“Here you go, girls. I’ll be back in a little while. I’m waiting on Lonny Wilson to bring the flowers. He’s an hour late.” Julia threw up her hands and made a face. “That boy would be late to his own funeral, bless his heart.”

Raina suppressed a smile. Since she’d grown up mainly in D.C., she was still amused by the uniquely Southern tradition of insulting someone and then bestowing a blessing on them. She’d kind of prefer to just say “screw you” and be done with it.

“Let’s do my hair first. I have a feeling this is going to take a while.” Ridley sighed and then pulled out the band holding her ponytail.

Raina worked for the next hour, meticulously twisting sections of her sister’s hair and then pinning the coils high on her head. Next she spritzed several tendrils around her face with water and wound them around small rollers. She used the blow-dryer to get them mostly dry and then left the rollers in while she worked on her sister’s makeup.

By the time Julia came back, Ridley was just stepping into her dress. It was a simple A-line with a sweetheart neckline and lacy cap sleeves. Simple but perfect.

“Oh my goodness. You are so beautiful.” Julia fanned at her eyes, blinking back tears. “Wait until my son gets a look at you.”

Raina agreed. Considering that Jackson couldn’t keep his eyes off her sister on any given day, she had a feeling he was going to be knocked on his ass when he saw Ridley coming down the aisle.

The next hour was a blur as she rushed around getting her own dress on and doing her hair. Ridley had decided that just Raina, Laura, and her friend Katie would stand up with her as bridesmaids. They were all wearing simple blue sheath dresses that they’d gotten at the same discount bridal store where Ridley had found her dress. Laura and Katie arrived and after the requisite oohing and aahing over Ridley’s dress, they were all changed and lined up with their escorts, waiting to go down the aisle.

“You look beautiful,” Nick said.

“Thank you. How’s Jackson holding up? Is he sweating yet?” she teased.

“Like a hooker in church. He looked like he’d just run a marathon.”

“Nick!” Raina glanced around to make sure Julia wasn’t close enough to overhear. That was when she realized Julia and Mark had already gone down the aisle to be seated.

The music changed and Raina looked over to one of Julia’s church friends, standing behind the table where Elliot’s sound system was set up. Apparently he’d arranged everything so the music was on a playlist and all she had to do was press “Play.” Elliot was watching her closely anyway.

Laura linked arms with Bennett and they walked down the aisle. After a few beats, Katie linked arms with Elliot and they followed. Raina smoothed down the front of her dress and glanced back at Ridley.

Mark had offered to stand in and give her away, but in the end, Ridley had decided to walk alone. She’d figured it was a fitting symbol of the way she’d found Jackson and Raina couldn’t disagree.

“Are you ready to become an Alexander, Ri?”

After a brief pause, Ridley nodded. She glanced down the aisle to where they could see Jackson standing at the altar next to the pastor. Her eyes twinkled with excitement. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

She smiled at her sister and then linked arms with her husband. “Well then, here we go.”

*   *   *   *   *

NICK HADN’T FIGURED on leaving the house until that afternoon when the wedding was supposed to start. He quickly realized the error of his ways when Raina had woken him up early. Apparently, as Jackson’s best man, he was supposed to keep his brother out of the way while she helped Ridley get ready.

He’d never been a big fan of weddings except, like most single men, as a way to pick up women, so the complicated goings-on involved in planning one were way over his head. Maybe it was a guy thing or maybe just because he’d eloped, but he couldn’t understand what they needed to do that would take all damn morning.

Bennett and Elliott had met them at their parents’ house and the four brothers had played poker and shared stories about growing up. They’d joked that they were going to gamble away Jackson’s last hours as a free man. His brother had taken their teasing in stride and looked as happy as Nick had ever seen him.

He hadn’t shown any nerves until he was in his tuxedo and they’d had to leave him to meet up with the bridesmaids. That was when Nick had been happy he and Raina had eloped.

But now as he watched his brother and Ridley dance in the grass in his parents’ backyard, he could sort of see what all the fuss was about. His brother had said his vows in a clear, sure voice. Nick had found himself mouthing the words, then looked over to see Raina watching him. It was a powerful thing to declare your lifelong commitment to someone in front of everyone you knew.

Ridley looked beautiful and was wearing makeup, something she rarely did. He looked down at Raina, swaying in his arms. They looked much more alike now, even though Raina had done her makeup in a much more understated fashion than usual.

“Do you regret that we didn’t do this?” He was terrified she’d say yes but wanted to hear her answer nonetheless. It was an increasing need of his to make sure she had everything she wanted. To make her happy and keep her that way.

“No, not really. Even though it was so beautiful to watch them up there saying their vows, I kind of like how crazy our wedding was. Imagine the stories we’re going to be able to tell our kids!” She grinned up at him. “We’re going to be those embarrassing parents. I can’t wait.”