Always A Bridesmaid

Lisa fumbled and dropped the necklace.

“Uh-oh, looks like prewedding jitters to me,” Ariel said. “Anyone got a shot of vodka?”

“She doesn’t need a drink.” Jillian came over to help. “She just needs us to stop going on about everything else.”

“I should have listened to Alan and gone to Vegas,” Lisa moaned. “Everything would have been better.”

“It’s going to be beautiful,” Jillian soothed, fastening the necklace in place and putting a reassuring hand on Lisa’s shoulder. “You’ll see. You’re going to walk out there and see Alan and everything will be perfect.”

Carrie came back into the room. “All right, everyone, it’s time. Lisa, honey, you ready?”

“I think so.” Lisa rose, touching her hair nervously. “How do I look?”

“Gorgeous,” Jillian said, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Be happy,” she whispered.

Lisa gave her a tremulous smile. “I already am.”

Gil stood in the dressing area watching Alan tie his tie. “So what do you say, are you ready to do this?”

“Of course. Why shouldn’t I be?”

“Just checking. After all, it’s my job as groomsman to prop you up in the bar and feed you a few drinks to get your courage up.”

Alan patted Gil’s shoulder. “I think you were supposed to do all that at the bachelor party.”

Gil snapped his fingers. “Bachelor party. Damn. I knew there was something I forgot to do.”

“I’ll let it go,” Alan said.

Gil studied his friend. “You’re going to be happy, Alan,” he said. “The two of you have a good vibe.”

“Yeah?” For a minute, Alan forgot about the tie and met Gil’s gaze in the mirror. “I keep wondering if I’m out of my mind, marrying a woman seventeen years younger than me. But I don’t know, when I’m with her, it just works.”

“I don’t think you’re out of your mind. She’s smart, ambitious, gorgeous. And more grown-up than her age.” Gil picked a bit of lint off his sleeve. “What she sees in you, of course, God only knows. If I were you, I’d marry her quick before she comes to her senses.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Anytime,” Gil said cheerfully. “It’s a good match. She can introduce you to the Raconteurs and you can introduce her to Tony Bennett and shuffleboard.”

“I’ll shuffle your board if you don’t watch it,” Alan growled.

“Hey, no roughing up the ushers.”

Alan put on his jacket and buttoned it up. “I’ll let you off the hook this time, but only because I have to go get married.”

“Lucky me,” Gil said.

“No,” Alan said, “Lucky me.”

White satin. Ribbons and lace. The church echoed with the liquid tones of the harp. Freesia from the bouquets scented the air. And everywhere faces glowed with that luminous joy unique to weddings.

Jillian stood quietly at the back of the church with the other bridesmaids. Behind them, hidden in an alcove, Lisa shifted nervously. Then the music started and Alan led the ushers out into place at the front of the church. There was a rustling as everybody turned to the back.

At Carrie’s nod, Jillian began the measured walk down the aisle, the same one she’d made so many times before. Before her lay the pews, the ends adorned with bouquets and ribbons. Beyond that, she saw the organ, the altar, Alan and his ushers.

And Gil.

He wore a tuxedo, no different than the men beside him. But, oh, it looked different. Maybe it was his long, lean build, those shoulders, that way he had of standing as though he was totally at ease and at the same time ready for anything. His skin appeared very tanned, almost swarthy against the snowy-white of his shirt.

And he was staring right at her.

A whole squadron of butterflies took off to flutter madly about her stomach. He had that gleam in his eyes, that look that promised something special, she could see it from there. Quickly, she trained her gaze before her, on the altar. Having a bridesmaid going down the aisle staring at one of the ushers didn’t exactly give a dignified look to the procession.

Focusing on the front of the church didn’t help.

The fact that she kept her eyes turned from Gil was irrelevant—she was aware of him with every fiber of her being. She saw the white gleam of his smile, knew when he shifted a bit and clasped his hands together before him. Just taking each step took all her concentration, which was silly. It was only a look from across a room.

So why did it feel almost like a physical touch, one that strengthened with each inch she moved toward him?

The walk seemed endless, and yet Jillian was surprised to suddenly find herself at the end of the aisle. She took her place with relief and a sneaky little whiff of disappointment, as though a beam of sunlight had gone away. She was there for the wedding, she reminded herself, not a flirtation. Turning back to the aisle, she held her bouquet before her.

One by one, the other bridesmaids walked toward her and stepped into line. Including Ariel.

Who gave her a broad wink.

Jillian found herself stifling a giggle. Ariel just glided calmly and serenely into place. Only someone who was looking for it would have known that she was trying hard not to laugh, too.

And then the music swelled and there was a shuffle of feet as everyone stood for the bride.

She was, quite simply, lovely. As Lisa had chosen stylish simplicity for the bridesmaids’ dresses, so she’d gone with simple elegance in her own attire: an ivory satin sheath, a garland of freesia and periwinkle for her hair. She was shaking visibly when she drew nearer, Jillian saw, her face pale, eyes huge. Then she reached the head of the aisle, and Brian Summers passed her hand to Alan.

And the moment their hands joined, the shakes were gone. Alan bent his head to kiss Lisa’s fingers. Her smile bloomed, brilliant and beautiful as a sunrise.

Jillian found herself blinking back the sudden sting of tears.

Love. Honor. Cherish. Till death do us part. The words flowed, the phrases that had always been a part of the lexicon of love, but suddenly they were real. She’d never believed in auras and all that mumbo jumbo, but when Alan and Lisa looked into each other’s eyes, Jillian swore she could almost see their love for each other like a glowing nimbus that enveloped them both. It was real, this feeling, it existed. Blinking, she glanced beyond them.

Only to find her gaze pinned to Gil’s.

His eyes were hot and dark and unwavering. And suddenly it was as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. She couldn’t breathe. She felt light-headed, suddenly dizzy as though the floor had tilted and his gaze were the only thing holding her in place. Everything around her receded. There was only Gil, looking at her and through her and into her.

The sound of applause broke the spell. Alan and Lisa were kissing, Jillian realized. The ceremony was finished and they were turning to march back up the aisle, hand in hand.

She glanced back to Gil to see his lips quirk in amusement. The recessional had begun, the bridesmaids and ushers walking forward to pair up, two by two, first Neal and Ariel, then the next pair and the next.

And then Gil was standing before her, offering his arm.

“Let the record show that here you are at the altar and here I am, right on time and ready to escort,” he said.