was saying to me.
Three months of nothing and he just turns up like this?
The minister said “Amen” and the crowd all cast their eyes back to the couple while they got ready to exchange their vows. I had to move into a better position.
Glancing at Nixon, I grimaced and whisper-barked, “What about Shayna?”
“We broke up.” He brushed his fingers over the back of my hand. “I’ve been trying to figure everything out…but I know now. I know what I want.”
Damn those brown eyes. They were going to make me fold before I could stop myself.
Looking away from them, I noticed Troy had already started speaking. “Look, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m working right now. This is a really bad time.”
“I’ll wait.”
I walked away from his soft promise and moved into a better position. Once Cassie was done, they’d exchange rings and then kiss. I couldn’t miss a second of that. Even though the posed photos were coming later, I still had to capture the wedding kiss.
Nixon hung back in the shadows while I moved into the center aisle and tried to be invisible.
Cassie and Troy only had eyes for each other. Her voice trembled with emotion as she said her vows. His smile was like the sun, his eyes gleaming as he gazed down at her.
When the minister finally said, “You may now kiss the bride,” I planted my finger and snapped as much of the kiss as I could. I’d changed it to a high speed setting and was confident at least one shot would be pure gold.
The lighting in the place was freaking ethereal. I couldn’t wait to go through the photos and touch them all up before I left for Hawaii.
I’d be pulling an all-nighter to do it, but I could sleep on the plane, right?
I glanced to the side of the church and spotted Nixon watching me. His smile was sad yet hopeful, which only served to act as a sledgehammer to my gut.
What the hell did he want to say to me?
I thought I’d never see him again, and there he was, busting down a church door to stop me from marrying someone.
It was ridiculously romantic, and totally confusing.
He’d broken up with Shayna. When?
Did I even want to hear the story?
I was set on leaving the country. Finally letting go of the hold he had on me.
Slamming my teeth together, I got back to work, hoping that staying busy and ignoring him would be enough to get me through the rest of the wedding.
Although, I had a sinking suspicion Nixon wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry.
I saw the look on his face when he said he needed to talk.
I just hoped I was strong enough to handle whatever the hell it was he wanted to say to me.