The day had finally arrived. The day that she’d been planning for this entire past year. It was finally Olivia’s wedding day. 

I’ll admit, as we pulled up, the venue looked absolutely stunning. It wasn’t quite the castle she told me she’d wanted when she was 5 but it was still pretty nice. Inside was just as nice. It wasn’t fully set up yet, me and Anna got their early because, and this is gonna sound weird but it’s so cool, I was chosen by Olivia to be her Man of Honour. It’s basically the Maid of Honour but for a guy. I never got too close to Matthew, neither did any of Olivia’s other mates so his entire best man selection is made from people that I, personally, have never seen before. Thankfully, I know all of Olivia’s bridesmaids. There’s me as the Man of Honour, Anna as a bridesmaid, Jess as another bridesmaid (she’s a close friend of Olivia’s who she met at uni) and Emily – Patrick’s ex – as the final bridesmaid.  

“Sam!” Olivia looked great even though she wasn’t in her dress yet. She wrapped her arms around me and Anna and gave us a collective hug. “It’s today!” She shrieked down my ear, pretty much deafening me. 

“Yeah, shame I won’t be able to hear any of the ceremony now.” I joked. She let go and her smile was like that of a kid given free reign in a toy shop. Matthew came up behind Olivia and kissed her neck. It was cute. “You ready?” He asked all three of us. 

“Yeah, I can’t wait.” Liv turned around and kissed her fiancé. I looked at Anna as they put on a bit of a show and we both shared the same expression. It was in that moment that I was reminded why it was Anna I loved and not Olivia. She’s perfect for me. “Promise me we’ll never do this.” I whispered to her. “Promise.” I smiled as I continued to watch the soon to be newlyweds make out.  

Due to being the only man in a team of bridesmaids, I wasn’t allowed in to the actual dressing room – as you’d expect really. So we did our pre-ceremony prepping through a pretty flimsy wooden door. 

“So, do you have your vows?” 

“Yep.” 

“Ooo, nice. Did you write them yourself?” 

“Yeah, I’ve had them planned – like all of this – since I was 5.” I knew she had but I was trying to distract her with a bit of conversation before her big day. Keep away the wedding jitters. “Hey, girls, how’s her dress looking?” 

“Great, hun.” Anna called back. For a moment, I was taken away from Olivia’s wedding and I felt like I was at my own. With Anna behind that door, with an army of bridesmaids by her side helping her. A small smile came across my face and I didn’t realise it for a minute or two as I kept thinking about mine and Anna’s wedding. “Sam.” My name was called out and I got up. “Come in, I need my Man of Honour.” I smiled at the use of my title and headed inside. 

Behind the door was Olivia stood in the centre of the room in a truly magnificent, borderline fairytale white dress. It looked like something that a Disney princess would wear. “Wow.” I swallowed hard. “Okay, so that dress looks good.” I looked at Anna who was trying her hardest not to laugh at me. I gave her a playful look that told her to ‘shut it’ and we smiled at each other. “Sam, can I talk to you privately?” I snapped my attention back to Olivia. “Of course.” 

It was just me and her now. To think, if someone would’ve told me 7 years ago that I’d be standing across from Olivia on her wedding day, I’d have thought they meant as her groom. God, I’m so glad that isn’t the case.  

“What’s up? You’re not thinking of backing out are you?” I just wanted to get the biggest problem out of the way first. “No. God no.” Phew. Okay, anything else should be easy to deal with. “It was actually a question for you.” Oh no. This is so much worse. I am not prepared for— “Are you going to ask Anna to marry you?” That’s exactly what I wasn’t prepared for. Not because I don’t know the answer but because I’m super scared of how it might go. “Yeah. I am.” There was a brief silence then I cut back in before she responded, “But not today. Today and tomorrow are your days. Plus I need to buy a ring and plan a proposal and get her dad’s blessing and so much more, you know.” 

“You’re actually going to do it?” Of course, out of everything I just said, that’s what she focuses on. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I am.” I got a smile back from Olivia as I told her about my plans. We shared the smile for a moment before she laughed and broke it. “What?” 

“I was just thinking about today. This could’ve been us. Imagine that.” I laughed with her at the notion. “Yeah, imagine that.”  I don’t know how she took that. The way I said it was quite ambiguous and open to interpretation. I didn’t mean for it to be suggestive of us giving it a try or me still having feelings for her. I was simply going with the ridiculousness of the idea. “I love her, you know.” I said softly. I was looking at Olivia but I couldn’t help but picture Anna in her place. “I know you do because you look at her the same way you looked at me when we were in college.” She was right. She was dead right. I had loved Olivia, but now I loved Anna. She was the only one for me. 

The ceremony started and I stood across from Matthew and his friends. It was a weird feeling but I didn’t have to experience it for long. Olivia began walking down the aisle and then things started for real. The officiant began reading their script and not long after Olivia Roberts became Olivia Wilson and they made their way out of the building as a newlywed couple. 

Anna and I stood together as the happy couple drove off and she leant her head on me. I couldn’t help but smile. “You okay?” 

“Just thinking about us.” She responded. I had a feeling that was the case but it was nice to have confirmation. “Do you ever see us driving off after getting married?” I froze for a second and literally choked. I quickly regained my composure. I was quite smooth about it all. “I mean, yeah. I love you. I’m pretty sure you love me. I can’t wait to marry you someday.” I turned and looked at Anna. She seemed happy enough with that. I leant in and finished a great day with a great kiss, with my perfect person.