Chapter 425

Olivia

As I stood there, my eyes wide with amazement, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

The Council building’s banquet hall had been turned into something out of a fairytale, with twinkling fairy lights, flickering candles, and an array of delicious pastries and champagne. I was completely taken aback, staring in wonder as I tried to figure out how Nathan had somehow pulled all of this together in the short span of just a couple of hours.

“How did you manage all of this?” I asked, turning to face him. “It’s incredible.”

Nathan grinned, his blue-green eyes twinkling with mischief. “Maybe you should ask Kylie, not me.”

Before I could even process his response, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. I turned on my heel to see Kylie, our wedding planner, standing there with a warm smile. “Surprise!” she exclaimed with a grin stretched from ear to ear.

I couldn’t help but pull her into a tight hug. “Kylie, this is all so perfect,” I said. “"But how did you do all of this last minute?”

“Well, it was a bit of a whirlwind,” she said as we pulled apart, “but when the wedding decorations were mistakenly delivered to the park when you were doing festival preparations, Nathan had them sent to the Council building’s storage house to safe keeping. So, I rallied together a few people, and we worked our magic to make this happen.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. As it turned out, the decorations that had caused so much chaos had been waiting here for this the whole time. Thanks to Nathan’s quick thinking on that day, we now got to use the decorations we had originally picked out.

“Kylie, you’re incredible,” I said, turning to face Nathan as well. “Both of you. Really, I can’t thank you enough.”

Kylie beamed back at me. “I know it’s not exactly what we originally had planned, but I hope you still love it.”

“Of course I love it!” I said as I looked around at all of the beautiful decorations. The banquet hall was already filled with excited guests, who were milling around with champagne glasses, dancing to the music that was playing over the speakers, and chatting happily.

“You’re sure?” Nathan asked, placing his hand on my shoulder.

I nodded vehemently. “This is perfect,” I said. “Even better than the wedding we originally had planned.”

“Well,” Nathan said, shooting me a wink, “the night has only just begun, my love.”

I blushed at Nathan’s words. Kylie, with one last smile, slipped away into the crowd. The emotions overwhelmed me, and I turned to face Nathan, tears of happiness in my eyes. I didn’t know how to express my gratitude and love for him. He had been instrumental in turning this impromptu wedding into the most perfect night, and words couldn’t even begin to describe how I felt.

“I love you so much,” I whispered.

Nathan’s gaze was filled with adoration as he leaned in to kiss me. “I love you too, Olivia.”

As we pulled away, I couldn’t keep myself from gawking at the delicious spread of food and champagne that awaited us. The long buffet table was covered in a delicious array of pastries, from miniature red velvet cupcakes with white frosting to powdered pan au chocolats and bubbling champagne. For someone with a sweet tooth such as myself, it was like heaven.

But I couldn’t help but wonder where all of this had come from. The decorations were one thing, but all of this food in such a short amount of time? How was it even possible?

“Who did all of the food and champagne?” I asked, my stomach growling already in anticipation as I looked at the food.

“Who do you think?” Nathan asked with a grin.

My eyes widened ever so slightly as I looked over to finally see the culprits, who were emerging from a back room with even more trays of cupcakes and their aprons dusted with powdered sugar.

It was Petunia and James.

“It was them?” I asked, turning to look at Nathan. “But how?”

Nathan shrugged, his grin as unwavering as ever. “Why don’t you ask them?” he said, giving me a nudge forward.

Without a second thought, I rushed over to meet Petunia and James, who were now carefully placing the cupcakes onto the table.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that all of the cupcakes were adorned with tiny white sprinkles in the shape of snowflakes, and all of the powdered sugar on the other pastries seemed to resemble a fresh coat of snow. It was amazing; even without the snowy wedding I had hoped for, the food and the decorations made the setting feel as wintery as ever.

When Petunia and James saw me coming, they both set down their trays and grinned at me, waving almost in unison.

“If it isn’t the blushing bride,” James said.

“Oh, Olivia, you look stunning tonight,” Petunia said. “I hope this is the wedding of your dreams.”

I couldn’t help but beam back at them. “It is,” I said, “and I owe a large part of it to you, it seems. How did you do all of this? And why?”

James and Petunia exchanged excited glances before Petunia turned to grin at me, taking my hands in hers. Her fingers were a bit sticky with sugar, but I didn’t mind. “Well, darling, your apprenticeship and photoshoot did wonders for our business. We wanted to do something special for you.”

“And neither of us can ever resist a good wedding,” James added with a chuckle.

“But how?” I asked as I glanced back and forth between the two of them. “This is such short notice, and it’s so much food.”

Petunia laughed. “Oh, this is nothing,” she said, turning to James. “Remember that catering event three years ago?”

“How could I forget?” James said. “We baked a thousand cookies in the span of one afternoon for a last minute event. So a few trays of pastries, many of which we already had prepped and ready for the ovens, is nothing. Although, it’s no easy feat stopping Petunia here from helping herself to the sweets.”

“Hey!” Petunia scolded, punching her brother in the arm. “Don’t act like you don’t sneak the cakes when you think I’m not looking! Your growing belly is a dead giveaway, dear brother.”

Their banter made me giggle, and I threw my arms around both of them, pulling them both in for a hug. “Thank you both so much,” I said. “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to make it up to you, but I promise I’ll do whatever you ask.”

James grinned mischievously as we pulled away from the hug, and exchanged glances with his sister. “How about helping the other businesses around town, just like you did with us?” he asked. “You’re the official Luna now. It’s clear that your influence reaches far and wide.”

I blushed at James’ words and shot a glance at Nathan, who was standing nearby with a grin on his face and halfway through a chocolate chip cookie that he had taken during the conversation. It was then that a sudden realization dawned on me; I had suggested the idea of creating a business pamphlet to help the local businesses earlier.

Now, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a real difference.

Nathan winked at me, as if reading my thoughts. “You could make a real impact, Olivia,” he said through a mouthful of his cookie.

I nodded, realizing that he was right; I could make a real impact.

But now wasn’t the time to be thinking about work. Now was the time to enjoy this wonderful wedding, surrounded by my friends, my pack, and the love of my life.

And as I turned to look around at everyone who meant so much to me, I felt like the luckiest woman in the entire world.