Chapter 1
The back door to the limo was wide open for Jordan Power and the rest of the bridal party to climb into. Jordan was about to head to a church in Aspen, Colorado, for her sister’s wedding, for which she was picked to be the maid of honor. Jordan’s daughter Ivy would be the flower girl, and Hailey’s stepson Jackson would be the ring bearer.
“Hailey, I’m so excited for you!” Jordan cried as Hailey sat down next to her in a gorgeous, backless white dress. “And it only took like ten years for you to find the one!”
“I’m totally ready,” Hailey admitted. “I just hope he’s actually at the altar. I’ve heard the horror stories about brides being jilted by their grooms.”
“Girl, you’ll be fine! Chris is a wonderful guy; you really can’t go wrong with him. I mean, has Chris ever, even once, done you wrong?”
“No,” Hailey said.
“And he adores you to pieces, does he not?”
“Yeah, he does.”
“Exactly! So, you have nothing to worry about!”
“Mommy?” Ivy asked her mother. “Do I look pretty?”
“Of course, you look beautiful!” Jordan fussed. “Didn’t we do affirmations in the mirror when I was getting your hair ready?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m going to be the best flower girl ever!”
Jordan laughed. “Yes, you are.”
When the ladies arrived at church, Jordan followed Ivy into the church to supervise her flower girl duties.
“Ivy, remember what we practiced,” Jordan said. “You go down the aisle to the beat of the music and scatter the petals all over. Got it?”
“Got it!” Ivy said proudly.
“You’ll do great, sweetheart,” Vincent, Jordan’s dad, assured his granddaughter.
When it was her cue, Ivy tried to walk slowly down the aisle as the Wedding March played. She tried her hardest not to screw this up, and it felt like forever until she reached the altar. When she did, her uncle-to-be gave her a fist bump.
“Great job, sweetie!” he said.
“Thanks, Uncle Chris!” Ivy said, beaming with relief that her job was done well. “Can I call you that?”
“Of course you can, Ives! I am about to marry your aunt, after all. Go sit with your Grammy, okay?”
“Okay!”
Jordan’s mom, Stacy, opened her arms when she saw Ivy running towards her, and Ivy leaned into her embrace.
“You did wonderfully!” Stacy praised her in a whisper. “I knew you could do it!”
The march continued to play as Hailey was ushered down the aisle by Vincent, tears of joy running down both of their faces.
“Congratulations,” he whispered in Hailey’s ear, patting her back before setting her free.
Jordan smiled as Hailey took Chris’s hands into hers, followed at once by the officiant starting the wedding ceremony.
“We are gathered here today to join this couple in holy matrimony,” he began. “Do you, Hailey Power, take Christopher Freeman to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“I do,” Hailey said.
“And do you, Christopher Freeman, take Hailey Power to be your wife?”
“I do,” Chris said.
“You will now exchange your vows,” the officiant instructed.
Both vows were equally as emotional, especially when Hailey said she’d try to be the best stepmom ever for Jackson. This even made Chris tear up a little.
“Now, if there are any objections to this marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace,” the officiant said to the congregation. He waited thirty seconds before continuing. “And now, by the powers vested in me in the state of Colorado, Hailey and Christopher, you are now pronounced husband and wife! You my kiss the bride.”
Immediately following the ceremony, all the unmarried women gathered around Hailey to watch her throw the bouquet. Jordan had been to many weddings and never had any luck with catching it. Not that it mattered, anyway; she hated the idea of a lifelong commitment.
“Alright, ladies!” Hailey announced, grabbing everyone’s attention. “I’m about to throw the bouquet! Remember, the girl who catches it is next to find a partner!”
Jordan shook her head in doubt and was about to leave the room when the bouquet suddenly bounced off her shoulder and landed in Ivy’s hands.
“Mommy, look!” Ivy squealed. “You’re next!” She proudly held the bouquet out for her mother to take.
Jordan laughed at her daughter’s innocence as she took the flowers from her. “Just because we caught the flowers, doesn’t mean I’m getting y’all a new daddy anytime soon. You have to want to commit to a relationship first.”
“Jordan, congratulations!” Hailey exclaimed, throwing her arms around her elder sister. “I guess we’d better start planning the wedding, huh?”
Jordan rolled her eyes. “Yeah, for the 12th of NEVER! Besides, this is just a superstition.”
