90 Days (Prairie Town Book 2) (34 page)

     Gazing at her reflection through the full-length mirror, she couldn’t help but feel completely out of place.  Her hair was curled so elegantly; it was perfect, just as Lydia wanted.  The beautiful dress she wore was the exact same color as that of Cinderella’s—Lydia’s favorite princess.  Even her makeup had no fault, perfectly applied and shimmering around her eyes…just like Lydia wanted.

     But it was the ugly, dull cast on her arm that threw everything off.  That was definitely
not
what Lydia wanted, yet she insisted it looked perfect anyway.

     How could a cast look perfect?

     “I can’t go out there looking like this.” She dipped a finger just beneath the top of the cast and scratched at her skin in frustration.  “I look stupid.”

     “You look beautiful.” Mrs. McIntosh appeared by her side, gazing at her through the mirror.  “You both look so beautiful.”

     “Oh, God. Mama, don’t cry again.”

     “I can’t help it.” She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief and then released a low, calming breath.  “Today is your sister’s wedding day and I just can’t seem to control my emotions.”

     “If this is how you’re going to act all day, I can only imagine how Dad’s behaving.” Lydia commented as she stepped out from behind the changing screen and gazed at them with a nervous smile.  “How do I look?”

     Laney turned to stare at her sister and released a soft gasp.  It was funny, really.  She’d seen Lydia try on her wedding dress.  She’d watched her purchase it and take it home.  She’d watched her try it on twenty times more and question if it was the right one, over and over again.

     But never had it looked so beautiful or so right until that moment.

     “My God.” Their mother whispered, clutching her handkerchief.  “You look like a living, breathing Cinderella.”

     “Do I?” Lydia slowly turned, the long skirt of her dress flowing with her motions gracefully.  The silver material and the tiny glittering rhinestones reminded Laney of fairies.  She knew deep down that’s what Lydia had been wanting—a dress made by her fairy godmother.

     Of course, in this instance, her fairy godmother came in the form of a few people: their parents and Gran.

    
I wish you could see her now, Gran.
  She thought with a smile, approaching her sister and nodding in approval.

     “I’ve never seen anything so magical, Lydia.” Reaching out to tug on one of her sister’s curls playfully, she giggled with glee and decided now was not the time to hate her cast.  It wasn’t the time to hate anything, really. 

     It was meant to be the happiest day of her sister’s life and Laney would do whatever it took to ensure that happiness was not jeopardized.

     “I feel like I’m going to faint.” Lydia confessed as she smoothed her hand over her stomach and released short, shallow breaths.  “I never imagined I’d be so nervous.”

     “Of course you’re nervous, silly.  You’re about to marry your prince.” She leaned in to kiss Lydia’s cheek.  “And it’s almost time to go out there.”

     “I know.” Lydia nodded eagerly and closed her eyes.  “I just hope I don’t trip.”

     “You won’t.” Mrs. McIntosh carefully placed her veil atop her head—shiny tiara included—and then wrapped both of her daughters up in a hug.  “Trust me.  Every bride fears she will fall, but they seldom do.  You’ve nothing to worry about, my dear girl.  You’re far too graceful to trip.”

     “Comforting, Mama.” Lydia laughed, gazing back and forth between them.  “So am I good to go?”

     “Let’s see.  You’ve got something old?” Her mother asked.

     “Yes, Gran’s earrings.” Laney observed.

     “Something new?”

     “New underwear.” Lydia chuckled.

     “Something borrowed?”

     “Aggie’s bracelet.” Lydia’s fingers skimmed over the jewelry affectionately and she smiled.

     “And I’d say something blue, but I’m afraid to ask.”

     “Yes, Mama, a blue garter.  That’s important, right?”

     “Very.  Good girl.” She lifted her hands to frame Lydia’s face and sighed.  It was such a tender, sweet moment between a mother and her daughter; Laney almost felt guilty for being there to witness it.  “You are the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen, Lydia.”

     “Thank you, Mama.” Moisture glistened in Lydia’s eyes and she quickly blinked them away. 

     “Both of you are so beautiful.” Mrs. McIntosh was not as successful in blinking away her tears.  One slid down her cheek as she cleared her throat and nodded to the door.  “We should hurry up.  It’s almost time.  Mercy, I may faint.”

     “Please don’t, Mama.” Laney rested her head against her mother’s shoulder and smiled.  “At least not until
after
the wedding.”

     A knock sounded on the door and it opened about an inch or two, causing Laney to instinctively step in front of her sister.

     “No peeping at the bride, Callum!”

     “It’s me.” Mr. McIntosh replied.  “Are you girls dressed?  Can I come in?”

     Lydia hurried past Laney and pulled the door open, smiling from ear to ear—and looking absolutely radiant while doing so.  “Come on in, Daddy.”

     Mr. McIntosh stayed put, his eyes slowly sweeping over his eldest daughter.  “My God.” He whispered.  “You…you look just like your mother.”

     “I…I do?” Lydia glanced down at her dress and then looked back up at him.  “Really?”

     “Yes, really.  Just like her.”

     “I thought so, too.” Mrs. McIntosh clapped her hands together and glanced at Laney, giving her a wink.  “I think we should run along now, don’t you?  It’s almost time to start.”

     “Yes, Ma’am.” Laney nodded, following her mother from the room.  She stopped briefly and kissed Lydia’s cheek again.  “See you out there.”

     Closing the door behind them, she gripped the skirt of her dress with her good hand and hurried after her mother.  It was hard to keep up with a woman on a mission, especially when that woman was Mrs. McIntosh.

     “Okay, so you need to wait here.” Her mother whirled about suddenly.  Laney barely stopped in time.  “Jeb and Benji should be out soon.  I swear it takes men a lot longer to get ready these days.” She sighed.  “And where did Aggie go?  She should have been ready by now, right?”

     “Um.” Laney peered one way and then the other, nibbling at her bottom lip before giving her mother a reassuring smile.  “Ags will be here.”

     The truth was, Ags hadn’t exactly woken up in an ‘Aggie’ mood; Agnes would be joining them at the ceremony, they just had to wait for him to get dressed.  Lydia was clever enough to derive a plan B and had a change of clothes on standby.  Just in case.

     “Okay.” Mrs. McIntosh nodded.  “All right.  Well, I should get on out there.  We had a great turnout, didn’t we?”

     “We did.” Laney agreed, remembering all the familiar faces she’d seen entering the church earlier.  There were a lot of unfamiliar faces, too, but she was really looking forward to meeting her sister’s friends from Vermont.

     “All right, dear.  Best of luck, Laney; don’t fall on your face, okay?” She kissed her cheek and hurried down the corridor.

     “Wow, Mom.  Thanks for the confidence.”

     Listening as her mother’s clicking heels faded away, she released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and leaned against the cool stone wall, taking a moment to piece herself back together.

     “I will
not
fall.  I will
not
fall.”

     “Wow.”

     Upon hearing Benji’s voice, she lifted her head and couldn’t help but smile.

     If ever anyone had looked completely delectable in a suit and tie, it was Benji Palmer.

     With his hair combed to the side and the tips hanging just above his beautiful eyes, he suddenly became the epitome of perfection—not that she hadn’t thought him to be perfect before—he just really,
really
took the title now. 

     Her pulse quickened and her palms became sweaty as she straightened up and stepped away from the wall, suddenly unsure of what to do with herself.  After everything they had experienced together and everything they’d been through, he still managed to make her feel like a nervous teenager encountering her first crush.

     “Laney, you look absolutely breathtaking.” His voice was soft and his eyes were heated as he approached her, his tongue darting out to swipe over his lips—and that damned lip ring.

     She zeroed in on that tiny piece of metal and the memories of how cold it felt against her lips came back tenfold.  It was always such a thrill—one she wanted to experience time and time again, for the rest of forever.

    
Oh God, I really love him.

     His arm slid around her waist and he pulled her to him.  She could feel the hard contour of his muscles through his suit and the most devious, dirty thoughts entered her mind.

    
I will not get down and dirty in a church.

     “T-thank you.” She managed in a soft whisper.  “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

     “I hope not.” His smile grew bigger.  “I’d like to think I clean up nice every now and then.”

     Every now and then?  Did he really have no idea how gorgeous he was?  Everything about him was perfect in her eyes, and the way he made her feel on a daily basis was just an added bonus.

    
Happy.
  Her lips curved into a smile. 
He makes me happy.

     “What’s that smile for?” His thumb found her bottom lip, tracing over it ever so gently as he dipped his head to press a chaste kiss to her mouth.

     “You.”

     “Me?”

     “It’s for you.  It’s because of you.  Benji, I adore the hell out of you.”

     His expression softened and his eyes sparkled as he flashed her a big smile.  She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him smile like that before.  It was the type of smile that could brighten the darkest of days and warm the coldest of hearts. 

     She knew in that moment, somehow, that that particular smile belonged to her.

     “Laney McIntosh, I adore the hell out of you, too.”

     Hugging her arms around him and careful not to hit him with her cast, she rested her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

     It was the single most comforting sound in the world.

     The nightmare of being kidnapped and held for ransom seemed like a lifetime ago, but she knew there would still be many dark nights ahead.  She’d had a few nightmares since then, each one starring Mia’s devious smile.  It was funny, in a way, how when Devin showed up in her dreams all she could see was the helplessness in his eyes.  She couldn’t help but wonder if he had been telling the truth.

     “I love you, Laney.” He whispered against her hair, his fingertips gliding up and down her arm.  “And I’m really glad you didn’t push me away after…well, you know…”

      “It’s quite the contrary.” She pulled back a little to peer at him.  “I was terrified you’d push
me
away.  I’m grateful you didn’t.  I don’t think my heart could handle it.”

     “Never.” He frowned.  “I could never do that.  You mean too much to me.”

     She gazed at the lightly colored bruise surrounding his eye and covering most of his cheek and her bottom lip found its way between her teeth.

     “Ah ah.” He tugged it free with the pad of his thumb and arched an eyebrow.  “None of that now.  I know what that means and I want you to stop.  How many times do I have to tell you what happened isn’t your fault?”

     “I know, but—”

     “No buts.  That’s unacceptable.  It’s
not
your fault Mia and Devin went crazy.  They’re going to be in jail for a very long time, Laney.  Justice has been served.  We can move on with our lives and I hope,”—he grasped her hands between his own and leaned down to kiss the tops of them—“we can move on together.”

     “Don’t be stupid.” She laughed and felt wetness on her cheeks.  “I want that more than anything, Benji.  I want you.”

     “Good.” His world famous crooked grin returned.  “Because I wouldn’t take that kind of ass-kicking for just anybody.”

     “Gross, you two. Get a room.” Jeb appeared in the hallway, fighting with his tie, and grinned.  “I don’t want to see that.”

     “Tough luck.” Benji laughed.

     And then he kissed her again.

----------

Benji

    
When he first met Lydia and became her third and final roommate, he never imagined how much their friendship would blossom or how close they would become—practically family—and he definitely never thought he would end up being a part of her wedding ceremony.

     Yet here he was, walking arm in arm with her beautiful younger sister—who he was fucking head over heels in love with—and about to witness his best friend say ‘I do’ to the man she loved; a man she had been incredibly lucky to find and who was equally lucky to have discovered her.