I looked to the pews and saw a tall, handsome guy, perhaps one who played rugby, though whatever he did, it left him with a very thick neck, a row back from Rix. He was in a half squat, looking like he was preparing to leap over the pews.
My guess?
Chelsea’s beau.
Conner.
“Blake, if you—” the reverend started.
“Blake, honey, maybe—” Chad tried.
Blake whirled on Chad and announced, again loudly, “In fact, the only bridesmaid you didn’t fuck was my sister.”
There were gasps of guilt from behind me.
More from the crowd.
And, um…
Holy freaking wow.
I turned squinty eyes on the bitch brigade.
“Blake! Really! I must—” the reverend attempted.
As I turned back, I saw Dad was standing.
Mum looked like she was about to faint.
Blake whirled again, toward me and the others.
“In fact, the only bridesmaid I have, and the only one I didn’t want”—her eyes came to me—“because we don’t get along.”
Oh God.
“We don’t have anything in common.”
Oh boy.
“And for more reasons than just that, she’s the one I treated like shit my whole life, but even so, she showed up. Even so, she flew across the country to stand up for me. Even if she knew, like I know, that marrying this asshole would be the biggest mistake in my life, she’s right there, by my side. She’s my sister, and she at the very least asked me if I knew what I was doing when the man I’d decided to spend the rest of my life with proved himself to be a colossal dick, because she told me she thinks I deserve a lot. I deserve to be happy.”
Her voice, already loud, was getting louder.
“Blake.” I stepped forward. “Hey, let’s—”
She turned and took two steps toward the audience. “So let’s let it be known how many of us object to this wedding. What do you say?”
“Blake,” Chad bit, getting closer to her.
“Really, Blake—” the reverend tried again.
Blake let it all hang out.
“Conner, obviously, and also obviously there’s Rick, Misha and Gerard, but then there’s also Robbie, Trev, Ben, Mark and DJ. And the list goes on. You can see them all at w-w-w dot c-h-the-man-tumbles dot com. And I’ll throw in, password is basic exclamation point bitches. Capital Bs.”
I jumped as her body suddenly jerked, because Chad yanked on her arm, biting out, “Stop it.”
And immediately, I dropped her ridiculously heavy bouquet, kept hold of mine (also heavy), and took two strides while swinging it back.
I did that so, when I was within reach, I could hit Chad with it.
Hard.
Something I did.
Right upside the head.
He careened to the side, blooms, buds, petals and leaves exploded, and I snapped, “Take your hand off my sister or I’ll end you.”
I got those words out before I lost purchase on my bouquet, was crying out and going up.
Rix had an arm around my back and one under my knees and he was stalking down the altar steps.
Commotions were breaking out when he dropped me to my feet close to Mum and Dad, pivoted, and then he jogged back up the steps.
Up went Blake, and he carried her down.
Which was good.
Because Conner and about four other guys were bearing down on the pulpit.
Or bearing down on a certain someone who was standing there.
Women were crying out to men (I was guessing the men were Robbie, Trev, Ben, Mark, and DJ), who were angrily shrugging them off.
Groomsmen were trying to hold Conner’s crew back.
The reverend was calling for calm.
Some people were up, filming.
Others were up, just watching.
Still others were down, heads bent to their phones, likely looking up www.chthemantumbles.com.
Still others were attempting to leave.
The bridesmaids were shoving each other or being shoved aside by Conner’s crew.
And Rix said to Dad, “You got her?”
Dad took hold of Blake. “Certainly.” He looked down at Mum. “Are you coming?”
She stared up at Blake and screeched, “What is the matter with you? Are you insane?”
That was answer enough for Rix.
He grasped my hand, and we motored.
Down the side aisle, Rix shouldering people out of the way, me, Dad and Blake using his opened wake to get through (I would have made it though, seeing as I had his hand, so I reached out to Dad, who took mine, and he had Blake, so, powered by Rix, we became an unstoppable train).
Out the doors we blew, down the steps, where Rix ripped open the door to the bridal limo and used my hand to shove me in.
I essentially landed on my ass inside, then quickly scooted out of the way when he did the same to Blake.
Gathering and shoving her long train at the same time he ducked in, Dad landed, sitting opposite us then scooting.
Rix got in, sitting beside Dad, and slammed the door.
“Drive,” he growled.
The chauffeur started up and glided out.
There was silence.
I reached and grabbed Blake’s hand.
It was slack in mine for a second, then tentatively, her fingers curled around mine.
“Blake,” Rix called.
I watched her look from gazing forlornly out the side window to him.
Oh man.
She’d actually really loved Chad.
I tightened my hold on her and looked to Rix.
He grinned at her. “That…was…fucking…epic.”
Again tentatively, she smiled.
I failed at biting back a giggle.
Dad started chuckling.
And then we all burst out laughing.
Until Dad and I had to switch seats.
Because he was intent to catch her in his arms, a goal he achieved, when Blake dissolved into tears.
“Then shit gets even more real because it looks like the offensive line of the Giants is about to rush the pulpit, so I gotta get there before them and get the women outta there, when Alex walks right up to Chad, beans him with her bouquet, flowers flying everywhere, and says, ‘Touch her again, I will end you,’” Rix related.
Chloe, Judge, Jamie, and Dru roared with laughter, with Dru chortling through her, “Best wedding I’ve ever been to!”
Dad sighed, but he was smiling.
“It was really a shame to leave those bouquets behind,” Blake drawled. “They were stunning.”
Everyone started laughing again.
But with my attention on my sister, I only chuckled before I agreed, “They really were.”
Blake caught my eyes.
I smiled at her.
She didn’t exactly smile back. But she didn’t…not.
Progress.
We were in Dad’s kitchen.
It had never been warm and welcoming, like Jamie’s.
But now, it felt that way.
Dad had popped a couple of bottles of Veuve and had ordered Cathy to instruct the caterers to redirect a goodly amount of the canapés and the top of the wedding cake to his house.
This, Cathy did.
Therefore, the black marble countertop of his island was covered in food, and we were all gathered around it.
I’d kicked off my shoes, but was still in my bridesmaid’s dress.
Blake, who could likely play golf in heels, was still in hers, as well as her dress, but the veil was on the table in the foyer, and Dru, Chloe and I had figured out how to pin up her train.