Page 105 of Eight Days of Christmas
Her lips pouted into a thought. “Maybe. Do you?”
He shuffled his feet, waiting their turn while his shoulders tensed. “I mean, if we’re really going to make a go at this, they’re bound to find out eventually.”
The first couple had already walked down the aisle. Only one more before it would be their turn.
“It might be kinda fun to keep sneaking around for a while?” she whispered.
The thought of that was enticing. At the same time, he also wanted to announce it to the world, to declare their love for one another.
The next couple went.
Leo looked down at Isabella, feeling the weight of the moment. “I will do whatever you want, Isabella Whitley. So long as I’m with you.”
She touched his hand with her icy fingers, still holding his gaze, and squeezed, her eyes glassy. She looked like she wanted to say something, opened her mouth like she might, but instead, she bit her lip and blinked back the threatening tears in her eyes.
“Don’t cry,” he whispered, giving her a reassuring smile. “This is a happy day.”
She nodded.
The wedding coordinator gestured for them to begin walking. They took the aisle, their steps in time with one another’s. And it felt like something more. As if this was the first moment they were being presented as a couple. Like it signified the beginning of the rest of their lives.
Then, they were being separated. Isabella unlinked her arm from his and pulled apart from him, tightening the red shawl around her body. His chest felt dull and heavy as she slipped away from him.
He took his place next to Landon. Seeing his little brother standing there, dressed in a black tux about to marry the love of his life, Leo’s eyes pricked with tears. He couldn’t help but miss his mom and think how she would’ve been so incredibly proud.
He pulled his brother in for a quick hug. “I’m proud of you, little bro.” He slapped him on the back. Landon smiled wide and only stumbled slightly.
As Norah and Mr. W. appeared at the back of the tent, the guests stood, and the procession sounded from the sound system speakers. He accompanied her slowly down the aisle. Norah’s eyes glistened with tears, but her face radiated happiness.
When she reached the front, she didn’t tear her attention away from Landon even for a second. It warmed Leo’s soul to see the love Norah had for his brother. After Mr. W. gave Norah away, kissing her on the cheek and shaking the hand of a mostly-sober Landon, Isabella fixed the hem of her sister’s dress.
The minister began, speaking about love and commitment and quoting the most popular verse shared at a wedding—1 Corinthians 13:4-8; the one that speaks about love being patient and kind and never failing.
Even though Leo had heard this particular passage numerous times from his wedding videographer days, this time it held larger gravity. Emotions coursed through him while he weighed the significance of the meaning of the L-word. After all that he and Isabella had been through, love had always been the backbone of their relationship. Each of them had made choices out of loving the other.
Glancing across the platform at Isabella, she mouthed something, including brow waggling, and a wink. But he was confused.
“What?” he mouthed back.
She tried again, licking her tongue across her top teeth, and he instantly became self-conscious that he had something stuck there. He ran his tongue along his own teeth, hoping he hadn’t been walking around all day since his breakfast smoothie with a lodged strawberry seed.
The next thing Leo knew, the minister had said, “You may now kiss the bride.”
Landon and Norah shared a sloppy but moderately intimate short kiss. Something told Leo they had practiced it enough times to get it right today.
The minister declared Landon and Norah as husband and wife, and everyone cheered. Isabella wiped at fallen tears across her cheeks as Leo presented his arm to her. She smiled at him gratefully and linked her arm into his.
As they walked back down the aisle, she said a bit too loudly over the sound of the cheering, “We have a few minutes before the reception, wanna fool around?”
He chuckled, tugging her faster.
They reached the back of the tent, and he yanked her off to the side where they had a bit of privacy while the rest of the wedding party flooded into the wedding hall. His heartrate sped up. Finally, they had a moment to steal on this busy day, and he didn’t care anymore if anyone saw them.
He slipped an arm around her, pressing his palm to her lower back and gazing into her familiar amber eyes. He felt giddy being in her arms, a lightness fluttering in his chest as they were risking being caught by family and friends. He dipped his chin, hovering his lips over hers. This embrace was way too intimate to be mistaken as friendly, and he didn’t care one bit.
“Isabella,” a man’s voice called out, interrupting the moment.
She stiffened and spun around, pressing her trembling hand to her chest. “Harrison?”
