Maid For You 4

Chapter 70

The next day was Madeline and Roiben's wedding. After hours of prepping and having helped the bride herself get ready, I stood behind the chapel doors with the bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girls, and ring bearers. After my conversation with Madeline yesterday, I felt a little shy when I saw Coleman's tall figure. I had to remind myself that nothing new had happened between us, and he hadn't been privy to my conversation with Madeline, so any awkwardness I might feel ought to be kept to myself.

"Cassie C." Mercucio took note of me before Coleman did, though his remark made Coleman turn his head towards me. I didn't look at him, but simply smiled at Mercucio.

"You look lovely," Merc said.

"Thank you." I smiled. I wore a sleeveless, pale green silk dress that dropped to my toes. "You look wonderful too."

"Look at us." He pointed at his pale green tie. "All matchy-matchy."

I laughed. "What are the odds, in the wedding party?"

He grinned, and patted me on the shoulder. "Good to see you." He then continued his greetings, walking up to Lucille with an excited "Little Lucy!"

Coleman stepped up to me, tall and handsome with his black hair styled particularly neatly. "Are you nervous?" he asked me, raising a dark eyebrow ever so slightly.

"Nervous? I mean, not really. It isn't my wedding, after all. All I really need to do is walk up there and back and hope I don't trip," I said.

"Well, if you can make it to the alter in one piece, I'll ensure you do not trip on the walk back." Coleman's smile was small, but genuine, and his eyes were soft and kind. Coleman's varying smiles, be it roguish or bright or laughing, were all charming in their own right, but this smile was one that I did not see often. It was less ostentatiously dazzling or flirtatious, but it stirred up something deeper in my heart than his normal handsome looks. I felt my cheeks flush, but I hoped it didn't show under my foundation (and if it did, maybe it could be attributed to the general flurry of a wedding).

I hadn't answered immediately, having been taken aback for a second too long, but I finally answered him saying, "I appreciate that." It wasn't particularly witty or clever, but it was the best I could come up with in the moment. "As long as I make it up there, I should be good," I added.

He leaned a little closer, and the corners of his lips turned a bit impish, and he said in a half whisper, "I have complete faith in you, Cassandra." Despite his teasing mouth, his eyes remained warm and kind. He pulled back a little. "I don't want to walk back alone."

"Well, I'd rather not either," I admitted. "So make sure you don't trip on the way up yourself."

His smile grew, and he chuckled a bit. "I'm certain Madeline would kill me if I caused such a scene on her wedding day."

My smile widened as well. "I don't doubt that."

Meanwhile, Mercucio was talking with Madeline's cousin, Amelia, and assuring her that he was honored to be the groomsman paired up with her. The fourth groomsman, some cousin of Roiben's, was locked in what seemed to be awkward small talk with Cherise. The wedding coordinator then came up to us and informed us that the processional would begin. Roiben was already up at the alter, so his younger brother was the first to slip behind the cathedral doors and into the chapel. He was followed by Mercucio, and then Coleman, who glanced back at me with a little smile just before walking through the doors. After Roiben's cousin, the next person to go was Amelia, since the Maid of Honor would walk in after us, and then it was my turn.

I drew in a deep breath, and headed through the doors and began walking down the aisle as elegantly as I could. I felt the eyes of the audience fall on me as I walked, which made me more nervous than I had anticipated. However, I determined to look ahead. Amelia was just stepping up to her place on the stand, and Roiben and the groomsmen were all in position. My eyes met Coleman's, and my heart skipped a beat. I mean, of course he was looking at me. Everyone was.