Rosewood Ridge Mavericks Complete Collection by Lilah Hart

Author:Lilah Hart [Hart, Lilah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-05T00:00:00+00:00

5

GWENDOLYN

Itook a deep breath as I stared at the doors that opened to the back patio of the Rosewood Ridge Retreat Center. It was hard to believe that just three months ago I’d passed through these doors as my sister’s maid of honor, and now I was the bride.

“Ready?” Sierra asked.

She was serving as the events coordinator on this property. I was helping her a lot these days, though, in the hopes that she’d bring me on as her first employee. Now that I was getting married, my goal was to move to a more conventional work schedule.

I gave Sierra a nod, and she opened the door, straightening my veil, then giving me the go-ahead. The music shifted into “Here Comes the Bride” as the few dozen wedding guests stood. Many of these people were friends and family I’d made since moving to Rosewood Ridge.

My parents were here, though. They sat in the front row with my brother-in-law. I’d made it clear that I was walking down the aisle alone. It was a show of independence. It was something I had to do.

But my gaze immediately skipped over the crowd, quickly landing on my fiancé, the love of my life. He stood next to a trellis that was very similar to the one we passed through the day we’d first met.

As great as it felt to show my independence, I’d breathe a little easier once I was at the front, facing my husband-to-be. He always encouraged me to do my own thing and find my own way, but there was nothing like coming home to him.

The look in Julian’s eyes as I approached melted my heart. How had I gone twenty-three years of my life without knowing this man existed? In that warm stare, I felt what it was like to be truly loved.

I handed my bouquet to my sister as Julian and I turned to face the preacher. I might not be a huge fan of the man she married, but she was still my sister. Sometimes I even caught a glimpse of envy in her eyes as she looked at me. She wanted to break free, deep down. She wanted to make her own choices in life. But it was tough to make that move.

“Gwendolyn,” Julian said when the preacher prompted us to say our vows. “I feel like the day I started breathing was the day I saw you standing right over there at your sister’s wedding. I never could’ve imagined that just three months later, you’d be my wife. I’m the luckiest man alive. And now the town has fallen in love with you as much as I have.”

I wouldn’t say that exactly, but my coworkers here at the retreat center were more of a family to me than my own. They supported me without squashing the very things that made me unique.

And then it was my turn to speak my vows. I took a deep breath and said the words I knew would be tough for my family to hear.

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