Chapter 305: Favorite Part
** Harper **
Harper could feel the flutters intensifying in her stomach as she crossed the terrace, rounding the corner pillars of the pavilion to find Eli already waiting for her at the entrance.
Oh he looked so handsomely sublime.
To keep things fair, she hadn’t gone to his portion of the tailoring appointments either during the wedding preparations, and this was the first time she had seen his new tux. She probably should have expected the visual treat of that slim fit accentuating his tall figure so perfectly, but still ... It was hard for her heart not to stop at such a timeless sight of him, cast into a sharp relief by the golden sunlight that spilled across his flawless profile, lighting up the white rose pinned to his lapel.
Right, the rose. Maybe that was also what made him look so different today. He wasn’t just a handsome man dressed up for a glamorous event like the gala they went to last summer. He was the groom, and this was his wedding. Their wedding.
It was really happening now — the man she had been in love with for as long as she understood the word "love" was standing right here, waiting for her, ready to become her husband in just a couple of hours. Finally, the moment was about to come when she could truly get to call him hers.
Harper slowed down her footsteps, giving herself some time to breathe in and process this incredible realization. That was when she noticed ... that Eli seemed to have frozen in place as soon as he saw her, the look on his face changing from surprise to pride to ... something else that he rarely showed.
And then his hand flew to his mouth, and he ... was tearing up?
"..." He seemed to have tried to say something, though no sound came out. Then he ran his hand down his chin and, clearly his throat, finally said in a slightly trembling voice, "... Harper."
A teardrop was hanging right at the corner of his eye, sparkling against the westering sun.
For a moment, Harper suddenly felt like she might break into tears herself. She had imagined many ways that Eli might react when he finally saw her — shocked to the core with his jaw hitting the ground, or so dazzled that his eyes couldn’t stop admiring her from head to toe, or so thrilled that he’d even pick her up for a big wild spin. But she hadn’t imagined this. And she hadn’t imagined hearing the one word she couldn’t be more used to hearing uttered in such a way that it carried so many emotions, so many meanings, all at once.