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“So? I’ve lived my whole life without rehearsing. I prefer it that way. Keeps things interesting.”
The wedding planners wouldn’t like that, but having Remington’s blessing to take my time meant no one would dare rush me to make up my mind.
I stood. “Thank you. I’ll let you know.”
He placed his hand on the doorknob and looked down, presenting me with his back. “You look gorgeous, by the way.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
“Fix your face before you go out there.”
He slipped out the door and I laughed.
Remington was the only one who didn’t care about impressing others. But he did care about me.
Everyone Just Calm Down!
The rehearsal was fun. More fun than anything else so far. We got to see the rooftop where the ceremony would be and, once we had everyone standing in their designated spots, I could finally envision our big day.
The turf on the roof was still soggy from the rain, but Quinn assured me it was nothing but blue skies until Saturday and everything would be dry in time for the ceremony.
After rehearsing we went to dinner and enjoyed another incredible meal. Elle seemed to finally start filling her role as maid of honor. She stayed by my side, listened to the advice of the planners, and was very helpful. I should have appreciated her efforts, but it all seemed too little too late, as if she was only stepping up because others were watching. I knew then, we were officially broken.
I also knew I didn’t want to process everything that meant until after the wedding, so I accepted it and put it away for another day. Smiling, I took her hand and squeezed. “Thank you.”
She paused as if taken off guard. “For?”
“Three decades of good memories.” It was more than most people got and I decided to be grateful for the good times we shared.
Her expression eased. “We did have fun, didn’t we?”
I laughed, thinking back to the keggers, breakouts, breakups, bad dates, sleepovers, dances, and all the other special memories. “A lot of fun.”
Maybe Elle was only meant to be a part of my earlier life. I wasn’t even mad about the things she said anymore. I was sad that that chapter of my life was coming to an end, sure, but not devastated. I had a new chapter to look forward to, now, and I couldn’t wait for the next adventure to begin.
I scanned the table, my gaze falling on Hale as he had a lively discussion with Noah about sports. There was my real best friend. And he was in his glory, surrounded by those he loved.
“Rayne, taste this.” My mom nudged her way between Elle and I and Elle took the interruption as a chance to return to Paul. “It’s made from passion fruit. I couldn’t even tell you what a passion fruit looks like.” She was tipsy, but no longer hosting regular inquisitions with strangers.
I tasted her drink, my face pursing tightly. “Wow, Mom, that’s really tart.”
“You think it’s too sweet? I like it.” She hiccupped. “This is my second one. That’s the most passion I’ve had in one night in probably… Well…” As she started counting on her fingers I moved on.
Barrett seemed to be handling the Paul situation better. He’d been flirting with the waitress as a distraction. Elara was behaving, and Remington had made what was probably one of the sweetest gestures of my lifetime.
In short, I was happy.
Odette was in attendance, which I thought might be weird since Hale’s mom was also there, but Naomi had a special relationship with her ex-husband no other woman could touch. As Remington’s first love, Naomi was the only person alive who could get away with calling him Remy. It was as if Remington was perpetually a young man in her eyes. Odette was happy to give them their memories and claim the seasoned version of the man he was now.
As I looked around the table at our family and closest friends, excitement swirled in my stomach. No cramps. No nerves. Just excitement.
Hale had spent the day with Clayton and that seemed to be enough to cool off his temper from the night before. That, and I think he realized that I was dealing with a lot on account of my father. And he didn’t even know the worst of it.
Learning that my dad wasn’t going to show up for our wedding, brought out Hale’s compassionate side, which was probably why he didn’t open the manilla folder he had in hand when he returned from Clayton’s office earlier that afternoon.
I knew what it was.
When Hale was in the shower I unwound the fastened string and peeked at the cover page. I’d seen our names printed like that before and I knew perfectly well what those red SIGN HERE tabs implied.
