Redeeming Love (Sequel to More than Friends- Lauren Cimorelli Fanfic)

The Wedding

Lauren's POV

We arrived at the wedding and went to go find seats. It was an outdoor wedding and it was set up absolutely beautifully. It was a place specifically for weddings so there was plenty of rooms for seats and the bridesmaids and groomsmen to stand (see pic above). Once we had all taken our seats the wedding started.
We turned to see Natalie walking down the aisle and Josh escorting her. She looked absolutely beautiful. She had this undeniable glow of happiness. Her arm was intertwined in Josh's as they both smiled walking down the aisle.
As he got closer I saw how nice he actually looked. I've never seen him in a suit before. And wow he looked good. He wore dark blue dress pants and a dark blue coat. He had a white collared shirt and tie on underneath.
The whole ceremony was incredible. I was really happy for Natalie because she was always so kind and thoughtful.

After the ceremony had ended we all went to the reception after which is where I'd hoped to get the opportunity to talk to Josh. There were a few toasts and the best man and maid of honor speech which were both hilarious. Then people started eating and dancing. I saw Josh sitting down with his nieces who just got up and went to go sit with their moms.
Once they left he has made eye contact with me. I was sitting alone because my sisters were up dancing. He made his way over to me. I know this sounds dumb especially since we have both grown up but his smile still made me weak, I could feel butterflies in my stomach.
Josh- "Can I sit here?"
Lauren- "Yeah of course."
Josh- "So what has it been like performing on your own? I mean I saw the show and it was amazing but how was it for you?"
Lauren- "Honestly it was incredible. I was struggling in the beginning with wrapping my head around doing it all on my own. But every night that I got on stage I felt invincible. I was so happy, I just never want to give up on music. It's all that I think about. It just makes me so happy I can't even put it into words...... Uhm I'm sorry I know this is probably boring, I just got excited."
Josh- "Why would you think it's boring?"
Lauren- "I just didn't think you would want to hear all of that. My ex Tyler told me it was weird to get that excited about little things like that."
Josh- "Don't ever apologize for being happy or excited about something. Seeing you light up and bubble your words when you talk about your passions isn't something you should ever have to say you're sorry about." He gave me that sweet and gentle smile, looking into my eyes the entire time he spoke.

This is what he did, this is what made me fall for him. He made me feel like I was important, even if it was just to him. He made me feel like I deserved happiness. After everything we've been through he still took time to make me feel like I mattered. He cared about what I was passionate about.

I noticed the song Two is Better Than One started playing. It was one of my favorite songs a few years ago.

Josh- "So you come to a wedding and you haven't even danced to one song. That's like a crime."
Lauren- "Hahah come on, you of all people should know I'm not a dancer!"
Josh- "Neither am I. But I've never slow danced with anyone. So how about for this one song you and I go out there and fake it like we are the best dancers here?"
He reached his hand out while looking in my eyes. I smiled and took his hand as he led me to the dance floor. He pulled me in closer and I put one arm around his neck while my right hand held his left and we started to dance. I wore heels that allowed me to rest my head on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly to whisper something in my ear.

Josh- "I know our history isn't great. I don't think that we are ever going to be the same as we were a few years ago. You have your own life and I have mine. But I don't want us to have to ignore each other anymore."
Lauren- "I don't want that either. I know we can't pretend like the past didn't happen. But I'm sorry, and I really hope you can forgive me."
Josh- "I forgave you a long time ago Laur."

Maybe he was right, that we couldn't ever be like we were before. But he said he forgave me. I didn't think he would ever do that. So right now is just progress from a broken place.