Chapter 17: The Bachelorette and Bachelor Celebrations
Chapter 17: The Bachelorette and Bachelor Celebrations
Unlike the wild, excessive bachelor and bachelorette parties typical of Nashville’s elite—parties filled with flashbulbs, nightclub VIP rooms, and superficial excess—Nathan and Maria had chosen something vastly different the night before the wedding.
There were no regrets, no hangovers, and no hidden agendas.
On the back veranda of the estate, under a canopy of warm fairy lights strung through the ancient oak trees, a quiet, intimate gathering took place.
Arthur Parker sat with Eleanor by the stone fireplace, sharing stories of their respective pasts, laughing over glasses of aged Tennessee whiskey. David and Thomas, the contractor, were grilling gourmet sliders on the patio, trading jokes with the estate staff who had stood by the family through thick and thin.
Nathan and Maria sat slightly apart on the stone bench overlooking the gardens, wrapped in a single wool blanket against the crisp autumn chill.
“Are you nervous?” Nathan asked softly, kissing the side of her head.
“Not a bit,” Maria murmured, resting her head on his shoulder. “For the first time in my life, I feel completely certain about tomorrow. It’s not about the estate, or the money, or what the city thinks. It’s just about us.”
Nathan tightened his arm around her, looking out over the peaceful, starlit property. “Eighteen months ago, when Lily shattered that glass in this very room... I thought our world was falling apart. I didn't know it was the sound of the cage breaking open.”
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“We built something real out of the shards,” Maria whispered, lifting her left hand to let the moonlight catch the rose-gold ring and its deep blue sapphire.
“Tomorrow,” Nathan smiled, kissing her lips tenderly, “we make it forever.”
