I didn’t even notice Ari and Jenny taking me back outside. I couldn’t catch my breath. What the fuck was wrong with me?! They walked me up to the ranch house and set me down on a chair. Emma walked out right then.
I can’t get enough air…...OH MY GOD…… I am going to die before I even get married!
“Ellie darling look at me. Look right at me.” Emma said as she grabbed my face to look at her.
“Ellie take a deep breath in and blow it out.”
I tried I really did……all I could take was small gasps of air and that was starting to not be enough. Emma turned to Ari.
“Arianna, I want you to calmly go in the house and get Drew.”
Ari turned and ran into the house screaming out Gunner’s name.
Not thirty seconds later there he was. He came out of the screen door and our eyes met. He came running over to me and landed on his knees in front of me.
“Ellie baby what’s wrong?” Gunner said with nothing but panic in his beautiful blue eyes.
He grabbed my hands and I felt that familiar jolt of electricity. I instantly felt the tightness in my chest let up and I was able to take a deep breath. I threw myself at him and hugged him as hard as I could. He got up and lifted me up with him. I wrapped my legs around him and he started to walk off to the other side of the porch away from everyone. God I loved to be in his arms like this. It was my favorite way for him to hold me.
He was running his hand down my hair. “Shhh baby, it’s okay. I’m here sweetheart. Can you tell me what’s wrong baby? Are you having second thoughts?”
What?! NEVER!
I kept my face buried into him. My god he smelled so damn good. I was starting to get that ache in between my legs.
“NEVER! I want nothing more than to marry you Drew Mathews. I’m not sure what happened to be honest. All I know is I needed to see you and the thought of not being able to see you at that moment, I guess it made me panic. I love you! I love you so much!”
“Jesus baby you scared me. I love you too Ellie. I love you so damn much it hurts.”
I pulled back and looked into his eyes. “I feel the same way!”
He just laughed.
“You know we’re not supposed to see each other before the wedding. They say it’s bad luck.”
“I know for a fact that is not true. Emma told me that she and Garrett saw each other the morning of their wedding. Look how happy they are!”
Gunner just smiled at me as he pushed me into the side of the house and started to kiss me with so much passion I thought I was going to explode. Oh shit I could not wait to spend the night with him tonight!
“Can we sneak off somewhere real quick?” I asked as I pushed myself into him.
“My greedy greedy little girl. What am I going to do with you?” Gunner asked as he bit my lower lip. I let out a low slow moan.
“Um, Ellie…we really need to get you back and start getting ready.”
I looked at Gunner and made a sad face.
“Soon, baby……soon.” He slid me down his body in that oh so slow way he had.
“See ya soon?” I said as I looked up at him.
“See ya soon baby.”
After we got back from checking everything out I felt so much better. I think just being in Gunner’s arms is what calmed me down. The cabin was so full of hair spray I thought I was going to die. Jenny must have sensed it was bugging me because she told her friends Ron and Jet, who were stylists from Austin, to spray outside from now on.
“I just cannot figure out what the hell is wrong with him.” Ari was saying to Amanda. I was pretty sure she was talking about Jefferson. I needed to push that from my mind today. I looked their way and they both looked beautiful. Ari, Amanda and Heather were all wearing their hair down but curled. Heather was getting hers curled right now and then she would be next for the spray down.
Jet was doing my hair and I loved it! She curled it all in big curls and then piled it all on my head. She pulled pieces of my hair down to frame my face and the back of neck. I smiled as I watched her put baby’s breath all throughout my hair. I gave Gunner five minutes before he was pushing a piece of hair back behind my ear.
Jet was going on and on about something. I had tuned her out after the first five minutes and just thought about Gunner. I closed my eyes and pictured his blue eyes looking into mine as we said our vows.
“Ellie did you hear me honey?”
I opened my eyes to see Jet staring at me.
“Oh, I’m so sorry; what was that?”
“How do you like it honey, your hair. Do you like it?”
I looked into the mirror. I looked perfect. I had just a small amount of makeup on but the way Ari did my eye makeup really made my blue eyes stand out. The tint of pink on my lips was perfect and my hair…...my hair looked beautiful. Was that even me in the mirror?
“Jet……it is just so amazing. I love it so much! It looks elegant yet simple.”
Jet smiled from ear to ear then picked up a can of hair spray and sprayed the shit out of my hair. God I needed oxygen by the time she was done. Clearly she didn’t hear the NO spraying hair spray inside rule.
I didn’t even notice Ari, Amanda and Heather each going behind the giant sheet that was placed so everyone could change. I looked over and saw Ari walking out in the pale pink sleeveless sundress. Oh my…...she took my breath away. The gray silver cowboy boots she had on were perfect……just like she said they would be. She smiled at me as she put on her white cowboy hat. I wanted to jump up and down it looked so fucking good! Just then I saw Amanda and then Heather. They looked like super models……all three of them. I just stared at them. They started to laugh and Ari said something to Heather about getting the same reaction from Josh. Heather hit Ari in the arm and told her to go to hell.
Then Jenny walked up to me.
“Ellie, it’s time to put your dress on.”
Oh wow……this was it. I was putting on the dress that the four of us spent days searching for. We ended up finding it at the last bridal store we went to in Austin. I was so sick of trying on dresses I was ready to give up. I told Ari I was trying on one more dress and that was it.
When I looked at myself in the mirror before stepping out to show the girls I almost cried. MaryBeth, the bridal consultant who had been helping me try on dress after dress, leaned over and said, “That’s the one. When you look in the mirror and want to cry…..then that’s the dress meant for you.”
I looked over at her as I felt the tears roll down my face. I didn’t even bother wiping them away. I had to show the girls that very second.
I stepped out and heard three gasps at the same time.
“HOLY HELL!” Amanda said.
“Oh my Ellie it’s perfect honey!” Heather said.
“JESUS, MARY and JOSEPH, holy fucking shit…...that dress is beautiful!” Ari screamed out as she jumped up. MaryBeth helped me up onto the platform and spread the train all out. Oh my god it was beautiful.
MaryBeth started to tell us about the dress as I stared at myself in the mirror.
“Ladies, this is a Jim Hjelm wedding dress. It is a Silk Satin faced Organza A-line dress with a strapless embroidered bodice with crystals and hand-cut Silk Organza, Chiffon and Charmeuse. The natural waist is accented with a Platinum moire ribbon and has a bias cut asymmetrical ruffle skirt with a chapel train.”
All three of them just stared at poor MaryBeth. “Yeah……. whatever the hell all that means…...Ellie it’s beautiful! Just perfect! Get it…….Gunner is going to be jizzing in his pants when he sees you in this!” Ari said as she jumped up and down.
I let out laugh as I thought about that day. I stood up and walked over to the curtain. Jenny and Ari stepped behind with me and helped me get dressed. I started with a white lace bustier along with a pair of blue panties that Ari bought for my something blue. I slipped the garter belt on that had been used by Emma in her wedding, my something old, and started to roll on my satin thigh high sheers on. I was wearing cowboy boots under my dress but Ari insisted I wear thigh highs with a garter belt because it would driver Gunner mad when he saw me. I slipped the garter around my leg and up my thigh. It was pale pink and a gift from Heather, my something new. Now for the dress…...I was shaking from head to toe.