CHAPTER 9
Lorelei stared at the woman looking back at her from the mirror in the bride’s room of the wedding venue. The elegant aged white dress was nothing like the one she’d worn the first time she’d gotten married. At the time, she’d wanted the perfect princess-esque dress she could find. She imagined the only person who would truly think it perfect was Jenna, who still was going through her over-the-top princess phase.
“You are simply beautiful. Nana would be so happy.”
She turned toward her sister and smiled. “Thanks. You’re looking rather lovely, too.” Lorelei had let Jessica pick her own gown for the wedding. Her sister hadn’t disappointed with her choice of an icy blue, fitted, off-the-shoulder dress. “I was just thinking about my other wedding gown.”
Jessica raised a brow and sipped a glass of white wine. “I’ll never forget that hot mess after months of you dragging me to every bridal store in Texas. I hated the damnable cathedral train. It kept getting caught on everything, and I had to carry it everywhere. You had so much white fluff on you that you looked more like the wedding cake than the actual cake did.”
Laughing, she turned back to the cheval mirror, then smoothed a hand over the satin of the long skirt. The gown wasn’t truly white, though it had been originally. Age had mellowed the brightness, giving it a soft creamy color. “Do you think Nana will mind the modifications I made to it?”
Her sister set her wine glass on the dressing table and came to stand beside her. “No. I told you she’d be proud of you and be thrilled you wanted to wear it. You’re happy and you’re in love.” She lightly touched the long lace sleeve. “Where did you find it?”
“In the cedar closet in the attic. It was tucked away in a garment bag.”
“What on earth were you doing looking in there?”
She shrugged and looked back at the image in the mirror. “I was hoping to find some of our old play outfits for Jenna, and I found this in the back of the closet. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to wear it.”
The gown, worn by her grandmother in 1957, was loosely inspired by Grace Kelly’s dress. The high-collared bodice was lace with of tiny pearl buttons down the front. The satin tea-length skirt had had a ton of crinoline under it as was the fashion in the 1950s. She’d had all of it removed which lowered the skirt to her ankles. Nana had been a tall woman and the gown had gone mid-calf on her. Also, she’d changed out the original white satin ruching at the waist, for a light blue silk sash which tied into a bow in the back. She’d decided to foregone the lace veil, for a crown of bluebells and yellow roses woven into her updo of braids.
A knock sounded on the door, and she stepped away from the mirror when she heard Jenna’s tentative voice.
“Come in, sweetheart.”
Tucker’s sister, Tonya, held Jenna’s hand as they entered. “She wanted to see you. God, Lorelei, you’re a vision.”
Lorelei’s cheeks heated in a soft glow. “Thank you. I hope Tucker likes the dress.”
His sister laughed out loud. “Hell”--as if remembering the child, whose hand she was holding, she made a face and mouthed sorry before going on--“my brother is on cloud nine. He won’t notice anything except you.” Although she and Jessica knew Tonya, they had never been friends with the older woman. She’d been ten when Tucker was born and had joined the Army when she was eighteen. She gave Jessica a lopsided smile. “You gorgeous, too.”
Jessica waved the complement away. “I’m only the maid of honor. It’s her day.” She looked at Jenna who stared at Lorelei with her mouth hanging slightly open. “My God, I can’t believe it. I think you’ve struck Jenna speechless.” She laughed and picked up her glass to finish off the last sip. “Well, if you can do that to the chatterbox, it’s hard to tell what you’ll do to Tucker.”
* * * *
Tucker tugged on the sleeves of his jacket for what had to be the hundredth time and started pacing the length of the small groom’s room again.
“You know, you look just like one of those penned up bulls you used to ride.”
He stopped and looked over at Danny idly flipping a page in a magazine. “I feel like--I don’t know--like I’m about to jump off a cliff.”
Danny laid the National Geographic back onto the end table and leaned over his long legs. “You are. You’re getting married.”
“You’re a damned comedian.” He glared at his cousin and began pacing again.
Danny chuckled and picked up another magazine.
When Tucker turned at the wall, he scowled at Danny. “I could always ask my brother-in-law to be my best man.”
The other man raised a brow as he looked up from the page. “You can’t stand Jim and we both know it. Nope, I’m your only friend.”
“Shut up.”
The knock on the door put an end to their conversation.
Paul poked his head in. “They’re ready for you.”
Tucker took a deep breath and nodded once. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
* * * *
Lorelei stood in back of the refurbished barn and closed her eyes to help center herself. She wasn’t exactly nervous, but rather excitement for their day filled her. Tucker and she had wanted a simple, but elegant wedding--well, he wanted simple, she wanted elegant. They ended up fining the perfect compromise. For several years, an old barn outside of Kentsville did a healthy business in hosting weddings and parties. However, booking the ceremony and reception there required them to postpone it until it came available--nine months after his proposal in July of last year.
He would have been happy getting married by the JP in their backyard a week later, but she wanted to do something special because their love deserved to be celebrated. Besides, she had fun planning their day with Jenna and Jessica. Although she often had to rein in their exuberance, she loved how much enjoyment they got out of helping her.
The guitars stopped playing. Jess must have made it to the front of the main room. She shifted her bouquet of yellow roses and blue hydrangeas and reached down to take Jenna’s hand as an acoustic version of Ten Thousand Years by Chase Jordan and Chris Saint James started playing.
“We walk down now?”Jenna looked up at her. Her daughter’s beauty made her heart swell. She and Jessica had picked out a pretty flouncy tea length yellow silk and satin dress for Jenna from an online shop specializing in Disney special occasion dresses for little girls. The Beauty and the Beast dress was perfect for her to wear for walking Lorelei down the aisle.
“Yeah.” She took a deep breath. “Remember nice and slow. You ready?”
Jenna nodded, causing a lock of her fine hair to come loose from her daisy crown. Her expression turned so serious and determined they might have been walking to their doom. Lorelei smiled and stepped out from behind the partition. A hundred wedding guests stood and looked her way. The second thing she noticed was the two country singers standing in the front corner singing the song they’d written for their own wives. Tucker must have arranged for them to sing. But of course he was related to Chase and good friends with both of them.
As she took another step clearing a pillar, her heart fluttered when she noticed her groom. Tucker stood at the front with Danny beside him. Ironic six years ago their roles had been reversed. People still didn’t understand how she could forgive Danny and be okay with him standing as Tucker’s best man. The thing they didn’t get was they’d all been friends longer than anything else and that kind of love was hard to break.
Jessica stood opposite the men with tears freely running down her cheeks. Lorelei hoped her sister would soon find the kind of love she had in Tucker.
As she got closer, she locked gazes with Tucker, whose green eyes glittered misty in the candlelight. The love and awe in his expression made her knees weak.
When she reached the front, Tucker took Jenna’s other hand. The minister, one of the chaplains from the hospital, smiled at them both, then looked down at Jenna. “Who gives this woman into marriage to this man?”
“I do,” the five-year-old said clearly and loudly. She put her mother’s hand into Tucker’s. “They’re gonna live happily ever after. Just like in the princess stories.”
Tucker leaned down and kissed Jenna’s cheek, but never took his eyes from Lorelei’s. “You better believe it, princess.”