Page 156 of Wilde Flame

Now, standing and looking at myself in that same mirror, I had to place a hand over my stomach to calm the butterflies.

I lifted my arms as Emeline put the white belt around my waist. The top of the wedding dress had a scooped neckline, the white tulle that covered the entire dress draped elegantly over the tight-fitting bodice. The buttons weren’t in the back, but on the front.

“You look like you’ve stepped out of 1950’s movie,” Emeline said, her chin on my shoulder as she looked at me in the mirror. “One last touch.”

My mother walked up with a hatbox. She reached inside and pulled out a small, round hat that would be pinned to the side of my head. My hair had been done up the same way Nellie’s had been during her wedding. There were so many pins in my hair to keep the rolls in place, I wasn’t sure how we’d get them all out later. I was the picture of a 1950’s pinup girl, but in a wedding dress.

Once the hat was pinned on, I turned and looked again—and blinked back my tears. The hat had belonged to my grandmother, and it was the only thing she’d kept from her wedding. Mom didn’t know why my grandmother had kept the hat, but I was glad she did. It matched the wedding dress perfectly.

I reached up and felt the diamond pendants that my parents had given me last night. They’d also belonged to my grandmother, Rose, and had been worn on her wedding day, and my mother wore them on her wedding day. It was my something old. My something blue was an embroidered handkerchief that once belonged to Sarah Wilde, Caden’s great-great-grandmother. It was also my something borrowed.

Vivianne handed me a big box. “It’s a tradition in the Wilde family to give this gift to each bride.”

“What is it?” I asked, feeling like a kid in a candy store.

Winking, Vivianne said, “Open it and see.”

I took the box and walked over to the bed. I opened the top and drew in a breath. It was a stunning pair of white cowboy boots. They had the lightest of blue rhinestones, and when I lifted one out of the box, the light made them sparkle like blue diamonds.

“These are beautiful!”

Vivianne looked past me and nodded. “Ensley picked them out.”

Turning, I made my way over to Ensley and hugged her. When I drew back, I had a tear moving down my cheek.

“Ugh, don’t cry,” she said, carefully wiping it away. “You’ll mess up your makeup!”

“They’re gorgeous.”

She grinned.

“Well, put ’em on!” Emeline stated.

My mother held on to my arm as everyone else helped to get the boots on, so that I didn’t have to sit down and wrinkle the dress. When they all stepped back, we turned in unison and looked in the mirror.

Ensley was the first to speak. “Caden is going to shit his pants when he sees you.”

Everyone laughed.

There was a light knock on the door, and Emeline called out, “Come in.”

My father poked his head in and said, “We’re going to be late, ladies.”

“Come on in, Liam,” my mother said. “Look at your daughter.”

When Dad walked into the room and saw me, tears filled his eyes, and he quickly started sniffling.

“Daddy, don’t cry, or you’ll make me cry.”

He walked up and took my hands in his. “You are so beautiful, Lilibeth. So beautiful.”

Vivianne clapped her hands. “Well, we need to get going. And Emeline and Ensley need to get there before you.”

She kissed me on the cheek and started out of the room. She stopped when Emeline spoke up.

“Wait! We need to add one more touch.”

I looked at her, raising a brow. She walked toward me with a small box.