If You Love Me

Pulling the sweater that she wore a little more around herself, Nora let out a soft yawn, her blue eyes peeking down towards the watch that she wore on her wrist. It was early, the time on her watch read a little after seven in the morning, but she couldn’t quite will herself to make her way back towards her bed, even if she did feel tired, the butterflies in her stomach wouldn’t allow her to sleep for long.

It had been a long night, with a mixture of nerves and excitement twitching in the pit of her stomach, she had found sleep hard to come by, and whilst she found herself more than a little tired, a small part of her was already itching to get started, wanting to see Gerard again sooner rather than later.

Allowing another soft yawn to fall out of her mouth, she gently tugged at the material of her sweater a little more before she closed her eyes, enjoying the quiet of the garden.

“Aren’t you cold?”

Nora visibly startled, surprised by the sound of Antonella’s voice, before she lifted her head, offering the other woman a small smile. “A little” she quipped “But I like it out here. It’s pretty quiet” she added, her hands fiddling with her sweater shyly.

Antonella, who’d moved to sit down beside her, smiled a little at the movements of her fingers before she shook her head, gently moving to take a hold of her hand to stop her fussing. It wasn’t unusual, whenever Nora got nervous, she tended to mess around with things shyly, and it made Antonella smile, even if she was certain that she didn’t have anything to be nervous about. She thought it was sweet that Nora was so nervous. “Did you get any sleep?” she posed, offering Nora’s hand a light squeeze.

Nora spared a soft look down towards their hands before she shrugged. “A little” she noted “But I kept waking myself up so in the end I opted to come out here for a little while before everyone else wakes up and starts to make a fuss. Are you the only one up?” she posed curiously.

“I think so” Antonella replied “But I doubt that it will be too long before people start waking up. Your madre seemed pretty excited last night” she added, a teasing smile on her face.

Nora scoffed. “She’s been more excited than me for weeks” she quipped with a small smile.

“You can’t blame her for being excited” Antonella replied “I mean, you’re her little baby and now you’re going to have a husband. It’s a pretty huge deal for her” she added gently.

Nora nodded. “I think she worried for a while that it wouldn’t happen” she noted “I mean, for a period of time, I wouldn’t tell Gerard how I felt about and I wouldn’t date anyone else. I think she was worried that this day wouldn’t come, something which means she’s pretty excited now it’s here” she quipped, a faint smile on her lips.

Antonella admired her smile for a moment before she gently leant across, bumping her shoulder playfully. “You and Gerard certainly took your time to figure out that you were supposed to end up together” she pointed out “But it was worth the wait, wasn’t it?” she posed, her voice soft and encouraging.

Nora’s cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink before she nodded her head, a shy smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. “It’s been pretty great” she admitted bashfully.

Antonella playfully nudged her shoulder once more before she offered her hand another soft squeeze. “You know that you really don’t need to be nervous about today, right?” she posed, breaking the silence which had settled over the two of them.

Nora nodded. “I know” she mumbled “But I can’t help it. I’ve always been a worrier” she added gently.

“You have” Antonella agreed “But you can rest assured, all the little things are under control. All you need to worry about is relaxing for a little while before you start to get ready” she added.

Nora shook her head. “That’s probably easier said than done” she mumbled.

Antonella smiled a little at her response before she moved to slip something out of her pocket “I thought you would say that” she quipped “So I bought you this. I’ve already had a message from Leo this morning, telling me that Gerard’s awake, and I figured you could give him a call before your madre wakes up and starts to fuss” she added, carefully placing Nora’s phone into her hand.

Nora stared down at the phone for a moment before she offered Antonella a small smile, something the brunette was quick to return before she pushed herself up to her feet, excusing herself back into the house. Nora watched her make her way back into the house before she flicked her attention down towards the phone, quickly moving to dial Gerard’s familiar number.

Placing the phone against her ear, she listened to the dial tone for a moment before Gerard’s voice snipped into her ear, something which made her shake her head. “It is early” she quipped “I hope you don’t mind me calling” she added, shyly twisting a strand of blonde hair around her finger.

“Of course I don’t” Gerard replied warmly. “In fact, I am glad you did. I don’t think it would have been too much longer before I ended up call you. How are you feeling?” he asked.

Nora shrugged. “I’m pretty tired” she admitted “I didn’t get a lot of sleep overnight, and I am pretty nervous, but I think I am mostly excited. What about you?” she posed.

“I’m pretty excited too” Gerard replied “I can’t wait to see you in that dress of yours. I’m sure that you’ll look amazing” he fussed, his voice warm and encouraging. He knew that she was nervous, the soft tone of her voice confided it, and he wanted to reassure her slightly, even if he doubted that his words would have an effect, he wanted to at least attempt to encourage her to relax.

Nora’s cheeks warmed a little at his words before she shook her head. “You don’t know that” she countered.

“I think I do” Gerard replied “I mean, I think you look amazing all of the time, and that pretty much guarantees that today will be no different. You’ll look beautiful, Nora, I know it” he insisted warmly.

Nora nibbled on her lip for a moment, allowing his words to hang in the air, before she shook her head, a soft smile on her lips. “I love you, you know that?” she mumbled.

Gerard chuckled. “I’d like to hope so” he quipped “It is our wedding day” he added.

Nora rolled her eyes at his comment before the sound of the sliding door open and closing reached her ears, causing her to peek over her shoulder, her blue eyes settling on her mother who stood a little away from her, Alba settled in her arms. “I think I have to go” she mused “My madre’s just woken up and so has Alba, and that means I have to hang up. I’ll see you later?” she posed.

“Of course you will” Gerard insisted “I love you, Nora” he fussed.

Nora smiled a little at his words before she mumbled a quick a goodbye, moving to stow her phone in the pocket of her jumper before she stepped towards her mother. Offering the older woman a soft smile, she lifted Alba into her arms before she ducked back into the house, already counting down the minutes until she made it up the aisle.