Page 62 of Forever King

I smile and say, “Simple and not frilly or fancy?”

She looks up from straightening out the hem and smiles. “Well, yeah. I doubt most people who see you when you go to the grocery store would believe you’re marrying a billionaire.”

Shrugging since what people think is none of my business, I smile in the mirror to see if I have anything in my teeth. “You married Marius, and he’s a billionaire. Do you think people believe that of you?”

Eden levels her gaze on my face. “I look high maintenance. I’ve never denied it. I have expensive tastes. You don’t. Half the time, you don’t even wear a full face of makeup. I won’t even go out to get the mail on my porch without makeup and my hair done.”

She’s always been so modest. I don’t think Eden is high maintenance. I just think she likes to do her makeup and hair. I’ve never been that kind of woman. It’s okay, though. We complement each other perfectly, which makes being best friends even more incredible.

A knock at the door makes her scurry in front of me, just in case it’s Matthias. I’m not sure why she’s doing that, though. I thought that only applied to the groom seeing the bride in a regular wedding dress. Sure, my white sundress is new, but it’s not really an official wedding gown.

My father pokes his head around the corner of the door and peeks in. “I’m being told it’s almost time.”

“Come in, Dad! You don’t have to wait out in the hall.”

He slowly walks in and closes the door behind him. “I didn’t want to interrupt you and Eden with any girl talk you’re having.”

Eden and I look at each other and laugh. “We’re grown women, Dad. We haven’t done girl talk in at least a week.”

That makes him laugh too. “Okay, maybe I should have used a better term. I just thought it was right to give you ladies time to talk.”

“Well, Mr. Sutton, we appreciate that, but I’m going to hand your daughter off to you now.” Eden wraps her arms around me for a hug and whispers in my ear, “See you at the altar. I’ll be across from the tall, dark, and handsome guy you’re marrying.”

She loves to describe Matthias that way. I guess he is all those things, but he’s so much more. Those describe his outside. What he has on the inside are the parts of him I love the most.

Alone with my father, I check out my hair and makeup, the little I’m wearing, one final time. Everything looks good, so I’m ready to go.

Behind me, my father quietly says, “Your mother would be so happy to see you today. She would be so proud too.”

I look at him in the mirror and fight to keep the tears at bay. “I wish she was here. I’d love for her to see how happy I am, Dad.”

He glances up at the ceiling and says, “Don’t worry. I know she’s watching. They all are.”

For a moment, I’m confused, but then I understand. “I wish they were here too. I know Matthias would love that.”

My father wraps his arms around me and kisses my cheek. “They’re always up there watching us, and I know your mother, Max, and Elizabeth are as happy as I am today.”

I like to think they’re smiling when they see Matthias and me together. I don’t know if his mother thought I’d be the right one for her son, but I hope she sees I love him dearly.

Stepping back, my father says, “You know, I once told Max I didn’t want you and Matthias together. Elizabeth had you two married off before you were even in kindergarten. I wasn’t so sure about that. I see now that I was wrong. Matthias is a good man. He cares far more about people than I thought he could. That’s his mother coming out in him. I guess I was worried he’d be far too much like his father, and I wouldn’t want that for you.”

I’m surprised to hear him talk like this. Turning around to face him, I say, “But I thought Elizabeth was happy with Max, and she always seemed to be very down-to-earth.”

He nods and explains, “She was, but when Max was young, he wasn’t that kind old man you knew at the end. He could be ruthless, and when it came to Matthias, she worried he’d be like Max instead of her. I’m glad the kindness she always showed to us found its way to her kids.”

Smiling because I love hearing about when my parents and Matthias’s parents were young, I say, “After the ceremony, I’d love to hear more about those days when all of you were first starting out. I’m sure Matthias would too.”

With a twinkle in his eye, my father asks, “You don’t think it would be too boring? I mean, we didn’t have a lot of the stuff you have. No cell phones or internet or even computers. We’re talking phones and leaving messages with people, hoping the person you wanted to talk to would get them. It was a very different time. You might find it a bit slow.”

I shake my head, sure it couldn’t be that different than now. “I think it would be great to hear about, but now it’s time for us to get going. We don’t want to keep everyone waiting.”

He takes my hand just like he did when I was a little girl, and we walk out into the hallway. Eden is waiting for us holding her bouquet of pink roses and my bouquet of yellow roses.

“It’s showtime!” she says excitedly before handing me my flowers. “Wish me luck. I’m wearing new shoes today, and these stairs are utterly purgatorial.”

My father, ever the tease, jokes, “Break a leg!” The two of us turn to look at him like he just hexed the whole day.

“Dad!”