Page 100 of Mistletoe Mistake
However, I’d heard promises that sounded sincere before. They always sounded sincere in the beginning, but sooner or later, it would all fall apart. I had been through that pain too many times and I had learned my lesson. I wouldn’t get my hopes up again.
Undying love was all well and good for someone like Gemma, and I couldn't be happier that she'd found it, even if I still found her whole relationship with Cole a little mystifying. But I also knew that kind of happy-ever-after wasn't in the cards for me, at least not with a guy like Jackson, so I cut it off before it even had a chance to start. I had to protect my heart.
“Alright, Hols?” Gemma asked me with a look of concern on her face. She’d always been far too tuned in to my mood. Even though we hadn't spent much time together in person since she moved to New York, she still knew me better than anyone.
“Of course,” I lied, putting on my best cheeky smile. My sad love life had no place in her wedding day. “Just trying to decide how it's even possible that that man is better looking than he was a year ago.”
Gemma's worry dissolved and she laughed, convinced by my joking that I only had Jackson's appearance on my mind. And I wasn’t lying about that part: since I saw him last, Jackson had cut his hair shorter and grown a short beard and it really suited him. Combined with the tux he wore for his role as best man, it made him look almost impossibly suave. My only concern was that the beard made it harder to see his sexy dimples when he smiled, and that was a real shame. I had been hoping to get a few more memories of those to keep me company when I went home to London in a few weeks’ time.
At that moment, though, all I needed to focus on was ensuring everything was perfect for my best friend's big day. I double-checked Gemma's dress, hair and make-up, but I didn’t need to do a thing; there couldn't be a more beautiful bride. Just a few minutes later, one of the ushers knocked on the door to let us know that they were ready for us.
“This is it!” I exclaimed, giving her one last squeeze. “Last chance to bail and head back to London with me.”
Gemma laughed without a hint of hesitation. “I think it's a bit too late for that. Besides, my two favourite men in the world are out there waiting for me.”
For a second, I thought she was talking about Jackson, until I realized that of course she meant Cole and their son, Noah. I really needed to stop thinking about Jackson.
Gemma and I headed to the back of the church to wait for our cue. She only had me as a bridesmaid since they were keeping the wedding fairly low-key, or at least as low-key as possible for two people of their status. Gemma had chosen the beautiful and historic Trinity Church in lower Manhattan for their ceremony because, of all the churches they'd visited in New York, it felt most like the churches we'd grown up attending at home in England.
The opening strains of their beautiful wedding song began to play over the church's audio system and I gave Gemma a big smile. “Ready?”
“Ready,” she agreed, her eyes shining with excitement.
Turning around, I took a deep breath as I stepped into the church, all eyes in the room on me. Gemma and I had talked about walking in together since she didn't have anyone to give her away. Neither her father nor her brother were attending the wedding, and neither of them deserved to be a part of her day anyway. She hadn't heard a word from either of them since she left the UK.
So, she had considered the two of us walking in side-by-side, but in the end, I insisted on coming in separately. This was her day; all the attention should be on her when she walked in.
Wearing a sincere, happy smile, I walked slowly down the aisle, past all the beautiful fresh white and red flowers decorating the end of each pew. Of course Gemma had gone with red and white Christmas colours for her theme, but she let me choose a pink dress since pink went far better with my colouring than red did. As a combination of red and white, it worked.
The lyrics of the wedding song filled the air of the beautiful stone church as I walked, reminding me once again just how perfect Gemma and Cole were for each other. They had chosen the song In Whatever Time We Have, and the words highlighted that although life could be navigated alone, it would be better to have your partner at your side. Who would want to be alone?
Tears unexpectedly pricked at my eyes as the words hit home. That was exactly what I had decided for myself: Ididwant to be alone. From my point of view, it seemed preferable to the alternative of getting my heart broken over and over again. Reminding myself firmly that this day wasnotabout me, I quickly blinked the tears away and turned up the brightness of my smile instead.
As I approached the altar, my gaze landed on Cole standing there, looking as serious and brooding as always. Gemma assured me he was capable of laughter, and I figured she must be telling me the truth, but I hadn't seen any proof of that. I wasn't looking for him anyway; the person I really sought was the man next to him, the one standing there watching me with an appreciative smile on his face, as if I were the only woman in the room.
What would it be like to be the one walking down the aisle with Jackson waiting for me at the end? For just a second, I let myself dream before filing the memory away as just another one in the list of my beautiful but impossible dreams.
When I reached the front, I took my place on the opposite side of the altar from Jackson and Cole, leaving a space for the person everyone was waiting for. The whole congregation got to their feet and a hushed gasp spread through the crowd as Gemma appeared. I could hardly blame them. She looked absolutely stunning. Though everyone in the whole building gaped at her, she only had eyes for one man, the one next to me who stared right back at her, his mouth hanging open in awe.
I caught Jackson's eye and he nodded his head towards Cole and raised his eyebrows, making me giggle. He saw the same thing I did: Cole was completely smitten.
The ceremony sped by, each part of it beautiful and emotional. Gemma and Cole wrote their own vows and there wasn't a dry eye in the place as they described what they meant to each other. I had come prepared with a few tissues tucked into my cleavage, so I pulled one out as discreetly as I could to dab at my eyes. As I tucked it away again, I felt someone's eyes on me, and glanced over to see Jackson watching me, his own eyes looking a little watery. We shared a quick smile before I looked away again.
Noah slept almost all the way through the ceremony, but then, with perfect timing, when the minister asked if there were any objections, his loud wail filled the church, making everyone laugh. Cole's sister, Isabel, who'd been watching him, quickly excused herself, taking him to the back of the church to calm him while the minister carried on with the ceremony.
Almost before I knew it, they were pronounced man and wife and with one hand on her waist and the other around her neck, Cole gave Gemma a passionate, dominating kiss that nearly tookmybreath away even though I only watched it happen.
They walked together back down the aisle to the cheers and applause of everyone gathered, and Jackson walked over to me and offered his arm with a warm smile.
“Looks like it's our turn now. Shall we?"
~Jackson~
I could hardly believe they'd actually done it. Not that I ever had any doubt that Gemma and Cole were meant to be together, but with everything they'd both been through with their past engagements, to see them officially married and looking so happy together as they shared their first dance at the wedding reception seemed almost like a miracle.
We were in the Rainbow Room on the 65th floor of Rockefeller Centre, and Cole had rented the whole place out for the night. No cameras were allowed besides the official photographers; everyone had to surrender their phones at the door. The New York skyline twinkled in the distance, the Empire State Building lit up in red and white as if it were part of their wedding decorations. Maybe it was, who could say? I wouldn't put it past Cole to have arranged for those colours to be shown tonight. There didn’t seem to be anything he couldn't do if he really wanted to.
My eyes drifted around the room before landing on Holly standing across from me on the other side of the small dance floor that had been created, watching the happy couple with a soft smile on her face. Seeing that smile pulled me back to the first night we met, just over a year earlier.
