Tara Randel - His One And Only Bride

Don’t go there.

The guests filed out of the pews, chatting and greeting friends and family. The mother of the bride, artfully dressed in a jade-colored designer dress and shoes, wiped her eyes with a lacy handkerchief. The bride’s father, tall and distinguished, spoke into her ear. The woman broke out into a wobbly laugh.

Never having known her own father, Zoe had walked down the aisle alone at her small wedding ten years ago. She tried to deny the slight hint of jealously at Lilli’s good fortune, then decided to be honest with herself. This wedding had been a million times different than her own.

“Zoe. Are you coming?”

Shaking off the direction of her thoughts, Zoe nodded, briskly placing her regrets where they belonged, buried deep down in her heart. Today was about Lilli and Max, not the what-ifs and could-have-beens shadowing her own life. There would be plenty of time later, when she was alone, to mull over the events that had led to her current state of affairs.

“I’ll be right there,” she told her date.

Date. It still sounded strange. She’d been out with Tim three times now. He was fun, smart and good-looking. What’s not to like, right? When he’d first approached her, it had been at a fund-raiser they’d both attended. After spending the entire evening talking, he’d asked her out. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Hadn’t she just decided to put herself out there? See what could happen? The initial date, dinner at an Italian restaurant, had been awkward but soon they’d eased into a companionable friendship. He made her laugh and went out of his way to take care of her. You couldn’t ask for more. So why did she hold back? Was she afraid to put her heart on the line? She hadn’t totally recovered from the fallout of her marriage, which probably said it all.

Gathering the binder containing the wedding script and her small clutch, she watched the scene playing out at the back of the church. The maid of honor fussed with the bride’s veil. One of the groomsmen slapped the groom on the back and made some comment they both laughed over. The flower girl, darling in a pretty pink dress, chased the ring bearer, who tugged at the bow tie circling his neck.

Zoe moved down the center aisle, savoring the sweet herb-scented fragrance of lavender bunches, tied together with twine ribbon, at the end of each pew. Wide swaths of lace were draped between the rows. The ceremony had been simple, along with the rustic decorations. Lovely flower arrangements of white, purple and yellow wildflowers spilled from dark brown rectangular baskets, adorning the platform in the front of the church. In the back, additional woven handbaskets of daisies complemented the bright bouquets carried by the bride and her attendants. The early June weather had been perfect. Not a humid Florida day, as had been predicted. Instead, a light breeze and sunny sky created a picturesque wedding tableau.

She reached the vestibule to find Tim waiting for her. He smiled as she joined him.

“I want to give my regards to Lilli before we leave.”

“I’m right here with you,” he replied.

Honestly, snagging Tim as her date had been the talk of the town. A handsome firefighter, dressed in a navy suit, they’d clicked despite his knowing her history. Her friends had been after her to start dating again. Mitch, your husband, has been gone for almost two years, they’d said. You’re young. You deserve a second chance at happiness, they’d insisted.

So why did she feel like she was cheating on a ghost? A ghost she was still angry with.

They had tried putting the pieces back together before his last assignment, taking a short trip to rekindle their marriage. But the reality was, she and Mitch had grown apart and there hadn’t seemed any possible way back to the love they’d once shared. He’d left her, after the last in a long line of arguments over a career he’d increasingly placed more and more value on than their relationship. Things had ended up with Mitch taking an assignment overseas where he’d gone missing and was presumed dead. They’d never located his body. Could that be the reason she was having a hard time moving forward?

Zoe stopped before the bride, beautifully attired in a frothy cream-colored gown. Lilli reached over to grab her hands. Max, handsome in his fitted tuxedo, stood beside her as if never wanting to let Lilli out of his sight. They were so ridiculously happy looking they could have posed as cake toppers.

“Congratulations.”

“Thanks so much for being here,” Lilli said in way of greeting. “You were right. The vows you picked out for us were perfect. Max was never going to write his own, and to be honest, I probably would have been crying too hard to speak my own words if we’d gone that way.”

“I’m honored you asked me to officiate. Although, I’m surprised your mother didn’t insist on the pastor presiding over the wedding.”

“My mother is just so delighted I’m finally married. She never once staged a takeover. Well, not much of one, anyway.”

They both laughed. Lilli’s mother, Celeste, was a force of nature. No one said no to the woman—not about her fund-raising events and especially not about her superb taste in...everything else.

“I was as surprised as anyone when she actually let me plan my own wedding. I never thought she’d let me get away with barn chic, but I have to say, her input was invaluable. And we grew close during the planning.”

Zoe forced a smile. A mother who was invested in her daughter’s life. Imagine that.

“What more could I ask for?”

“White cowboy boots instead of sparkly sandals?” Zoe threw out.

“That would have been pushing it.”

“I wouldn’t have complained,” Max added, eavesdropping on the conversation.

Lilli playfully slapped his arm. “When Mom suggested we hold the reception at the Grand Cypress Hotel, I didn’t fight her. I knew Nealy would continue to carry out my vision over there.”

“And peace reigned.” Max glanced at Zoe. “I hate to rush you two, but the photographer is ready for us.”

Glancing around the foyer, Zoe noticed she was the last guest to give her congratulations to the couple. The attendants and relatives were mingling and the photographer politely hovered, waiting to take church shots with the entire wedding party and family.

“Looks like all you have to do is smile and look pretty for the camera.” Zoe hugged her friend. “I’ll see you at the reception.”

Max took Lilli’s hand, drawing it to his lips for a tender kiss. “After you, my wife.”

Lilli giggled.

The sight made Zoe grin as well: rough-and-tumble Private Investigator Max indulging feminine, soft-spoken Lilli. She’d put off the wedding date from the moment they’d gotten engaged, then had slowly dragged Max through the process of the engagement party and the ongoing myriad selection of flowers, music and so on that weddings required. He’d gamely participated when he would have been just as content getting hitched at city hall.

Another friend, Maid of Honor Nealy Grainger, hurried by in a gorgeous pale pink off-the-shoulder, full-skirted dress. “Come on people, we have a schedule to keep.”

A consummate event planner, she’d patiently walked the couple through the entire process, just as excited as everyone else in town to see the two finally married.

“Great job,” Zoe called out after her.

Nealy grinned and waved, the diamond on her left hand glittering in the overhead lighting. Zoe supposed she’d be invited to another wedding soon. It seemed all her friends were getting married lately. Could she handle all the happiness?

“Do you want to head over to the reception?”

Zoe glanced up at Tim. Taller than her, although most people were, his dark hair was neatly cut, his blue eyes lighting up when she met his gaze.