Page 11 of Caden
Lainey’s smile trembled slightly. Tears pooled in her eyes. “I’m scared, Mama.”
“That’s perfectly normal. Can you tell me what you’re scared of, or is it general anxiety?”
Lainey tilted her head and seemed to think about it. “I’m scared I’m going to trip and fall on my face,” she said after a moment.
“That’s reasonable. How much walking have you done in your heels?”
“A lot around the house. I’ve worn them every day for the last two weeks for at least a couple hours as I tried to get them broken in so I can dance tonight.”
“Good. What about in the heels and dress together?”
“Not much with that. I think that’s why I’m worried about it.”
Olivia leaned against the wall and watched the exchange.
“You’ve got this, just remember to walk slowly. That won’t be too hard since your father is walking you down the aisle and he knows what he’s doing. He did this with Elizabeth, remember.”
“Thank you, Mama. I know it’s silly but that makes me feel so much better.” Lainey leaned over and hugged Mom again.
Elizabeth moved to the other side of their sister, finger combed a couple of curls back into place then stepped back and took a good look.
“Perfect. It’s almost time. Are you ready?” Elizabeth said.
Lainey nodded, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a tissue.
Elizabeth turned to Olivia. “Can you go tell Dad we’re ready when they are?”
“No problem.” Olivia hurried outside, careful not to let anyone see inside in case Jared, the groom, was anywhere near the door so he wouldn’t get a peek of the bride before she walked down the aisle. As she approached the seating area, she scanned the area, looking for either Dad or hopefully Caden. It took her a moment to spot Caden and she headed for him first, thinking maybe he was still with Dad.
When she reached his side, she saw that no, Dad wasn’t there. Instead, he was talking to someone she didn’t recognize. Probably a friend of Jared’s.
“Hey, have you seen my dad?” she asked as she came up beside Caden.
“Hey, I wasn’t expecting you.” He curled an arm around her waist and let his hand rest on her hip. “I haven’t seen him in a few minutes. Some guy came up and said they needed him, and they went off that way.” He pointed off to the right. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s great. We’ll get started soon. You might want to have a seat.” Olivia spotted Dad. “I’ve got to run.” She stretched up and kissed his lips gently then hurried off to find her father.
9
Caden found himself grinning like an idiot as he watched Olivia stand up in front of the table where the bride and groom sat holding hands.
His girl lifted a microphone and spoke into it, bringing the soft murmurings all around them to silence as everyone waited to hear what she had to say.
“Welcome and thank you all for coming out to help Lainey and Jared celebrate. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Olivia, Lainey’s younger and sometimes most annoying sister, though in my opinion, that title should go to Elizabeth.”
A soft laugh rippled through the crowd.
“I know traditionally the toast is given after the meal, but I wanted to break that, and give the catering staff just a few more minutes to get ready.
“Anyway, enough about me. Let’s get to what we’re all really here for. Lainey and Jared. These two have been together since what seems like the dawn of time. And I’m not kidding. They have been inseparable from their first day of kindergarten and I’m not sure about anyone else, but I’ve wondered what took them so long to get to this point.” She turned and looked at the bride and groom, a loving look in her eyes. “But all kidding aside, I wish you two a lifetime of happiness and joy. We all know there will be rough times and tears, but those will pass as long as you remember you two have everything you need in each other.” She lowered the mike and handed it off to the best man then turned and nodded to her sister before heading his way.
“I thought you might sit with your sister, being the maid of honor and all,” Caden said when she took the seat beside his at the table.
“No, we discussed it but decided not to, especially since most of the wedding party was bringing dates. It would have left their dates sitting alone through the meal, and what’s the point in that?”
“I guess I didn’t think about it like that.”
“I’m glad we did.” She reached over and covered his hand in hers, gave it a quick squeeze then turned back to where the best man was still talking.