Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
"I guess he does," she admitted, giving me a sad smile. "I love him too, but I don't think he would be okay with me saying that."
"He knows," I assured her, giving her a squeeze. "Are you going to wait to open that?" I asked as she ran her finger over the top of the box.
"Oh, please," Summer said, rolling her eyes, and we shared a smile because we both know Ferryn had absolutely no patience and was known for desperately trying to find presents she knew you'd gotten her.
Ignoring us, Ferryn clawed at the box, tossing the top to the floor along with the little sheet of tissue paper.
"What is it?" I asked when her eyes went soft, almost swimmy. She still wasn't much of a crier, but she got misty when she was feeling really emotional. Like now.
"Two doves," she said, holding up the intricately carved figurines.
"Doves are a symbol of love and fidelity," Lo declared, being the expert on all things love related. "They mate for life," she added.
That was fitting.
Since she was going to be mine for life.
If I ever got her to agree on a fucking date.
Ferryn - 1.5 years later
This was the place.
This was the place from the dream.
When I walked into the hall, nothing had clicked. It was just as nice as the fifteen other halls—yes, literally—my mom and aunts had dragged Vance and me to thus far. And we were quite a sight, me the upcoming bride and groom who seemed wholly uninterested in the giant fairytale extravaganza my twenty or something aunts were determined to give us.
It had a sort of rustic feel that I knew Vance was loving—reclaimed wooden floors, mismatched wooden chairs, high, beamed ceilings, understated shiplap on the walls—and I liked that there were a ton of windows so that it wouldn't feel too crowded with all our loved ones gathered there. Because there were a lot of them. And no one was going to miss it.
The first wedding of one of the Navesink Bank kids.
It was a big deal.
And Vance had convinced me to let them run with it since I had no head for such things and they were so excited.
We would have happily had a little courthouse ceremony.
But it was nice to see my mother so happy.
Feeling a little dizzy from all the voices in the hall, I decided to take a walk out back since the owner had mentioned it being a nice place for pictures.
It was then that it clicked.
This was the place from my dream.
It was ridiculous to think that, of course.
It was just a fancy garden.
But there was this niggling feeling of having seen it before, despite never having visited.
Sure, there were the irises and peonies and snapdragons and amaranth and zinnias. But those were all common flowers, weren't they? Nothing to feel such a feeling of deja vu about.
I ran my hand over the silky flowers, seeing my hand, my ring, getting that sort of tightening in my belly again, that weird, unshakable feeling.
And then I saw it.
The gilded mirror between two weeping willows.
I didn't really believe in premonitions, in dreams being a window into your future. But there was no way to deny that I had dreamed this place, that I had seen myself in a white dress with Vance behind me in a tux standing in that mirror.
"Hey," I said, going back in the doors, voice raised to be heard above all the other people talking. "This is the one," I declared, watching as a few faces deflated, clearly set on other venues, but my mom gave me a warm smile. And Vance, well, Vance looked like the weight of the world had just been lifted off of his shoulders.
"You heard her," my Aunt Lo declared. "This is the one. Now to figure out what to do about this awful alter."
Yes, they could figure that all out.
Me?
I moved back outside, taking a deep breath, smelling the flowers, basking in the warm sun, hearing Vance follow me out, draping an arm around my lower back, curling me into his chest.
I felt it right then.
The deeply rooted certainty in my soul.
Me.
Vance.
Our family.
And happily ever after.