Selah Gallimore threw her car into park and scowled at the church looming before her. In her opinion, this wedding should not be happening. Ever since she met Emerson, she had been trying everything in her power to keep her sister from marrying him. She had tried to talk to Piper, tried to talk to her parents, everything. Unfortunately, nothing had worked.
Emerson gave her the chills. She couldn’t explain why, but she always felt a sense of dread anytime she saw him. He had been nothing but perfectly nice to her, but the way he treated Piper ran all over her. He could be polite and charming while at the same time tell Piper she wasn’t good enough. Neither her parents nor Piper noticed this, but Selah sure did. No one put down her older sister. No one.
Pushing these thoughts to the back of her mind, she reluctantly crawled out of her car. The wedding rehearsal was to start at eight o’clock and Piper would kill her if she were late.
Inside the church, she found her family and Piper and Emerson’s friends all seated in the front pews. Pink and red ribbons decorated the white walls of the church with various red and yellow roses mixed in. Selah thought it was gaudy and hideous. She found a seat beside her cousin and slid in.
Piper, sitting directly in front of her, turned around. “So glad you could make it,” she said, tightlipped.
Selah matched her grin. “Wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
The rehearsal began and seemed to drag on for hours. Selah went through the motions, memorizing where she was supposed to stand; however, her heart wasn’t into it.
She watched as Piper rehearsed her part of the wedding and sighed. Piper wasn’t smiling nor laughing. Her face was a perfect stone, absolutely emotionless. No joy or excitement shined in her eyes, only an underlying sadness. It broke Selah’s heart to see her older sister this way.
As the rehearsal drew to a close, Selah grabbed Piper by the arm and dragged her away from the rest of the party. Staving off protests from their mother, Selah led Piper into a private back room. Outside the small windows, the women could see that dark had already fallen, and the small lamp sitting on a desk was their only source of light. Selah dropped Piper’s arm.
“What the hell are you doing?” Piper demanded.
Selah rounded on her sister, her blue eyes flashing. “What the hell are you doing? Why are you still marrying that bastard?”
The older woman’s eyes widened. “Sorry? Did you call Emerson a ‘bastard’?”
“I did.” Selah crossed her arms over her chest. “Now answer my question.”
“I’m marrying him because he asked me.”
Selah raised her eyebrows at the response. “Is that all?”
“Why do you hate him so?”
Selah sighed as she softened her tone. “You’re avoiding the question.”
“What question? Selah, I’m going to get married tomorrow. I can’t back out of this.” Piper walked past her sister and gazed out the window. Her voice had grown quieter.
“Is that Mum talking or you?” She turned to face Piper.
Without turning around, her older sister responded. “Me,” she said weakly.
Selah bit her lip, wondering how far to take this conversation. Making a choice, she placed a hand on her sister’s back. “Did Dean ever find you?”
Piper whirled around, surprise clearly in her eyes. “What? What made you think of him?”
“Josh Tambini’s secretary came to speak to me two weeks ago. She asked me if I knew a Piper Gallimore since my last name was Gallimore as well. I explained that you were my sister, and she said that a Dean Raymond was looking for her address.” She winced when Piper’s mouth dropped open. “It was like a miracle, “ she rushed to explain. “So I gave them your work address.”
“You? He found my practice because of you? Is that why he appeared in my office begging me to see his shop in Cornwall?”
Now it was Selah’s turn to be surprised. “He came and he owns a surf shop? And you didn’t run away with him?”
Sitting down on the windowsill, Piper told her sister the whole story, from the moment Dean appeared in her office to the moment she left Cornwall. The younger woman’s eyes narrowed to little slits by the end.
“My God, you’re dafter than I thought you were!” she exclaimed.
“What?”
“You didn’t even talk to him or try to find out if he was late?”
Piper stood up and began pacing the length of the room. “It would’ve been the same excuse it’s always been. Besides, I’m engaged.”
“Oh, that makes it all right, then,” Selah said, sarcasm dripping from her words. “You really are a fool.” She stepped in front of Piper. “Did he do anything from the time he walked into your office that reminded you of the old Dean? The bad stuff, I mean?”
Piper’s brow creased in thought. “Well…I don’t think so.”
Selah dropped her forehead into her open palm. “And you have a license to practice medicine.” She peeked through her fingers. “Are you sure we’re related?”
“Selah!”
A knock on the door startled them both. “Girls, we have to go. Our dinner reservations are at nine-thirty,” their mother said.
“One moment,” Selah called back. She then looked Piper directly in the eyes. “Do you love Emerson?”
“I don’t know, Selah. I don’t know anything anymore.”
Selah moved to the door and placed her hand on the knob. “If you aren’t sure, then you really need to think about this wedding thing.” She then threw a new curveball. “Do you love Dean?” The look in Piper’s eyes gave her all the answer she needed. She opened the door and led the way through. “Come on, stupid, I’m hungry.”
****************
Piper sat perfectly still in one of the backrooms of the church the next day, allowing her cousin to tame her mass of curls into a knot on the top of her head. Her shoulders sagged as she slumped in her chair. Her mother had already walked by twice, poking her in the side to remind her to sit up. She simply ignored it. All she could think about were the words that Selah had said.
Selah was right. She had judged Dean too harshly, and she had run at the first opportunity. Closing her eyes, she tried to force Dean away from her thoughts. She already made a promise to Emerson. She intended to follow through on that promise.
Once her hair and make-up were perfected, a knock came at the door. She looked up to see the preacher peek into the room.
“It’s time,” he simply said.
Piper gathered the massive white skirt that surrounded her ankles and attempted to stand. With her sister, her cousin, and Sam holding her extremely long train, the entire party made their way to the front of the church. Upon reaching it, her mother patted her arm.
“You look lovely,” she smiled.
She didn’t feel lovely. She felt like an overstuffed marshmallow. She knew she shouldn’t have let her mother talk her into buying that dress.
The music started, and her bridesmaids and groomsmen began their descent down the aisle. Selah went next, a fake smile plastered on her face. Piper tried to block it all out. Was she doing the right thing? Was she keeping a promise to the right man? She turned to her father, who only grinned in return.
“Everything will be all right,” he said in his soft Irish brogue. “It’s natural to be nervous.”
Then the wedding march began. Piper’s father laced his arm through hers, and together, they stepped through the double doors. The church was filled with people: her family, Emerson’s family, friends, and people she barely knew. Individuals were either crying or smiling brightly as she walked past them. She swept her gaze over them and stopped at Emerson. He stood confidently in front of the preacher, his head held high. Her stomach lurched, and for a moment, she thought she would throw up right then and there.
Looking at him, she tried to imagine what her life would be like ten years from that moment. Would it be any different than it had before? She tried to picture Emerson’s face, tried to imagine him with their future children. His face wasn’t the one that appeared. The face she saw belonged to Dean, and the realization hit her like a ton of bricks.
They reached the end of the aisle, and her father said his part. He then passed her to Emerson and joined his wife. Piper peered into Emerson’s eyes, and felt nothing. She turned to the preacher, who had already begun the ceremony. She didn’t hear any of it, only the thundering in her ears. It sounded like a death knell on a coffin. Then a question filtered through her scattered brain.
“If there is anyone who thinks these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace?”
There it was. A way out! She moved her eyes to Selah, who seemed like she was ready to burst. She looked back at the preacher. He bent down his head, preparing to read the next part. Her window of opportunity was closing.
“Wait!” she yelled. The preacher’s head snapped up, his eyes wide.
“Excuse me?” he asked.
“Piper, what are you doing?” Emerson whispered.
She turned to him and freed her arm from his. She then began to laugh. “I can’t do this, Emerson. I can’t.” She took a step back, dropping her bouquet of flowers. “I’m in love with someone else.”
The entire church gasped. Emerson took a threatening step forward. “You…what?” he asked.
Piper only laughed harder as she stood her ground. “I’m in love with someone else.”
He gripped her by the arms. “Is it that stoner that came by your practice?” His voice grew tighter with every word.
“He’s not a stoner; he’s a surfer, and his name is Dean. And, yes, I love him. I always have.” She struggled against his hold. “Let me go.”
“How could you do this now? How do you expect me to recover from this kind of humiliation?” he demanded. His eyes darted around the room. “In front of our families and friends?”
“Let go of her!” Piper saw Selah coming up behind Emerson.
“I suggest you unhand my daughter.” Her father’s voice came from behind her.
With a growl, Emerson let her go and turned his back on her.
Piper met her father’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I’ll repay all of it.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll work that out later.”
She then turned to Selah. “I need to borrow your car. I have to get to Cornwall now.”
“Only if I get to drive; I’m not missing this for the world.” Selah tossed her own bouquet behind her. She grabbed Piper’s hand and they headed to the backroom to retrieve her keys.
Piper glanced behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. She whisked off her veil and tossed it into the air. She hadn’t felt that free in four years.
*****************
Scrape, scrape, scrape. Dean touched the edge of the board and grimaced. It was still too rough. Clutching his sander, he went back to work, determined that the edge would be perfect.
He had been working on this particular surfboard for a week, barely seeing his apartment or his friends. Both JC and Crab had said that they were worried about him. He hadn’t said two words to anyone since Piper left, and there was no sign of happy-go-lucky Dean anywhere. In fact, JC noticed that Dean hadn’t been this bad the first time Piper left.
Piper. He scraped harder on the side of the board. He’d been a fool to think he could win her back. What made him think she would choose him over a well-to-do chap like Emerson?
A packet of sex wax smacked him on the head. Setting down the sander, he looked up to see Crab standing in his doorway.
“What was that for?” Dean demanded.
“I think you need to come out into the shop, mate. There’s something you have to see.” With that, he walked back out into the shop.
Grumbling, Dean followed Crab to the counter. The sight that greeted him caused his heart to nearly pound out of his chest.
“Piper?”
Piper stood in the middle of his surf shop wearing the most God-awful dress he had ever seen. Her curls were falling down around her face, and hope filled her hazel eyes. For a long moment, neither of them said anything. Then Piper tentatively took a step forward.
“And maybe you’re gonna be the one that saves me/And after all, you’re my wonderwall,” she sang in an off-key soprano.
Dean raised an eyebrow. “You left without saying good-bye, and that’s all you’ve got to say?” He leaned forward. “You’re supposed to be getting married. What are you doing here?”
Piper deflated. “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t marry Emerson when every time I looked at him, I saw you.”
At this point, everyone in Blue Juice Surfboards had gone quiet. They crept out of the aisles to watch the scene at the counter. Even Selah had crept closer.
“You expect me to believe that?” Dean challenged.
“I was hoping you’d believe that.” Piper walked around the counter and stood face-to-face with him. “I was stupid. Completely stupid. I thought I wanted a life of routine and stability. But that’s not what I wanted at all. It took someone,” at this point, she acknowledged Selah, “to make me realize that. I made a stupid mistake last weekend. Hell, I made a stupid mistake four years ago.” She threw up her hands and then let them fall at her sides. “I love you, Dean. I’ve always loved you. Surfboards, smile, unpredictability, and all. I don’t why it took me this long, but I know that now.” She drew herself up to her full height. “If you don’t want me back, I understand, but I hope you’ll give me another chance.”
Without warning, Dean started to laugh. It grew louder and louder until his whole body shook. “You really mean it?”
“Of course I really mean it!” Piper said indignantly. “I ran out on my wedding to tell you this.”
That only made Dean laugh harder. “I’ll bet Emerson wasn’t happy at all.”
“Well, no.”
Dean took a deep breath and got himself under control. His face a mask of seriousness, he met Piper’s eyes. “All right, one more chance, but if you leave again, it’s over.”
“I swear I won’t leave again,” Piper smiled. She then peered down at her dress. “I may have to go back to London for some clothes, though.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Laughing, Piper threw her arms around him and planted a kiss firmly on his lips. Dean’s heart pounded as he realized that she was now all his, and it was all he had ever dreamed of.