“Is that you, Rossiter?” Austin joked.
Gabe got to his feet, shook Austin’s hand. “I can’t remember seeing so many Team members washed and pressed at the same time.”
He had a point.
And there was Sasha in a bright pinkdress. Wow.
She jumped to her feet as they drew near and planted a kiss on Austin’s cheek. “I’m so happy for you.”
Eric glanced at his watch. “If you stop to kiss everyone, we won’t make it to Rose before the ceremony starts.”
Laughter.
“Okay, okay.” Austin chuckled. “Save it for the reception, folks.”
They made their way to Rose, who was very much in high priestess mode. “Namaste, gentlemen. What a beautiful day for this joining.”
“Hey, Rose.” Austin kissed her cheek. “Don’t you look pretty?”
“Feng shui teaches us that purple and silver are especially auspicious colors for a wedding. I tried telling Lexi that but …” Rose’s gaze dropped to Austin’s lavender boutonniere. “Lavender and sage are auspicious, too.”
Austin looked up at the boom mic that dangled from a tree branch above them. “You guys tested the sound system, right?”
“Yep.”
“The rings. Did you remember—”
“They’re here in my pocket. We’ve got this. You focus on those vows.”
“Right. Thanks.”
Austin’s mother and father appeared, entering the space through a rose arbor at the southwest corner of the house. They made their way through the spiral, his father shaking Austin’s hand, while Roxanne kissed her son’s cheek. Then came Chey on the arm of her date—a med student she’d met in Denver. She also gave Austin a kiss.
“How about a kiss for your brother by another mother?” Eric teased.
She laughed, kissed him, too, then sat.
A moment later, Kendra appeared, looking elegant in a long gray dress, a corsage pinned to her chest, a camera swinging from her hand.
“Never wear gray to a wedding,” Rose whispered in a sing-song voice.
“It will be okay,” Eric reassured her. “How are you holding up, buddy?”
Taylor blew out a breath, his brow creased with emotion. “I can’t wait to see her.”
“It won’t be long now.”
When Kendra had made her way through the spiral and taken her seat, the music started—Coldplay’s “Yellow” performed by the Vitamin String Quartet—and all eyes turned toward the rose arbor.
“They’re playing your song, brother,” Moretti whispered.
But Eric wasn’t sure Taylor even heard him. Every fiber of the man’s being was focused on that archway, those wedding nerves finally kicking in. Eric was feeling it, too, truth be told.
This was it. Austin and Lexi were tying the knot.
Winona was the first to appear, looking amazing in a pretty lavender gown, a bouquet of purple and white flowers in her hands. When she stepped into the spiral, Britta appeared. She wore the same gown and carried the same bouquet, her strawberry blond hair hanging in long waves down her back. And then Victoria came into view.
Eric’s brain went blank, his heart thudding against his breastbone. He could only manage details at first—her delicate shoulders, the wave in her dark hair, the swells of her breasts, the tuck of her waist, the flowers in her small hands, the way her skirt seemed to flow around her as she walked, the smile on her lips.