Lily said nothing. She was an emotionally aware person and perhaps she’d sensed the barriers being put into place. Not everybody had the luxury of dreaming big, like she did. Not everybody could shoot for the moon and land among the stars.
For some people, when they shot for the moon, they attempted to enter outer space in a rocket made of doubt and duct tape. And he was more likely to crash and burn than he was to land among the stars.
It was easier to cruise about on earth, instead.
And yet, feeling Lily’s body gently relax into his and hearing her breathing become slow and even, Sean felt like he was floating on a cloud way above earth. Soaring this high didn’t feel quite as scary as he’d anticipated.
Over the next forty-eight hours, the rest of the wedding guests arrived, and the festivities began in full force. It wasn’t a huge event, by any means. Twenty-five people or so. Evie’s cousin on the other side of her family had arrived with her husband and three young sons. Two of Jasper’s work friends from Melbourne had flown in to do the photography and videography.
The inn buzzed with energy. Christmas carols played from the speakers in the lounge room and Ethan had set up fun activities to keep everyone occupied, including a gingerbread decorating competition which the resident bakers, Monroe and Katherine, both judged.
When the big day arrived, it was hard not to be swept up in the romance of it all.
“Oh Evie, I can only see the back of your dress, and it’s already so beautiful,” Lily exclaimed.
Evie was facing a wall in the bridal suite while her mum did up all the fiddly white buttons that lined her back. Amelia and Katherine stood to the side, helping one another out with errant bobby pins and necklace clasps. They wore matching dresses in a deep red silk, with thin straps and fluttery hems. A small pile of blush pink faux-fur stoles sat on a chair. They would keep the bridal party warm while taking photos out in the snow.
“Ready for the grand reveal?” Evie asked. Her mum stepped back, waving a hand at her face to stem her happy tears.
When Evie turned around, Lily gasped. This was why she would always write happily ever afters. There was no greater moment in life than seeing a bride on her wedding day.
Her cousin was an absolute vision. Her waist was nipped in with a sparkly sash, and a gauzy overlay of floral embossing covered the skirt. Bodice straps made of sheer, scalloped lace left a daring vee of skin in both the front and the back. Since Evie wasn’t busty, it showed enough skin without looking too “boobish”, as her cousin put it. There were also tiny shimmering crystals in the centre of a few of the flowers on the outer layer, just enough to give a subtle sparkle when she moved.
“You look like a million bucks.” Lily went over to give her a hug, being careful not to disturb the beautiful makeup or fancy hairstyle Evie was sporting. “Thank you for giving me a ‘mini reveal’ for the dress. I wish I could have done all the bridal stuff with you, but work was…”
She sighed and shook her head. Evie was one of her favourite people in the world and it had killed her to not fly home and take part in the pre-wedding activities.
“We missed you so much.” Evie squeezed her. “We all kept saying, ‘I wish Lily was here’ whenever we did something fun.”
“It’s true,” Katherine piped in. “We were thinking of you the whole time.”
Her cousins’ comments hit hard. She had missed out on so many things that were happening back home in Australia—birthdays, engagements, hen parties, weddings, births. She’d missed her father celebrating his big six-oh, and she’d missed being there for her mum when she’d had shoulder surgery. And it was all the smaller things, too. Brunches, girl’s nights out, Christmas lunches and lazy days on the beach.
“I miss you all, too,” she replied, finding herself choking up. “So much.”
Evie made an aww sound and hugged her again. “I am not putting the guilt on you about leaving home, okay? I respect that you’re over here chasing your dreams and doing amazing things with your life. But it’s so great to have you here.”
A lump lodged itself in the back of Lily’s throat. She’d known that seeing her family was going to bring up a whole host of emotions—guilt and regret chief among them. Oh, and their good buddy FOMO. She remembered learning about the concept of opportunity cost back in her high school economics class—the lost benefit of the options not chosen. Moving to LA had jump-started her film career. Benefit. Living there alone had meant it was easier to work all hours of day and night to get ahead. Benefit. But she’d missed out on important family things. Opportunity cost.
Not to mention giving up other dreams, like working on your novel.
Last night, she’d snuck away for an hour while everyone was sitting around drinking because inspiration had struck like lightning. A scene had rushed into her head and she’d bolted upstairs to put pen to paper. Sean had found her sitting there, scribbling like a woman possessed.
When she’d finished, her hand ached and he’d coaxed the notebook from her so he could bring his lips to hers. His kisses made time stand still, suspending her as if they were trapped inside a snow globe. That moment, where she felt desirable and creative and so full of potential… she hadn’t felt like that in a long time. Not since the early days of being in LA with Brock, before the shine wore off her life.
Classical music wafting up through the inn cut off her thoughts.
“That’s our cue,” Evie said, drawing in a shaky breath. “Are we ready?”
There were excited squeals all around as the women gathered themselves to head downstairs for the start of the ceremony. But Lily had a stone in the pit of her stomach. It was like the universe was trying to make sure she knew the consequences of her actions. If she continued to stay in LA and chase career success in film and television, then she would give up a lot. But she’d always believed the alternative was worth it.
Is it worth it, still?
The question lingered in her mind as they made their way downstairs and, for the first time, Lily wasn’t quite sure she knew the answer.
13
Sean stood at the head of the Forever Falls Inn grand room, sandwiched between his best mate and his little sister. The room was decorated beautifully. There were white chairs set in neat rows, with small bunches of holly and red ribbons adorning the aisle seats. Ethan had strung fairy lights around the room and they twinkled softly, reminding Sean of the way the snow had glittered the day he and Lily had their snowball fight.
Jasper shifted on the spot beside him, tugging at the bottom of his tuxedo jacket.
“You okay, mate?” Sean clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Can’t get cold feet now.”
“Nah, it’s not cold feet. I’m just…” He bounced on the balls of his feet. “I’m so ready to be married to Evie.”
The proud, excited smile that pulled at his lips made something shift in Sean’s chest. He was thrilled for Evie and Jasper, but especially for Jasper. The dude had it rough when he was a kid and he didn’t have a single family member at the wedding. He and his dad had nothing to do with one another, and his mother had passed two years ago from cancer. Now he was marrying into a great family—the Dunns were top-notch people.