Can’t Look Away

“Sasha?”

Sasha heard Lionel’s voice, but she didn’t turn to look at him. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from what was outside of the back door. It was beautiful. The flowers that had been laid out were soft pastel hues, and the fading sunlight was accompanied by the warm glow paper lamps which lit up the makeshift aisle that made its way up the garden, and for a moment, Sasha couldn’t quite believe what she was looking at.

“What did you do?” Sasha whispered.

Lionel’s answering laugh was caught somewhere between amused and nervous. “What does it look like?” he countered.

Sasha let out a slightly sniffled laugh, finally pulling her eyes away from the garden to look up at him tearfully. “I thought we were waiting” she said.

“We still can” Lionel insisted “If this isn’t what you want, then I can...” he trailed off when Sasha pushed herself up onto her toes, stifling his words with a soft kiss. Closing his eyes, he melted into the kiss until Sasha pulled away from him, the tips of her fingers gently tracing the line of his jaw.

“No more waiting” Sasha whispered, the softest of smiles brightening her features.

Lionel searched her face, looking for any sign that she didn’t mean what she had said, before he allowed himself to smile back at her, his thumb gently brushing away the tears that had slipped from her eyes. “OK” he enthused.

“Are we doing this?” Cassie, who’d followed them into the house, asked.

Sasha didn’t hesitate. She nodded her head before she turned to look at Cassie, offering her a wide grin. “We’re doing this” she confirmed.

Cassie tried, and failed, to stifle the wide grin that itched to fill her face. “Let’s get you upstairs, then” she quipped “Your mother and Ellie should already be up there. You set them up in your bedroom, didn’t you, Leo?” she asked.

Lionel nodded his head, but her didn’t say anything, his stare fixed on Sasha who’d turned back to the window, staring out of it in awe. Quirking a soft smile, he gently nudged her towards Cassie, wordlessly telling her that the sooner she made her way upstairs, the sooner she would be walking up the aisle.

Sasha hesitated for a moment before she took the hand that Cassie held out to her, allowing her friend to squeeze it softly as they wandered towards the stairs. “You doing OK?” Cassie asked.

“I think so” Sasha replied with a slightly awed laugh.

Cassie squeezed her hand again. “You didn’t faint” she quipped “I really thought that you would. I think I owe your brother money” she added impishly.

The laugh that Sasha let out was slightly louder than normal. “You and James bet on whether I’d faint?” she asked.

“I think there was a pool” Cassie replied with a nonchalant shrug “I had fainting, but your papa is going to be the big winner. He locked down ‘burst into tears’ before anyone else had the chance to” she added.

Sasha scoffed, rolling her eyes playfully. “Can I be blamed for being a little emotional?” she asked “I mean, how many of you have been surprised your own wedding?” she added.

Cassie’s teasing smile softened a little. “He really does love you, Sasha” she mused “I know that that sounds really obvious. I mean, you’ve been together for a long time, and there’s Arlo too, but I’ve spent the last few weeks with him, trying to put this together for you, and it’s just...it’s so obvious how much he adores you. You’re so lucky to have someone like him in your life” she added tenderly.

It wasn’t new information. From the first time that Cassie had seen Lionel and Sasha together, she had seen how much he’d grown to care for her friend, but the previous few weeks had made it clearer than ever. Lionel adored Sasha, and Cassie wanted to make sure that Sasha knew it. She wanted to make sure that Sasha didn’t take for granted how lucky she was.

Sasha’s cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink as they reached the top of the stairs. “You think so?” she asked.

“I do” Cassie confirmed “Sasha, look at what he’s done for you. If this isn’t a sign of how good a thing you’ve got, I don’t know what is” she added.

Sasha smiled softly. “Thank you” she murmured “For helping him with this, but for everything else, too. Without you, I am pretty sure that I would have ruined this a long time before now” she added.

“Probably” Cassie’s voice was boastful, but her smile was tender and warm.

Sasha rolled her eyes before she moved to push the bedroom door open, something Cassie stopped before she pulled Sasha into a tight hug. “I’m so happy for you” she gushed “I always hoped one of us would get here one day. I mean, there were long times when I doubted it, even when you actually were engaged to Alex, I still didn’t quite believe we’d get here, but I am so happy that we have. I’m so happy that you’ve found a guy who loves you like you deserve to be loved” she insisted.

Sasha let out a snuffly laugh as she hugged Cassie back. “You didn’t think I’d get married when I was engaged to Alex?” she asked.

“I feel like I can tell you this now. Alex sucked, Sasha” Cassie said “I never liked him” she added.

“You always said you liked him” Sasha countered “Do you like Leo or are you just saying that you do because I am about to marry him?” she added, her voice playful.

Cassie offered Sasha a pointed look, something which made Sasha giggle before she dove back into the hug, drawing it out for a little longer. Cassie was happy to enjoy it until the bedroom door swung open, allowing Carina to step into the doorway, an impatient expression on her face. “Are you going to come in here or what, Sasha?” she pressed “The hairdresser is waiting on the bride” she added.

Sasha let out a surprised laugh. “The bride” she repeated “I did not think that that is something I’d be saying today” she added.

“I was fifty-fifty as to whether you’d ever get to say it” Cassie chirped playfully.

Sasha scoffed as she allowed her mother to tug her into the room. “It’s not too late for me to change my maid of honour” she countered.

“Yeah?” Cassie prodded sarcastically “Who you going to ask? Your sister?” she added.

“I don’t know about that. I am probably lucky to even have an invitation”

The teasing comeback that Sasha had prepared died on her tongue as she turned back towards the open bedroom door, finding Leila stood in it, an embarrassed smile on her face.