Kylie Cantrall's Arc

Chapter 66 of 78

The dress was closed. Kylie stood alone in the bedroom with one hour left. Dr. Carter had gone down to the beach. The ring box went with her. Kylie reached for the door and stopped. Arianna was down there too, somewhere on the sand, in a red gown Kylie had never seen. If Kylie walked out now, she might see it. The plan said no. The vows said no. Arianna would play guitar, and Kylie would sing at the gate, and the first time either of them saw the other dressed would be that moment. Kylie opened the door a crack. Voices carried up from below. She heard Arianna laugh. She heard the low hum of a guitar string. She pulled the door shut again. If she went down the stairs, she'd pass the front windows. The pool spread out beyond them, the fountain running, the palms throwing shade across the sand. Arianna could be anywhere in that view. One glance and the whole thing broke. She needed another way down. The house had a side hall off the kitchen. It ran behind the pool, blind to the water. Kylie had walked it a hundred times as a kid. She could reach the far edge of the beach without crossing a single window that faced the altar. She eased into the hall and moved fast, her gown brushing the tile. She kept her eyes down. At the kitchen she smelled bread and butter still on the air from their lunch. She turned into the side passage. No windows here. Just wall and the hum of the fountain outside. She counted her steps and kept her face to the floor. The passage ended at a screen door. Beyond it lay the strip of sand behind the palms, out of sight of the linens. Kylie stopped with her hand on the latch. She had made it. She had not seen Arianna. The vow moment was safe. Then she heard footsteps on the sand ahead. She froze and shut her eyes. "Don't turn around," she said fast. "I can't see you yet." "I know." Arianna's voice, close, warm. "I came the same way. I didn't want to see you either." A pause. "We almost ruined it." They stood on opposite sides of the screen, backs to each other, both in red, both hidden. Kylie laughed once, quiet. "Go to the gate," she said. "I'll wait until you're set. Then I'll walk." "Guitar's tuned," Arianna said. "Kara's ready. Dr. Carter has the ring." Her footsteps moved off toward the water. "Sing your verse. I'll be looking at you the whole time." Kylie kept her eyes shut until the steps faded. Then she opened the screen door and stepped onto the sand alone. She walked to the gate with her back to the altar. When the guitar started, she would turn, and she would see Arianna for the first time. The wait was over. All that was left was the walk.