Not My Type: Felicity Ch. 05

Just as I was about to reach out and touch his sleeve, Mrs. Tanner swooped in and herded the bride, groom, and wedding party into a waiting limousine.

I pulled my hand back, disappointed and bereft. The other guests began to disperse, climbing to their own vehicles, leaving me alone and unsure on the front steps of St. Andrews.

"Are you lost?" asked a voice over my shoulder. I turned around to find Reverend Nate smiling at me.

"A little," I admitted. "I've never been to a wedding before. Now what?"

Nate's brown eyes sparkled. "Now we party. You are coming to the reception aren't you?"

"I guess so."

Nate swept down the church stairs and took my arm. "Of course you are," he reassured me. "It'll give you a chance to kick back, relax, and dance your pretty little feet off."

His enthusiasm was contagious.

"I've just got to change and lock up," he said as he led me back inside. "And seeing as we've been abandoned by a certain bridesmaid and a certain groomsman, we can carpool out to the farm together if you want."

"Won't we be late?" I asked as Nate sat me in the front pew.

"Nah. The wedding party has snuck off to do pictures with photographer. They'll be at least an hour, if not more. Adam assured me there would be appetizers and entertainment to keep everyone busy in the interim."

Nate slipped into the vestry, only to appear minutes later in khaki dress pants and a pale blue shirt. He fumbled with his tie as he crossed to meet me.

"Presentable?" he asked as he held out his arms so I could inspect him.

"I think a certain bridesmaid would approve." The way his face changed at the mere thought of Adele was adorable.

I followed him through the church as he closed windows and tidied pews. Then he held open the door for me. I waited as he locked up behind us.

Only Nate's car and my truck remained in the parking lot.

"Yours or mine?"

Nate chuckled. "Better take mine. I loaded up the guitar and a few other things I might need earlier."

"So what's the equipment for?" I asked as we settled into his car and began the drive out to the Tanner's farm. "Are you playing the guitar for us tonight?"

He grinned over at me. "Perhaps... you never know. I like to be prepared. Actually, Adam's asked me to play the piano for his first dance with Lilly, as a surprise for her."

"Really?" I sighed. "That's so sweet. What are you going to play?"

Nate wiggled his eyebrows. "So glad you asked."

A CD stuck out of the player on the dashboard. He pushed it in and hit a few buttons. I laughed as a familiar melody filled the small car.

"Simon and Garfunkel? Adam doesn't seem the type."

Nate's laughter joined mine. "How well do you know it?"

"Every word," I admitted with a shy smile. "I love this song."

"Will you sing it with me tonight?"

I gasped and looked over, hoping to find that Nate was joking. "In front of everybody?"

"Yes, in front of everybody. Lilly would love it. It could be your gift to her and Adam."

I bit my bottom lip as I thought it over.

"You're ready, Flick." His voice was like a gentle nudge. "You have an amazing voice. You should share it."

It would be nice to do something for Lilly and Adam on their wedding day in return for their kindness in welcoming me into the fold. Besides, I just realized I hadn't bought them a gift, not that I could afford one even if I had remembered. My voice would have to be gift enough.

"Can we practice it once or twice?" I asked before I chickened out completely.

"Sure." Nate hit the 'back' button on the CD player and the old tune began again.

We got to sing the song four more times before we rounded the familiar bend near the Tanner farm. With every run-through I felt my confidence grow. Nate gave me a few little tips, but he mostly had nothing but praise for my fledgling attempts.

Cars lined the roads and laneway down to the farm. After we found an empty spot and parked, Nate grabbed his guitar and as we ambled down the lane he regaled me with the tale of Rhiannon and Joe's shotgun wedding a little more than a year earlier.

A huge white tent took up a large portion of the Tanner's yard. Pastel coloured paper lanterns hung from the trees as white clad tables and chairs spilled out from the tent onto the lawn. Music floated up to greet us and there were flowers everywhere—lush beds of pinks and purples bordered the house and the tree-line and huge bouquets graced the tables. We had walked into in the most enchanting garden in the world.

Guests mingled and clutched elegant flutes of pale pink champagne while servers moved through the crowd with trays laden with appetizers.

Nate whistled under his breath.

"It's beautiful," I said as I took it all in.

"Wait until you see it lit up after dark. I was here last night while they were setting up and it's spectacular. It'll be like dancing surrounded by little pink moons."

I followed Reverend Nate as we wound our way through the crowd to the tent. A five-piece band was set up on a small stage in one corner beside the parquet dance floor. In between songs the piano player acknowledged Nate with a wave.

"Friends?" I asked as the Reverend stashed his guitar behind the stage.

He gestured towards the pianist. "Doug and I went to university together back in Toronto. Imagine my surprise to find he was living here on the Island. I'll introduce you to the band later, when they're taking a break. Want to mingle?"

I hesitated. "I don't know anyone."

Nate waved that fact off. "Neither do I. So let's go meet them."

I followed him like a puppy around the tent and out across the lawn. I didn't need to worry about approaching people; they all flocked to Nate to compliment him on his officiating. I wasn't used to interacting with people in a social sense, but standing with him made it easier. He wove me into conversations, introducing me each time as a dear friend of the Tanner siblings, which was sweet of him.

I did my best to make small talk and it got easier as the afternoon waned. I was just getting into the swing of it when Doug, the bandleader, ended the last song with a flourish.

"I've just been told that the bride and groom have arrived," he announced. "So if everyone could please find his or her seat."

"I believe you're sitting at the same table as me," Nate murmured. "I'm pretty sure I saw your place card there last night."

I found myself seated at a table for four with Reverend Nate and Matt's parents.

Gerard Tanner I'd met before. He stopped into the garage sometimes for parts or to talk to Matt. I quite liked the large farmer. He radiated quiet strength and like Joe, he only spoke when he had something important to say.

Matt's mother Pat however, was a stranger to me. I would have known who she was though, even from across the room. Her dimples were the same as Matt's, her hair the same rich auburn. She hugged me before we sat down and within the first few minutes made me feel as if I'd known her all my life.

There was a little fanfare from the band and then the doors of the Tanner's yellow farmhouse opened and the wedding party poured out.

Chuck and Rhiannon came first, arm in arm, followed by Matt and Adele. As Best Man and Maid-of-Honour Joe and Violet were second-to-last to arrive. Everyone stood and cheered as Doug announced Mr. and Mrs. Adam and Lilly Brooks for the first time.

Pat Tanner applauded loudly, practically bouncing up and down with love and joy as her children filed to the head table and took their seats. It made me wonder if my mom would have been that proud to me. She died when I was only four and all I had were vague impressions of her, like the way she smelled of vanilla and the sound of her voice when she sang me to sleep.

There were a few pictures of my mother in an old photo album, but none displayed around the house. She'd been petite, pale-skinned and dark-haired, with ice blue eyes. I looked like her, but really that was all I knew. Dad wouldn't talk about her and I learned early on not to ask. I would have been happy to know she was half as nice as Matt's mom.

I shook myself from my reverie as Reverend Nate cleared his throat and said the blessing. He bade us to sit and as we did so an army of servers appeared with our food.

Luckily the eruption of chatter drowned out the sound of my rumbling stomach. I'd missed having lunch, but it didn't take me long to figure out that it was just as well that I did. Apparently when the groom is a three-star chef at the best restaurant on the Island, the food is guaranteed to be fantastic. And plentiful.

It seemed like the courses would never stop coming -- each one more exquisite than the next. I sometimes felt Matt looking at me, but every time I glanced in his direction, he'd avert his eyes elsewhere. It got to the point where it became a game and I had to keep from laughing every time we missed making eye contact.

The post-dinner coffee and tea was being served when Joe came to his feet and lumbered over to the microphone on stage. He waited for the guests to quiet and then began.

"So I was told that the Best Man is supposed to say somethin' at these things," he said in his deep, relaxed voice. "I can't promise much for my speech-makin' abilities, except that you know I'll keep this short."

The guests laughed. I gathered most of them knew Joe Tanner and I doubt a single one of them, save Rhiannon, had ever heard him speak more than six words at a time.

"I didn't like Adam the first time I met him," Joe confessed to renewed laughter. "He was too cocky and too good-lookin' and I caught him with his tattooed hands all over my sister." Laughter broke out again and Lilly's cheeks turned pink. "On that day I never woulda guessed that someday I'd be standin' here, doin' this."

A server breezed by with a tray of champagne flutes and Joe reached down and more gently than I would have thought possible for someone with such large hands, plucked himself one of the delicate stems of bubbling beverage.

"But I guess I learned my lesson... more than one, actually. I learned that first impressions aren't always right, but more importantly, I learned that little sisters always are."

Joe paused as a wave of laughter filled the tent. At the head table Lilly smirked at her big brother.

"As it turns out," Joe continued. "Brooks ain't such a bad guy. He brought a change to Lilly and this family that was for the better and I doubt we'll ever be able to truly thank him for that. Now that I have a wife and a family of my own, I can appreciate the gift that he's been to my sister. He got the second-best woman on the whole Island..." Joe winked at Rhiannon. "And I know that he'll treat her right."

Joe glanced over at his new brother-in-law, no longer an adversary but a friend.

"Cause if he doesn't, he'll have to deal with me."

It wasn't really a threat, not when Joe chuckled as he said it, but I knew he meant it nonetheless. So did Adam, who nodded a promise to his brother-in-law through his own laughter.

Joe held up his champagne glass to the couple.

"To Lilly and Adam. Long may they live. Long may they laugh. Long may they love."

The guests burst into a chorus of well wishes, none louder than Pat Tanner.

Joe moved back to his seat, but as he passed Lilly and Adam the two jumped up and hugged the big man. Joe looked as shocked as anyone else at the show of affection but he embraced the newlyweds heartily with a deep rumble of laughter.

I was so wrapped up in the touching display that I didn't notice that Nate had risen up until he bent down to whisper, "Ready? That's our cue."

He had me by the elbow and up on the small stage in the corner of the tent before I could even think of being nervous.

"Piece of cake, Flick," he said as we took our places—him at the baby grand piano and me at the microphone. "Keep your head up, sing to the back corner, and don't forget to breathe." Then he added. "You don't have to look at them if you don't want to."

Lilly had always maintained she planned a small wedding, but standing there looking down at the sea of guests, it certainly didn't feel that way.

I clasped my shaking hands in front of me and tried to remember Nate's breathing techniques.

"Oh, and Flick?" Nate whispered at my elbow. "I know it's not what we practiced, but I'm just going to take the harmony. You sing the rest."

I whirled around to argue, but he'd already begun to play the opening chords. My body tensed as I realized the only option left for me was to sing.

Adam pulled a surprised Lilly to her feet and onto the dance floor. Her face lit up as she recognized the song Adam had chosen for them. I began to sing just as Adam took his wife into his arms and together the couple began to dance.

"When you're weary, feeling small, When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all..."

It was easier to keep my eyes on the dancing newlyweds than the rest of the crowd. They both grinned at me as they whirled past the stage. After their show of encouragement, I brushed aside my nervousness and let my voice soar.

My eyes flickered over the tent full of guests spread out before me, surprised to see that everyone was smiling back at me. Pat and Gerard Tanner both had grins for me as I made eye contact with them -- Gerard's was shy and sweet, while Pat's was brightly, maternally encouraging.

After a while I dared to glance over at the head table where Matt sat with Adele, Rhiannon, and his siblings. Rhiannon grinned in earnest, while Adele wiped a little tear from her cheek. Violet and Chuck had matching thumbs up for me. And then they all blended into background because I only had eyes for Matt.

The blank expression he sometimes wore and I always hated was nowhere in sight. All I saw was the smile I'd loved for three years. He winked at me and my heart leapt along with my voice as the song built to its crescendo.

"Sail on silver girl, sail on by, Your time has come to shine, All your dreams are on their way. See how they shine..."

I vaguely heard Nate's voice harmonizing with mine. All I had left to concern myself with was singing with everything I had in me to hit the last few notes.

The last strain of the piano coincided with the lingering vibrato in the back of my throat. Then there was nothing but complete silence. A wave of noise erupted as the guests stood and applauded. Their reaction left me stunned.

It was only when Lilly and Adam glided to a stop on the dance floor below and Lilly blew me a kiss that I was able to react. I beamed down at them.

Nate came to my side and leaned down to speak into the microphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Felicity Stewart."

The applause rose again but this time I had the presence of mind to give as much of a curtsey as my dress would allow. Nate bowed, taking credit for his part in the performance. Then as the band took their places and began to play he led me out onto the dance floor.

The wedding party had joined Lilly and Adam on the floor by then. Joe and Rhiannon whirled past me, followed by Chuck and Violet, both laughing to the music. I assumed Matt was dancing with Adele, but Reverend Nate kept turning me in circles and I couldn't see past his tall torso to the dancers beyond.

Other couples joined us on the floor. I got a, "That was lovely, dear," from Pat Tanner as she and Gerard spun past us.

I'd never done much dancing, but Nate obviously knew what he was doing. He kept me in constant motion as he twirled me around. Then with a gasp I found myself being released and swapped for a tall blonde bridesmaid in teal blue.

A strong arm banded around my waist and a wide, work-rough hand clasped mine. When I looked up again it wasn't into Reverend Nate's brotherly brown gaze, but an intense, beautiful blue.

"Matt," his name came out half gasp, half laugh. He held my one hand and I rested the other against his chest. Beneath his tuxedo's crisp fabric I felt his solid strength and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. We whirled about through the crowd and it felt like my feet hardly touched the ground.

"I am in awe of you," he said in a husky voice.

I did my version of the patented Tanner shoulder shrug. "I'm the same old Flick."

"Are you sure you're not that silver girl you just sang about?"

I was used to Matt teasing me, he'd been doing it for three years, but there was a deep, intimate quality to his voice I'd never heard before. I shivered in his arms.

"Would you rather I just 'sail on by'?" I flirted back, quoting the song. "Cause I could."

His hand tightened at my waist, his fingers so long against my torso that they curved halfway around my waist. Matt shook his auburn head. I expected him to smile, but he didn't. His gaze turned even more intense.

"I want you to stay right here."

Hope filled me so completely I couldn't keep from grinning up at him.

"If you insist."

Matt chuckled. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"What? Sing?"

His dimples creased his cheeks. "No, flirt."

"Oh, that," I said in a bright, offhand tone. "I learned by watching the Master. Either that or it's not me talking, it's the dress."

Matt's sapphire eyes flickered over my body. For a second I could have sworn his smile morphed from jovial to hungry. Or maybe I'd misread it.

"You do look beautiful," he admitted. "I knew you would."

I could have died right then and there. Every tortured moment of pining over Matt for the past three years had been worth it just to hear him say those words. I'd cherish this moment forever.

I was about to compliment him in return when the song ended, and like the couples around us, we came to a stop. The reverie broken, I looked over to see Adam and Lilly beside us.

"I'll trade you," Adam joked.

Matt laughed and eyed his sister with a facetious grimace. "Really? 'Cause I feel like we just got rid of her."

Adam chuckled. "Too bad." He grabbed my arm just as he pushed his bride towards Matt. "I'll give Flick back, I promise."

Lilly's laughter blended with the music as it started up again. Guests made their way around the dance floor; some had taken new partners while others decided to sit out this round of songs.

"Congratulations," I told Adam as he smiled down at me. The nervousness he'd shown before the wedding had fallen away, bringing back the confident, dashing man I had come to know.

"You were amazing up there," he said as he angled his dark head towards the stage. "I wasn't expecting it!"

"Nate talked me into it. He thought it would be a nice gift for you and Lilly."

Adam's smile morphed into a wistful one. "It was. Thank you."

"Can I ask you a question?"

Adam nodded.

"What did Joe whisper to you? You know, while you were standing at the altar and Lilly was coming down the aisle."

"I didn't think anyone noticed." His grin was broad and charming. "Joe leaned over and said: 'She's all yours.'"

Tears stung the corners of my eyes. "That was sweet."

"Seeing Lilly in that dress, with that smile... all for me." He shook his head as he relived the moment. "Knowing that she wanted to be with me, that she wanted to be my wife when she's the kindest, most beautiful thing in the world..." His voice thickened with emotion and I just smiled up at him as he took struggled to compose himself. His flirtatious, easy smile only took a moment to come back.

"Although, can I just say that you're looking pretty freakin' fantastic yourself?"

I don't quite know why, but a compliment coming from Adam Brooks didn't mean nearly as much as one coming from Matthew Tanner.

"Well, you know, I thought I'd make the effort, seeing as it's a special occasion and all." I giggled. "Plus, all my coveralls were in the wash."

Adam laughed. "Well this is definitely a nice change. Matt can't keep his eyes off you."