The days ticked by slowly until the wedding and Colin had hardly seen Penelope in that time. His mother had kept him busy with seemingly endless jobs in preparation. He supposed Mrs Featherington had probably done the same with Penelope.
The brief moments they had caught with each other, showed she was just as stressed as he was. He had even noticed a bite mark on her arm, barely peeking out from underneath one of the sleeves of her dress. He hadn't had a chance to ask her about it, but with all Mrs Featherington's constant nagging and fussing over her, he assumed Penelope had maybe bit herself to hold back a scream toward her mother. He smiled at the somewhat amusing mental image.
He wanted to grab her in his arms and hold her tight to him, but he could not. Not yet anyway. 'Endure it just a little longer, Pen. And I will too', he thought wistfully to himself as he watched her being ushered away by Mrs. Featherington.
When the wedding finally came, it was a beautiful day. The church was filled with people, but he honestly couldn't remember the faces in the crowd; he just remembered Pen's. Her silhouette framed in beams of sunlight as she walked slowly down the aisle toward him. Flowers in her loose red curls, done up one side and left to cascade down her chest the other. Her dress was elegant and flowing, trailing behind her. And once she joined him at the altar, her golden brown eyes enchanted him and swallowed him whole. He found the feeling so powerful he hardly knew what to do with himself.
She must have sensed it, as her hand reached up to cup his cheek. A slight look of concern danced across her face, her eyes searching his.
"Y- You're beautiful" he managed to whisper, in awe.
The concern she had, morphed instantly into relief and then settled upon joy, "Thank you" she blushed. "So are you", she finished, her thumb wiping away a tear from his cheek that he had not even realised had fallen.
He took her hand, leaning into its warmth against his cheek, before kissing it and lowering it to rest; still clasped between them.
The vicar led the rest of the ceremony without issue. Although it did seem a rather long time to Colin until they could finally get to the "I do's". When they did, Colin couldn't stop himself from grabbing her around the waist and capturing her lips in his. Her body pressed tightly against his, his hand gripping at her dress in earnest.
The crowd cheered, the room stood to congratulate them, joy palpable in the air. Colin released her from their kiss, and he was proud to see her cheeks flushed in pink but grinning from ear to ear.
He took her hand as they faced the crowd. Both grinning, they looked at each other, golden brown met emerald green "I love you, Pen"
"I love you, too. Always have."
As he led her down the aisle, hand in hand through the crowd, he couldn't help but marvel at how lucky he was.