Renewed (The Fractured Series Book 3) by Holleigh James Read Free Book Online

out the boutonnières to the guys.
    I was anxious to see Rob. I’d never seen him in a tuxedo, and I couldn’t control my thoughts when I imagined how handsome he would look. I remembered the image of his father in his parents’ wedding picture. I wondered if he was thinking about them.
    Jennifer sat on a chair. She looked pale. I pulled the Maitre‘d to the side and asked him to steal some fruit for Jennifer. I knew she had to eat. It wasn’t good for her or the baby if she didn’t. He returned with a full bowl and some napkins.
    “Jen, can I talk to you for a minute in here?” I pulled her into a side room and closed the door.
    “What’s the matter, Mandy?”
    I handed her the fruit along with a fork. “Here, you have to eat something. You don’t want to faint at your own wedding.”
    Mrs. Sutton knocked and then walked in, closing the door behind her. “Is everything all right?” The smile disappeared from her face.
    “Yes, Mom. Mandy just wanted me to eat something, for the baby.” Jennifer smiled at me.
    Without warning, Mrs. Sutton hugged me. It took me by surprise. I hugged her back, but I didn’t want to. My only thought was how she was ruining my parents’ marriage. I wanted her off me. “Don’t start crying.” I pulled back. “You’ll ruin your makeup.” Good job. That was quick thinking, Mandy . It worked. Mrs. Sutton backed away.
    “Thank you for being such a wonderful friend to my Jenny.”
    Yeah, even though my parents aren’t ‘professional’, and you’re ruining their marriage. Now, now, Mandy. Try to be mature.
    “Soon to be my sister-in-law,” Jennifer corrected.
    “That’s right,” Mrs. Sutton said. Tears collected in her eyes again.
    I held up a finger. “Tears. Makeup.”
    “You’re right. Okay, I’ll go round up the girls. We’ll be starting soon.”
    Some hotshot, German wedding planner lined us all up outside the chapel. Jennifer would be last, and I was ahead of her. Mom ran over to us from the ladies room. She was wearing a turquoise evening gown that didn’t leave much to the imagination.
    “Mom, you look fantastic!” And she did. I thought she even looked better than Mrs. Sutton. Boy, she’s come a long way in less than a year. I felt my smile get wider , and the wedding planner put her at the front of the line.
    In a thick German accent, the wedding planner gave us our instructions. He was shorter than most of us, in his crooked bow tie. “Zee men vill go furst. Zey vill valk out to zee altar at zee ent of zee chay-pel. Zee groom vill vait near the beeg bouquet of flow-eres. Zen I vill send zee ladies out. Goot?”
    We all nodded, but I don’t think we had a clue what he just told us. I just knew I had to wait for my cue.
    All of the guests must have been seated because the music changed. I shifted on my tiptoes, searching for Rob in his tuxedo. I was eager to see how handsome he looked.
    The wedding planner walked over to us after the men were in place. It was our turn. In his thick accent, he pointed to my mother. “ Goh!” he said, and she walked through the doors that were held open by two of the staff from the reception hall. My father and Dillon walked down the aisle to escort her back to the altar. They both looked so handsome in their tuxes. One by one, the ushers came to escort the bridesmaids down the aisle. Tanya was ahead of me, and I saw Rob come to take her arm. He stopped when he caught a glimpse of me.
    The tuxedo made him look older than his eighteen years. A warm ripple coursed through my body. Although he was there to escort Tanya, he didn’t take his shining blue eyes off of me. A smile brought out both of his dimples. The wedding planner used his hands to shoo them away.
    When I stepped up to my starting point to wait for my cue, I looked up at the altar. My cousin Michael was Bryan’s best man. Under other circumstances, it would have been Jimmy, but he was in jail. I was glad for that, but sad for Bryan.
    I heard my cue.