Chapter 30:

Opening my eyes wide, I carefully apply mascara to my lashes, inadvertently opening my mouth at the same time. He’d chuckle at me if he saw me, he always teases me for that. It’s alright for him. He’s gorgeous without make up, I have to make the special effort.

Taking a step back from the mirror, I scan my reflection. I’m wearing a lilac coloured dress, made out of delicate lace material. I spent a while finding heels to match, and have carefully curled my hair, gathering it up into an elegant sort of knot with ringlets escaping. The overall effect is very girly and pretty, I like it a lot.

Turning, I hear a little gurgle from behind me, and smile. On the bed, lies my beautiful little girl, dressed in a dress that exactly matches mine, though I haven’t got her her own heels. My daughter seems to have an aversion to shoes. It doesn’t take long for her to hurl them to the floor, giggling merrily.

I go over and lift Flora up into my arms, cuddling her to me. She giggles again, waving her little arms about, tugging one of my curls. She’s probably the happiest little baby in the world, she rarely stops smiling and chuckling.

‘Who looks gorgeous today, then, huh?’ I coo to her, reaching down to rub my nose against her little one. ‘Who’s my beautiful little baby girl?’

She giggles again, reaching out and touching my nose with a little starfish hand.

‘Er, Flick?’ comes a cautious voice from the other side of the hotel room. ‘I think we’ve got a problem.’

I look up. Popping her gently back down to lie safely on the bed, I head over, my heels making walking across the carpet feel far more bad ass than it is.

Poking my head around the corner, I’m treated to a sight that makes me immediately burst out laughing.

Teddy looks at me mournfully. He’s wearing a white blouse, which is far, far too small for him. He can’t even get it done up, and it’s strained over his shoulders, putting him into a ridiculously awkward pose. It comes to his ribs, and flutters awkwardly around there.

‘Wow, you’re looking sexy today,’ I say, when I’ve stopped laughing, going over to him. He puts his arms instinctively at my waist, kissing me briefly, before running his eyes over me.

‘Wow, Flick, you look stunning,’ he comments, one hand tracing the curve of my waist.

I grin at him. ‘Er, Teds?’

‘Yes?’ he replies. I notice that he even looks gorgeous in this ridiculous shirt, still managing to pull it off.

‘What on earth are you wearing?’ I inquire.

He begins to pull it off, struggling to get it off his arms. I go behind him and tug it off for him. ‘Um, I think it might be your white blouse,’ he says, sheepishly.

I rest one hand on his bare back, feeling the muscles beneath, and lightly trace a heart with one fingertip. Then, I look at his shirt. Or, should I say, my blouse.

It definitely is mine. I giggle, as he turns to look at me. ‘Um, babe, how did you manage to bring this along?’

He shakes his head. ‘God, I don’t know!’ he says, a little smile on his face. ‘I just quickly got what I thought was my shirt from the ironing pile yesterday night. I didn’t think to check.’

I can’t help but laugh. ‘Oh Teddy. Only you,’ I tell him teasingly, reaching up to ruffle his hair.

‘I don’t have another shirt,’ he replies. ‘I just have that plaid one I wore last night, but I can’t wear that to a wedding.’

I bite my lip. ‘Oh dear. I didn’t think of that.’

He crinkles his nose. ‘What are we going to do?’

I glance at my watch. ‘Well, as much as I’m sure Raina would love to see your naked torso, I don’t think Isaac would appreciate it,’ I reply.

He smiles at that, but looks a little worried still.  ‘We have time to go out and get you a new shirt,’ I reassure him. ‘We might be cutting it fine, but we can do it.’

‘You’re sure?’

I nod. ‘Come on.’

Teddy pulls on last night’s shirt, and follows me out. I stop to pick up Flora, deciding I’ll just carry her. A quick search on Teddy’s smartphone directs us to a shopping centre only a five minute walk away, so we head out of the hotel, power walking there through the streets to get there. He carries Flora for me, and she thoroughly enjoys being in her daddy’s arms, fiddling with the collar of his shirt and making happy noises.

We go straight into the first clothing shop we see, only to realise there are no male outfits in there at all. As we go into the next, however, we have a bit more luck.

There’s an enormous rack of different coloured shirts. But no white.

‘We’re not having the best of luck, are we?’ Teddy comments, clutching Flora as I sort through them quickly.

I shake my head, picking out the few ones which are his size and not garishly coloured. I think I actually saw a bright orange and green tie dye shirt there.

I pass Teddy the armful. ‘Go try them on,’ I tell him, taking Flora and pointing out the fitting room. ‘We’ll wait out here to see them.’

Teddy grins at me. ‘Do you want me to do a fashion show?’ he asks, laughingly.

‘Definitely,’ I tell him, cradling Flora’s soft little head as I follow him over.

I sit down on a chair, Flora comfortably settled in my lap, waiting for Teddy to emerge from the fitting room.

It’ll be fine, I reassure myself. Teddy and I have just about enough time to get to Raina and Isaac’s wedding. Flora and I are bridesmaids: Raina told me she had to have her best friend and her goddaughter at her wedding.

It’s been a while coming. Raina and Isaac have been living together since they left university, and have been engaged for almost as long. According to Raina, Isaac was the one who kept pestering her to get married, but she wasn’t sure. I think she was scared she’d go from marriage to motherhood within months.

That’s not what happened with Teddy and I. Like Raina and Isaac, we lived together as soon as we had the money to pay for rent for a little apartment, and, after we turned 25, Teddy proposed. We got married not long after, and, a year and a half later, little Flora arrived.

Teddy emerges from the fitting room, clad in a striped shirt. He models it rather attractively, striking a seductive pose in it. Flora gurgles appreciatively.

‘Bit big, I think,’ I comment. ‘But you look gorgeous anyway,’ I add, with a wink in his direction.

Teddy nods. ‘I agree.’ Then he frowns. ‘Not about the looking gorgeous part!’ he adds, hastily. ‘The big bit. I’ll try another.’

‘Okay,’ I say, readjusting Flora in my lap. ‘We haven’t got long, though!’

He grins. ‘I’ll be super fast.’

He is. Emerging in a lilac coloured shirt, he tilts his head at me, a little idiosyncrasy Flora seems to be picking up from him. ‘What d’you think?’

I smile at him. ‘That looks like the perfect colour to match us,’ I say, going over to get a closer look, and then looking up into his face. ‘What do you say to us all coordinating?’

He chuckles. ‘Cheesy, but I like it.’ He looks at Flora , tapping her on the nose. ‘What do you think, little miss?’

She gurgles at him. He glances at me. ‘I think that’s a yes, Flick.’

I kiss him on the cheek. ‘You get changed then, and we can make it in time.’

And we do. Just.

Teddy goes on to the church after dropping us off at the appointed meeting place, where Raina is going to travel to the church with all her bridesmaids. There aren’t many of us- just me, Flora , and some of her friends from university and her job. We’re all wearing lilac, and they all instantly crowd around Flora , exclaiming over her pretty little dress.

Raina looks stunning, in a simple white dress, with her long hair plaited up into an elegant sort of bun. Her make up is simple, emphasising her natural beauty, and her radiance. Any doubts she may have had about marriage you can see are now absolutely vanished.

Before long, we’re following her down the aisle, Flora in my arms, waving at Teddy as soon as she recognises him. Isaac is beaming at the front, looking dapper in a suit and tie, and this instantly reminds me of my own wedding day. I was over the moon to be walking down the aisle to my best friend, who looked so stunning I could barely catch my breath.

That day was the start of our new life together. It was everything I could have dreamed of.

Basically, all my dreams have come true. It sounds silly, but I just can’t imagine being more content.

After the walk down the aisle, I slip into the pew next to Teddy, who’s sat at the front, with a little bag of toys to hopefully keep Flora from giggling throughout the service.

Weddings are just so lovely, I think, as Teddy cuddles Flora to him next to me, his arm resting against mine. I glance at him, marvelling at how gorgeous he looks. Since we first got together, he’s cut his hair shorter, his jaw line has got stronger, and he’s a bit more muscled now, but that beauty he’s always had has stayed with him. He even did a little modelling to help get him through university, but, though I thought he could most likely make a career out of it, he said he didn’t like it. I think it made him a little self conscious; he truly doesn’t realise how amazingly stunning he is. Even though he turns heads wherever he goes, he seems to only have eyes for me. I’m still trying to get used to that.

Our life has been everything we could have wanted so far. Before Flora came along, I had been working as a primary school teacher, but, now that she‘s here, I‘ve been working from home, writing various articles for various magazines, which I love. Teddy himself does sport journalism, working flexible hours so we can spend a lot of time together, and still coaches tennis, saying he loves it too much to give it up.

My mum and dad absolutely love their little granddaughter. My dad especially is always round our house to give her cuddles and chat to Teddy about various sporting events. I still love the fact that Teddy and I have our own little home together, with a little room for Flora too. It felt homely and cosy as soon as we moved in. We filled the house with photo frames, each photo a memory of our life together. And now that Flora’s here, there are even more.

Speaking of family, things don’t seem to be going so well for Amelia. I don’t see her all that often, to be honest. She has a job that pays well, working in an office doing something or other, which sounds completely boring to me, but what do I know. However, her relationships have gone down hill. She was on and off with various boys for years, but recently admitted to me that her love life now consists of one night stands. I didn’t know what to say to that. I couldn’t imagine having that as my life, but, when I tried to offer advice, suggesting as kindly as I could that perhaps she shouldn’t go to clubs wearing barely anything, looking for someone to spend the night with, she told me I didn’t understand and left. I feel bad, but Teddy says there’s nothing I can do. I just hope she can find someone who fits her as well as Teddy fits me, because nothing makes me happier than he does. I resolve to contact her after the wedding, and have another go and chatting things over. It’s worth a try, no?

As Raina and Isaac take their vows, I smile to think how happy those two make each other. Ever since that year they got together, those two have been so in love. They’ve had the odd argument, one heated one resulting in a break up which involved Raina locking herself in the bathroom of mine and teddy’s apartment and crying for about three hours, but ended up with the pair of them getting back together only a day later, but over all, they’ve been so, so happy it’s been a delight to watch them grow together.

I tear up as they both say I do. Teddy chuckles softly beside me, and reaches up, using the pad of his thumb to delicately brush the few tears trickling down my face away. I smile at him.

‘You may now kiss the bride,’ pronounces the vicar.

Giving his new wife a devilish look, Isaac slides his arms around her, bends her back slightly, and does just that.

Before long, we’re all out taking photos in the sunshine, one picture taken of our little family with the new Mr and Mrs Herring. Flora is a born model already, her dark eyes alight with a gorgeous grin. She’s as photogenic as her father, it would seem.

Raina holds out her arms to take her a bit later, so Teddy and I step back, resting under the shade of a beautiful leafy tree as the couple pose with our little baby, who completely steals the show with her hilarious expressions.

Teddy wraps his arms around me from the behind, bending his head over me shoulder and pressing a kiss to the bare skin there.

I reach up to stroke the top of his head lightly, as Flora breaks out into a gorgeous chubby cheeked smile. ‘Look at our beautiful little girl,’ I sigh. ‘Modelling already, the little pickle.’

Teddy smiles against my skin. ‘She’s perfect, isn’t she?’

I nod. ‘Absolutely.’

‘Like you,’ he teases.

I turn round, slotting into his arms, sliding my hands around his neck. ‘Says you, Mr Perfect Piper.’

He laughs. ‘I prefer Mrs Perfect Piper,’ he replies cheekily. Mrs Piper. I’ve never tired of being called that, and he still loves calling me it. Bless him.

I reach up and capture his lips with mine. He bends me back over romantically, cradling my head with one of his hands. A flash of light alerts us both suddenly to the fact that the photographer has spun to take a picture of the pair of us kissing, and I flush a little, as Raina and Isaac laugh, the latter reaching to cover over our little Flora’s eyes.

‘Can’t let your daughter see that scandalous PDA,’ Isaac calls, making Teddy and I chuckle.

‘True, true,’ he replies. ‘But I’d definitely like a copy of that photo,’ he tells the photographer, who nods, laughing too. And, a few weeks later, as I hang the now framed photo above our bed, next to one of us on our wedding day, another of us together with Flora when she was only a few minutes old, I glance at the last photo. It’s Teddy and I before we got together, when I was crazily in love with him, and wondering if I imagined the sparks between us.

Turns out I didn’t imagine them. It turns out that following those sparks was the best choice I ever made. I thank my lucky stars every day that I followed the sparks, that I told Teddy how I felt. It paid off, big time.

Teddy chuckles from behind me. ‘Lovely,’ he says. ‘Can we recreate it now?’

I giggle, spinning to fling my arms around his neck. ‘Definitely,’ I tell him, and, our lips merging in a way that’s now so familiar it feels a part of me, I feel those same sparks I followed explode within me, all thanks to my very best friend. I’m the luckiest girl in the world, and I love him more than words can say. Thank goodness for those sparks.

A/N: PLEASE READ THIS! :D

First of all, thank you SO much for sticking through Follow the Sparks with me, I feel like we've been through the demise of Booksie during this story! A LOT of people have left, and I was expecting to be left with no readers at all, but you guys have completely BLOWN me away with your support; my comment count actually went up a few times! I am SO thrilled that you're all still here, even if you're a silent reader who I know nothing about, and as for those of you who comment, I love you all SOOOOOO much, you are amazing and I cannot believe how inspiring and brilliant your comments are. So thank you.

SECONDLY, as many of you know, I am off to university this week, so that's going to be a huge change!!! I am COMPLETELY terrified! However, I'm still planning to carry on writing, but the whole settling in and (hopefully!) making new friends may take a while to adjust to, so it was hard to decide what to post next. Here was my dilemma- I'm at Chapter Eight of a new novel, but I like to be REALLY ahead with my stories. It's kind of OCDish, I think! So I was feeling pretty pressured to write it all, and therefore, decided to post another story, called The Fairest Stars. I wrote this story over a year ago, in four weeks, and it's kind of my baby. I don't know why, but I really connected with the characters, and I feel like they're a part of me, almost, and so I've been really reluctant to post it (hence why it's only now that I've even mentioned it!) However, in posting this, I can write my new story with a bit more room to relax, and that way I know I won't pull out of it, or anything, because it's already written. So, I would LOVE you to read this new story when I post, as it means a lot more to me than my other novels, I feel like it's the one I'm proudest of, and putting it up will be a huge wrench for me!

So, thank you once again, I love you all, and take care!

(ooh, also, I was thinking of doing some kind of giveaway when I reach the big milestone I've been getting closer to on tumblr, would any of you guys be interested in joining in if I made it available to twitter followers and booksie fans too? Just a reaaally vague idea at the moment, no idea if it's actually feasible, but I just want to thank you for being there for me in some way! Let me know! )

Much love, Maddie xoxo