Riley
There’d been so much happening in the last five hours that I couldn’t wrap my mind around it all, but the last hour had been the worst. I was never good with hurry up and wait.
Hadley and I had practically run from the hotel back to the limo. My mom, Camden’s mom, Rachel, and Jasper were already waiting for us. I was told that the boys would follow after us.
“Where are we going?”
“To the chapel, silly,” Jasper had replied.
In my mind, I’d been picturing something really tacky: strobe lights, plastic flowers, and Elvis. But when we pulled up to the chapel I was pleasantly surprised. There were no flashing signs, no one-hour-wedding advertisements. It looked like a perfectly normal and even cute chapel.
“This looks nice,” I said, unable to hide the surprise from my voice.
“Trust me,” Rachel said with a smile, “Jasper and I were not going to let you get married in some dive. This is the nicest chapel in Vegas, even if it does have a drive-thru window.”
“You can get married in your car?” I asked, disbelieving.
“Honey, this is Vegas. Almost anything goes,” Jasper said just before exiting the limo.
I’d been sitting in the same chair for an hour, and it wasn’t terribly comfortable.
“Are you about ready?” the woman doing my makeup asked.
“I am,” I replied, trying not to sound impatient.
“Okay, here you go.” She spun the chair around and I faced the large mirror that covered most of the wall.
I almost didn’t even believe it was me I was looking at.
I looked like me, just… beautiful. Different, but the same. Bridal. It was strange.
My brown hair had been pulled up into a French twist with curled tendrils framing my face. I knew immediately Camden would appreciate the unobstructed view of my neck. My makeup was light and perfect, dewy pinks and rose colors. I looked like a bride, and it made me realize how close I was to the biggest moment of my life thus far.
“Oh my word,” I said, then started fanning my face with my hands.
“Don’t cry,” the makeup woman said sweetly, swiftly pulling out tissues from her case and dabbing under my eyes. “You’ll ruin all my hard work.”
“I’m sorry,” I replied, still trying to hold back the tears. “I just didn’t expect to look so… beautiful.”
“Oh, baby,” my mother said, coming up behind me and placing her hands on my shoulders. “You look just gorgeous.” She was tearing up as well. In fact, everyone in the room had tears in their eyes.
“Stop it, everyone,” I said with a laugh. “No more crying. Only laughter.”
Everyone followed directions and laughter rang throughout the room. The makeup artist dabbed something on my face again, apparently fixing anything I’d ruined by my few tears.
“Dress time,” Hadley singsonged.
“That’s my cue to leave,” Jasper said, making me laugh. He came to where I was sitting and kissed the air right next to my cheek, avoiding actual contact. “You look amazing, Riley. You’re gonna knock his socks off.”
“Thank you, Jasper, for everything.”
“Are you kidding? This is the most fun I’ve had since the last time I was in Vegas.” He winked and then headed toward the door.
“I’ll see you out there, Riley. You do look gorgeous,” Rachel gushed.
“Thank you,” I said softly. She gave me a small wave as she followed Jasper.
I watched as Hadley started unzipping the garment bag that held my dress. My stomach went absolutely silly with butterflies. I wasn’t nervous—I was excited. I was also in shock that any of this was even happening. It was still a little unreal.
“Riley? Before you get into your dress, can I talk to you for a minute?” Meg asked.
“Sure. Of course.” Her tone was strange, off a little. She had a smile on her face, but it was forced and looked as though it could fall away any moment and reveal sadness that was just below the surface. “Is everything okay?”
“Oh, sweetheart, everything is wonderful.” She sat in the chair next to me, seeming nervous. She took a deep breath and then met my eyes. “I don’t want to overstep my boundaries, and you can absolutely say no if you don’t feel like this is right, but I wanted to offer it to you anyway.” She held out her hand and opened her palm to reveal a men’s platinum wedding band. I couldn’t help but notice her hand was shaking slightly. “This was Camden’s father’s ring from our wedding. I couldn’t bear to bury it with him, and I’ve been saving it for Camden ever since.”
“Meg,” I said, my voice a whisper, new tears forming in my eyes. Her cheeks were wet with them, tears streaming down her face. “Oh, Meg,” I said again, rising from my chair and wrapping my arms around her. She cried softly for a short moment, allowing me to comfort her, but then she pulled away and seemed to steel herself.
“I understand if you don’t want to use it. I would’ve offered it to Camden himself, but I didn’t want him to feel pressured, and I also thought it might be a nice surprise.”
It would be a surprise. Camden had picked out his own wedding band when he’d purchased my engagement ring, but I knew having his father’s ring would mean a lot to him, maybe even more than he knew.
“Does Camden know you have this?” I asked, gingerly taking the ring from her hand.
She shook her head. “No. I wanted to save it for him as a surprise.”
“I think he’ll love it,” I said quietly, looking back up at her. “Thank you.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to force you into anything. He doesn’t even have to know I have it.”
“Meg, don’t be silly. I think it will mean a lot to him.” Camden and I had spoken about his father a few times since we started dating. He told me everything he remembered about his death and had insightful things to say about how losing his father at such a young age impacted him, but it wasn’t something we spoke about often. Camden was a very well-adjusted man, and the death of his father didn’t seem to affect his everyday life, but I knew he missed him and the relationship he might have had with him. I also knew that Meg had been desperately in love with her late husband. That wasn’t taking anything away from Camden’s stepfather, as he was a wonderful husband and stepfather. I just knew losing her husband was traumatic.
The idea of Camden dying tragically before we had enough years together, well, I was crying again at the thought.
“I think he’ll love it,” I said, holding back tears and wrapping Meg in my arms again. “Thank you,” I whispered to her.
“No,” she said, pulling away. “Thank you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to him, and if I have to give him up to anyone, I’m so glad it’s you, Riley.”
“Stop it,” Hadley said from the other side of the room, tears in her eyes. “Right now.”
Luckily, everyone laughed.
“Okay, I’m going to go check on Camden and then I’ll see you out there,” Meg said, giving me one last hug before making her way out of the room.
“Meg?” I called out to her just before she left.
“Yes?”
“Tell him I love him, okay?”
Her face softened at my request and she said, “Of course, dear.”
“I gotta tell ya,” the makeup artist said right when the door closed, “I have never seen anything as sweet as what just happened, and I’ve seen a lot.” I smiled at her as she closed her case. “Here is your lip color, yours to keep reapplying as needed. You look beautiful. Happy wedding day.” She gave us all a big smile and then left the room, leaving me alone with just Hadley and my mom.
“Holy shit,” I said, eyes wide. “I’m getting married.”
We all laughed again.
“Let’s get the dress on, Riley,” Hadley said with a smile.
I took in a deep breath and then pushed it out. “Okay, let’s do it.” I jumped around from foot to foot, trying to amp myself up, attempting to fight off the nerves that were swarming in my belly. They weren’t butterflies anymore—I was harboring the scaly dragon cast of Game of Thrones in my stomach.
When we’d arrived at the venue, Hadley had given me all the lingerie I’d bought with her just days before, along with a white satin robe with the word ‘Bride’ embroidered on the back in blue, and that’s what I’d been wearing since we’d arrived. It was perfect for getting my hair and makeup done.
Hadley pulled my dress from the bag carefully and walked toward me with the biggest smile.
“You’re going to look so fucking beautiful, Riles,” she said, eyes shining.
I slipped the robe off my shoulders and laid it on the chair, trying to ignore the fact that my mother and my best friend were seeing me in some pretty sexy lingerie.
“He’s going to fucking lose his mind when he takes this dress off you later,” Hadley added, making my cheeks burn with embarrassment.
I tried to give Hadley a look that read ‘Shut the fuck up, my mother is right next to you,’ but apparently I wasn’t covert enough because my mother started laughing.
“Oh, Riley, don’t be embarrassed. I’m no virgin. I know what happens on a wedding night. And Hadley’s right—Camden will lose his mind.”
“Okay,” I said quickly, “Let’s stop talking about all the sex I’m having later and put the dress on.”
The next half hour was a blur. The dress went on, more tears came, Hadley and my mom both changed into their dresses, the venue photographer came to take pictures, and then suddenly I found myself standing outside the doors to the chapel, seconds away from walking down the aisle to my husband.
And I was about to hyperventilate.
“Riley,” Hadley said, gripping my shoulders and looking right into my eyes. “Breathe.”
“I can’t,” I replied breathlessly, panicking a little.
“It’s going to be okay. You’re going to walk down that aisle and you’re going to marry the sexy man who is practically bursting at the seams waiting for you.”
“You’ve seen him?” I asked, suddenly distracted by the idea of Camden waiting.
“I have. Just for a moment. He looks so incredibly handsome, Riley. And happy. He looks happy.”
I tried to take a deep breath. It kind of worked. And then I exhaled.
“I’m not nervous about marrying him,” I said, trying to make sure no one was worried about me running. “I can’t wait to be his wife. I’m just nervous about the whole thing. I don’t like being the center of attention.”
“We know,” my mother said from beside Hadley. “Think of how much worse it would be if there were a hundred people in there.”
“Good point,” I said.
The side door to the chapel opened and the coordinator came out. “Ready?” she asked, polite smile in place.
“Sure,” I said with a maniacal laugh. “Why not?”
She cocked her head at me and her smile turned a little worried, but Hadley came to the rescue.
“She’s just losing her mind a little. She’ll be fine once the whole thing starts.”
“Well, it starts now.” The coordinator blinked at me.
“I’m ready,” I said unconvincingly as the coordinator raised an eyebrow at me. “I swear. Let’s go.”
“All right,” she said, still not looking too convinced. “The doors will open and you and your mother will be standing over here,” she said, motioning to the area to the side. “Maid of honor walks first, doors close behind her, and you and your mom take your place once they do.” She turned to Hadley and said, “Take a left at the end of the aisle.”
“Got it,” Hadley said with a smile.
“Next, doors open and the mother walks the bride down. Any questions?”
I gave her a blank look. “Nope. Can’t think of anything.”
“Okay, the music will start and the doors will open. Congratulations.”
She disappeared with a smile, and then I was in Hadley’s arms. “I love you, Riley. I’m so happy to be here with you today.”
My best friend had always been supportive and present, but emotional, sensitive Hadley wasn’t someone I was terribly familiar with. I knew the sarcastic, loving, and brash Hadley. This girl, the one who held me close, whispered to me, and sounded incredibly sincere, she was sort of new, but I loved her nonetheless.
“I love you too, Hadley. Thank you so much for being here for me and doing all this.”
“Anytime,” she whispered. She pulled away and wiped the tears from just below her eyes, then turned toward the door and readied herself.
My mom and I took our spots out of sight and I heard the music start.
It was the typical “Canon in D” that I associated with weddings, and I was instantly on edge. I was going to walk down the aisle in just a moment. To get married. To Camden.
When I’d woken up that morning, I thought maybe we’d go for a walk downtown by the river, or get some coffee and unpack some boxes. Maybe if we were crazy we’d go to Ikea.
I never could have imagined I’d be at a chapel in Las Vegas getting married.
I was so lucky.
Hadley disappeared through the doors and my nerves took off, knowing I was next.
My mom led me over to the door to wait for our turn and took my hand, saying, “I am not the best source of marriage wisdom, but I want to offer you one piece of advice.”
I looked over at her, not sure if I was going to cry, laugh, or puke.
“Everything will always be all right as long as you communicate. Tell him how you’re feeling, both in here,” she said, pointing to my forehead, “and in here,” she finished, pointing to my heart. “Don’t hide your feelings from him, and don’t keep him at arm’s length.”
“I won’t,” I promised, knowing I’d done exactly that to my mother for so long. “Promise.”
“Good,” she replied, eyes shining. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Suddenly the doors were opening and I was getting married.