“Come on,” she said, reaching for my hands to pull me to my feet. “Let’s go.”
We exited the bedroom to a flurry of activity.
“Jonathan, Chloe,” Liv called. “No running in the house.”
Jax was at the end of the hall, waiting to intercept them as we headed toward the back door.
“Has anyone seen Cash?” Jo asked, her eyes frantic.
“Um, Jo?” Cash said from behind her with a wave. “I’m right here.”
“I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached,” Jo muttered, turning around. “Grace is ready for you.”
Cash took in a deep breath and blew it out, his eyes already misty. “I guess this is it.”
“All right.” Jo clapped her hands together. “Everyone who isn’t a part of the wedding party needs to be outside. She scurried off, her heels clicking against the floor.
“That means you better scoot,” McKenzie said, smoothing her hands over her dress. “I gotta go grab the flower girl basket for Betty.”
“I’ll see you out there,” I said, kissing McKenzie’s cheek before heading outside behind Jax and the kids.
A string quartet played over the sound of hushed voices as the autumn sun cast a soft golden veil over everything it touched. The scene was so perfect, it almost didn’t look real.
I took a seat beside Derek where he sat with his and Jo’s daughter, Addison.
“I think Jo missed her calling as an event planner,” I said to him as I took in the way she’d transformed my garden, making the already magical space feel like something plucked straight out of a fairytale.
Derek chuckled. “I’m not sure any of us would survive that.”
I laughed as I glanced around at the faces surrounding me. There were a few I didn’t recognize beyond knowing they were some of Grace’s clients and childhood friends. But then there were the ones I did know. The ones I loved.
Jax and the kids sat in the row in front of me, beside Antoni and his husband Nate, who was holding the six-month-old baby they’d adopted. Dallas and Katie were on their other side, oohing and aahing over the little boy.
Grace’s soon-to-be husband, Sam, stood beneath the archway in front of us, flanked by the officiant and his groomsmen. Sam had been around long enough to know what he was getting into, officially joining our crazy little family. But I hoped he also knew just how lucky he was.
The quartet began to play their own rendition of my song “Coming Home” as the bridal party started down the aisle. I’d been touched when Grace told me she wanted it to be a part of her big day. In the time she’d been working with me, we’d grown closer. She’d become like a little sister to me, but more than that, she was my friend.
Betty scattered her petals to a chorus ofawwsas she made her way toward the front, hand in hand with Ella, who was already crying. Liv followed, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a tissue.
Then came McKenzie. Her eyes locked on mine as she made her way down the aisle, and she smiled. My focus was drawn to her as the rest of the wedding party filed in. God, she took my breath away. Everything about her—every look, every laugh—made life better. I’d struggled with my share of dark moments over the last year and a half. We both had. But with the support of our friends, our family, and each other, we’d made it through.
The bridal march began to play, and we all stood as Grace and Cash emerged from the house. I clasped my hands together, my thumb grazing over the inside of my wrist where the semicolon tattoo was hidden beneath my jacket. It was something I’d done a lot since I’d gotten it. The tiny symbol reminded me of the pages in my story I’d overcome and the hard-won chapters that gave way to this amazing life I now called mine. And when things inevitably became hard again, it would be there to remind me that sometimes there is pain before beauty, and that both things can, and often do, coexist. But above all else, it was a reminder that my story deserved to be continued.
Epilogue
GRACE
Five and a half years later…
“How you feeling, mama?”Jo asked from across the table, sipping her punch.
I scrunched my nose. “Like I hope this baby doesn’t come before the Grammys next weekend.” Luca was nominated for his seventh award, and his record,To Be Continued,was up for album of the year.
It was the last weekend of January, and I was less than a month away from my due date. We hadn’t intended to push my baby shower outquitethis far, but life had been more than a little chaotic for all of us. Liv and Jax had been on the road for their farewell tour, while Katie’s Kitchen had opened its second location in November with McKenzie James as owner. Then, of course, Sam and I had been all over the place. I’d been traveling with Luca and a few of my other clients, and Sam had been on the European leg of his own tour. When all of us ladies realized we had thisoneweekend collectively free, we pounced on it.
McKenzie had offered to host the event at her restaurant, and with Jo’s help, they’d decorated the place beautifully.
“I’ve got a good seamstress if you need an emergency alteration,” Liv said.
