A Dream Weekend: A Tale From Blythe Cove Manor Read Online Free Page B

gas flames from the fireplace threw leaping shadows around the walls.
    “It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Paige asked quietly.
    “Yes. Very pretty.”
    They didn’t say any more.
    Alex watched the shadows for a while before closing his eyes, then instantly fell asleep.
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    A woman’s wedding day was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, but as Paige’s wedding day approached everything seemed to go wrong. It started when the RSVP cards began to arrive.
    Alex’s parents decided not to come due to a prior engagement. And what kind of engagement would keep you from your son’s wedding? They’d never forgiven him for changing his major, and not coming to the wedding was their way of punishing him.
    Alex’s brother Ron, and his wife, Amy, and kids had vacation plans that couldn’t be changed. Funny, he hadn’t mentioned those plans when Alex had spoken to him six months before when the “save the date” cards had gone out.
    Alex’s sister, Joanne, at least had a reasonable excuse. At eight months pregnant with her second child, her obstetrician had given her a “no travel” edict.
    And Paige’s family had let her down as well. Her sister, Emily, had called to say her car had died and that she and her husband couldn’t afford to rent one to drive to Buffalo—nor could she find a friend willing to drive them.
    So it was with a feeling of doom that Paige had donned her ivory tea-length wedding dress on that sultry summer morning. It was the “something old” part of the day, as she’d found it for a great price at a thrift shop along Buffalo’s Main Street. Something blue? A garter she’d bought. Something new? The floral headpiece and short veil she’d made herself.
    As the hour for the nuptials approached, Paige grew more and more apprehensive as her best friend from childhood had not yet arrived.
    “It’s okay, Paige,” her sister, Lisa, said, her voice a calming balm. “If worse comes to worst, I can stand in.”
    “Oh, thank you,” Paige said, giving Lisa a hug.
    When the organist struck the first few notes of Wagner’s Wedding March, Lisa grabbed the Maid of Honor’s bouquet and marched down the aisle as though she had been the bride’s first choice of attendant.
    Alex stood at the end of the chapel’s aisle, but the man standing next to him was not the guy he had asked to stand up for him, but another buddy who hadn’t even worn a suit. Paige missed a step, wondering if this marriage had been cursed because so many of their friends and family were missing from the celebration.
    But then she locked eyes with Alex, and took in the broad grin he sported. And she smiled, too. What did it matter if some of the invitees were absent? All that really counted was the fact that she loved Alex, and he loved her, and from that day forward they were to be as one.
    Paige walked slowly, step-by-step, alone. She had no father or father figure to give her away. And it was with shyness that she paused before her betrothed. She handed Lisa her bouquet, and Alex gently took her hands in his, beaming; a smile that could have lit the continent. Then the two of them turned their gazes to the minister who stood a step higher than them.
    “Paige and Alex, welcome to the beginning of your new life together.”
    Paige couldn’t really process everything the minister said. She felt overwhelmed, but happier than she’d ever been. She was about to commit the rest of her life to the man who completed her, and felt sure that she, too, would complete him.
    Lisa gave her sister a nudge, handing her a simple gold band.
    The minister spoke. “Paige, place the ring on Alex’s finger and repeat after me: With this ring.”
    Paige looked directly into Alex’s blue eyes. “With this ring.”
    “I pledge my love and faithfulness to you.”
    “I pledge my love and faithfulness to you.”
    “Today, tomorrow and always.”
    “Today, tomorrow and always.” Paige slipped the ring on Alex’s finger, giving him a shy