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“Are you nervous?” Emma asked as she zipped up Addie’s dress.

“No.” Addie answered with a smile. “I know this is right and we’ll be happy. You’ll know what I mean when you get married.”

Emma pretended to smile but deep down she had trouble believing that was true. First Jessie, then Nick and now Stephen; her track record wasn’t looking so good.

“I’m sorry.” Addie said quietly. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, it’s fine. You need to stop worrying about me. I’m not a fragile doll, I won’t break.”

Addie disagreed but she nodded and let Emma finish helping her. Once she was done, she helped Emma into her heels.

“Are you sure you can walk in those things?” Addie asked with concern. “You know how well you do on flat ground.”

“Zip it lady! I’m going to make it through the wedding with them on if it kills me!”

“You should never say that.” Addie replied with a laugh. “Please be careful.”

“I will, I promise.”

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“Any last minute concerns?”

“Nope.” Howie answered AJ as he fiddled with his tie. “I couldn’t wait for this day to get here.”

“I felt the same way.” Kevin added. “You just know when it’s right.”

“That’s true.” Brian echoed. “You know when you meet that one person who becomes the most important person in your life. You do whatever you can to hold on to them.”

“You ok?” AJ asked Nick quietly. “You don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine.” Nick responded.

He couldn’t tell him how uncomfortable he was with this whole conversation. The guys were talking to Howie about their experiences with getting married but he felt like some of those comments could have been directed his way.

“It’s this whole thing with Emma.” AJ said, not letting it go. “Have you talked to her yet?”

“No Mr. Nosy. I tried to last night but she took off before I could even get to her.”

“Well you’d better find a way because this is going to keep bothering you.”

“No shit.” Nick replied. “I need to find a way to get her to talk to me. Some way that leaves her with no other choice.”

All of a sudden, a light bulb went off in Nick’s head. He brushed AJ off and raced over to Howie’s brother.

“Can I ask you a favor?”

--------------------------------

Emma stood at the back of the church and watched the other bridesmaids began their walk to the altar. She turned and saw the enormous smile on her friend’s face as she stood there with her father, waiting to begin her trip. Turning back around, she saw the wedding planner give her the cue and she started down to where Howie was waiting. When she finally made it there, she saw the guys staring at her as she took her place in line. Even though she’d had somewhat made peace with AJ, she refused to acknowledge them and refocused her eyes on Addie.

Her best friend looked beautiful as she seemed to glide down the aisle and into the arms of her future husband. The priest began his part of the ceremony and paused several times in order to let other family and friends read passages that the bride and groom had picked out. Once all of the formalities had been completed, the priest asked for them to recite the personal vows they had written. Howie went first.

“I love you Addie and today I am the luckiest man in the world. Not only am I marrying the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, I get to marry my best friend. I promise from this moment on, I will be your lover, your support system, your rock and your partner in crime.”

Everyone let out a little chuckle.

“In you I have found my home, my love and my partner for life. You are the most important person to me and the only thing I can’t bear losing. With this ring, I vow to do everything in my power to make you happy, keep you safe and make you feel loved.”

A twinge of guilt passed through Nick’s heart. Why was it so easy for everyone else to tell the people around them that they cared about them? Without being able to stop himself, he glanced across the altar and saw Emma wipe a tear from her eyes. What was wrong with him?

Emma watched as Howie slid the ring on Addie’s finger. Her best friend was probably the luckiest woman on the planet today. Men like Howie didn’t come along very often and she was grateful her friend had found him. She took a deep breath and waited for Addie to begin her vows.

“I love you Howie and you mean so much to me. You’re the key to my heart. When I’m with you, I feel safe, loved and cared for. I know that together we can face every joy and challenge that life has to offer. We will make our journey together and create memories that will last a lifetime.”

Emma’s eyes started to well up and she looked over at Howie’s side. Her eyes skipped over Nick’s and went straight for AJ. He smiled and crossed his eyes. She had to stop herself from laughing and was grateful for his silliness; it helped ease the ache for her.

“With this ring, I promise to fight for us and everything we want. I will encourage you, support you and help you. I will strive to become a better person for you and I will always love you.”

At this point, almost everyone in the church was crying. Brian and Kevin’s eyes were wet, Nick was trying to blink away tears and Emma’s mascara was threatening to run down her face. The priest finished the final part of the ceremony and pronounced Addie and Howie husband and wife. Everyone clapped and whistled as the pair kissed for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Dorough. When they broke apart, they spun around to face all their friends and family with gigantic smiles on their faces. Addie took her bouquet back from Emma and whispered thank you.

Emma smiled as she helped Addie fix her veil and then watched her best friend and her new husband started their walk up the aisle. She took her position behind them and waited for John to come over. Feeling someone link arms with her, she twisted to smile at them and then realized that it was Nick next to her. She never saw the switch happen and she was so caught off guard that they had to nudge her down the aisle.

“What are you doing?” Emma hissed as she tried to keep a smile on her face. She didn’t want to ruin Addie’s wedding face with an angry look.

“Doing John a favor. He wanted to walk with his wife.”

Emma didn’t know what to say so she kept quiet until they reached the front of the church. As soon as she could, she broke apart from Nick and tried to dash off to the waiting limo. Unfortunately, her new set of shoes were turning out to be a bad decision and she pitched forward as her heel caught in a crack in the pavement. Before she could meet the pavement with her face, Nick was by her side and helped to steady her. She started to thank him but remembered that she was furious with him for switching places with John. Pushing his arm away, she took her heels off and walked the rest of the way down to the bridal party. Nick shook his head and joined the rest of the guys in their rental SUV.

“What the hell was that?” Kevin shouted once the doors were closed. “Are you trying to ruin Howie’s wedding?”

AJ laughed and answered for Nick. “That was one hell of a way to get her attention. She couldn’t refuse.”

Nick grinned. “No she couldn’t.”

“I hope it was worth it since you didn’t get to say much.” Brian pointed out.

“I have a feeling Nick already has an idea of how to take care of that.” AJ remarked.

“Just be careful Nick.” Kevin cautioned. “You force her to talk to you and things may not go the way you’re hoping.”