The rest of the guys and the bridesmaids started laughing, breaking the formal silence of the lineup. I straightened my jacket and fell back into position, but I couldn’t stop smiling. Leave it to Kam to break the tension right before the most important moment of Eli’s life.
I pulled back just enough to see the faint trace of my kiss on her lips.
“You look beautiful,” I whispered.
Nique didn’t say a word, but her eyes softened in a way that told me she felt the weight of the moment just as much as I did.
The music cued up and the first few bars of Monica’s For You I Will drifted over the dunes. I knew the song was chosen for Eli and London, but those lyrics were written for exactly this moment and I felt every word. I’d do anything to keep the world from hurting Nique. I’d be the one to bridge the gap every single time.
The coordinator started directing the line and as we stepped onto the wooden planks leading to the sand, I leaned closer to her ear.
“This is my second time walking you down the aisle,” I said, keeping our pace slow. “The next time I’ll be standing up there waiting on you.”
Nique’s face flushed a deep beautiful pink that matched her dress. She still didn’t say a word. She just kept her eyes forward, her hand tightening slightly on my bicep.
We reached the front and split, taking our spots. I watched the rest of the wedding party follow but my focus was locked. Finally, the music shifted, the soulful transition into Chrisette Michelle’s A Couple of Forever signaling the main event.
London appeared at the top of the aisle and the whole beach went still. She looked like everything Eli had been holding on for. But it was the look on Eli’s face that got everybody. Even the people who swore they weren’t going to cry.
He looked like a man who had finally exhaled after holding his breath for years.
They met at the altar, hands finding each other before anything else. When it came time for the vows the ocean seemed to pull back like even the water wanted to give them space to say it.
Eli took a breath. “London. They say out of the greatest tragedies the most beautiful things can grow. I spent a long time in the dark and for years you were the only light I could see. You didn’t try to fix me. You just stayed until I started putting myself back together. I promise to honor what we came from, but I vow to give you every second of what comes next. I loved you as a friend. I loved you through the grief. I will love you until I don’t have anything left.”
London was already gone. Shoulders shaking, gripping his hands like she was afraid he might disappear. Eli reached up andwiped her tears with his thumb, his hands steady even though his eyes were glossy. She looked up at him and laughed through it the way people do when they’re too full of something good to contain it.
“Eli,” she said, her voice barely holding. “I’ve loved you since I was ten years old. I loved you when I wasn’t supposed to and I loved you when it was the hardest thing in the world. We crossed oceans of pain to get to this moment, and I would do all of it again. You have been my best friend, my safe place, and my home long before today made it official. I promise to be your peace. I promise to be your partner. From this day forward you will never carry anything alone again.”
I looked over at the bridesmaids. Nique was crying, tears tracking straight down through her makeup and she wasn’t even trying to stop them. I thought about everything she had been carrying this week. A breakup, jail, the ugly truth from Stella, and now standing here watching two people who had survived the worst kind of loss find their way to each other. I understood why it was hitting her like that. I felt it too.
I made a quiet promise to myself right then that I was going to spend the rest of my life making sure the only tears she ever cried were the good kind.
I pulled my eyes back to the altar just in time to hear the officiant say you may kiss your bride. Eli didn’t hesitate. He pulled London in and the whole beach lost it, applause and cheers rising up around them.
I cheered with everybody else. Still, somewhere underneath all of it though a clock had started and I wasn’t planning on letting it run very long.
Chapter thirty-six
Smooth Sailing
The reception was pure magic. The scent of salt air mixed with expensive floral arrangements and the bass from the speakers vibrated through the wooden deck of the beach club. Bruno Mars’s 24K Magic was blasting and I was right in the middle of the floor dancing with Whitley. She was laughing, holding her phone up to record us for her followers, and for the first time in my life I didn’t feel like an outsider looking in.
Deuce jumped into the frame throwing out some questionable dance moves that had us both cracking up.
“Move Deuce!” Whitley fussed, nudging him with her shoulder. “You’re ruining the aesthetic.”
“You’ve been hogging Nique all weekend!” Deuce shot back, not missing a beat. “She’s my sister too. I get some time.”
I laughed, a warm swell of pride hitting my chest. I had never had anyone fight over my attention before. Certainly not siblings. It was a brand-new kind of high.
Wendell, who was standing close enough to hear the bickering, stepped in with a smile. “Nique, it sounds like you need to come out and visit us sometime this summer. We all need more time with you and Nel.”
Whitley’s eyes lit up instantly. “Oh! Can she and Nel come on our summer trip to Oak Bluffs?”
“Of course,” Wendell said, nodding.
“As in Martha’s Vineyard?” I asked, making sure I heard him right.