“We’re not thinking about August right now,” I said, more firmly than I felt. “We’re just enjoying being together.”
“But eventually you’ll have to think about it,” Billie pointed out. “August is in two days.”
Two days. The wedding was Sunday. And Monday...
Monday I was supposed to pack up and drive back to Blue Point Bay. Back to my apartment, my studio, my life. Away from Dex, away from this family, away from everything I’d found here. Claire would be going back to work and Wren would be alone without me.
The thought made my chest ache.
“Eventually,” I agreed, trying to keep my voice steady. “But not tonight. Tonight is about Delaney getting married to my brother,and how absolutely insane it still is that I even have brothers, let alone one getting married.”
Delaney reached over and squeezed my hand. “Thank you for doing this with me. For being here, for being part of this. It means more than you know.”
“Of course.” My throat felt tight. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
“But seriously,” Blake wouldn’t let it go, because subtlety had never been her strong suit. “You and Dex. It’s real, right? Like, really real?”
I thought about the past week. About our date last night, walking through town with his hand in mine, no more hiding. About family dinners where we sat together, his hand on my knee under the table. About the way he looked at me like I was the answer to a question he’d been asking his whole life.
“Yeah,” I admitted softly. “It’s real.”
“And you love him,” Mom said. Not a question.
“Mom…”
“You do. I can see it in your face when you talk about him. The way your whole expression softens. The way you get this little smile.” She reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, the gesture so familiar and maternal that it made my eyes sting. “You look at him the way I... the way I used to look at Jasper. The way I’m starting to again.”
“Speaking of which,” Blake pivoted smoothly, her natural nosiness finding a new target, “Caroline, are you really staying? Like, permanently?”
Mom nodded, and there was something almost shy in her smile. “I am. I gave my two weeks’ notice at work last week. I’ll be moving here for good at the end of the month.”
“That’s incredible,” Reece said warmly.
“And terrifying,” Mom added with a nervous laugh. “I’m fifty years old, starting completely over. New job, new town, newrelationship. If you’d told me six months ago that I’d be doing this, I would have said you were insane.”
“What changed?” Billie asked.
Mom was quiet for a moment, turning her wine glass in her hands. “I got tired of living with regret. Tired of playing it safe. Tired of wondering what if.” She looked at me when she said it, and I knew the words were meant for both the table and for me specifically. “Life’s too short to spend it being afraid of what might happen. Sometimes you just have to take the leap and trust you’ll figure out how to fly on the way down.”
“That’s beautiful, Caroline,” Delaney said, her eyes a little misty.
“That’s terrifying is what that is,” I muttered.
“Itisterrifying,” Mom agreed. “But it’s also exciting. And right. For the first time in years, I’m choosing what I want instead of what’s safe or expected or ‘practical.’“ She emphasized the last word with finger quotes. “I’m choosing love. I’m choosing a second chance. I’m choosing to be brave.”
The implication hung in the air between us.You should too.
“Okay, enough heavy talk,” Blake announced, clearly sensing the mood was getting too serious. “It’s time for games. Billie, break out the embarrassing cards.”
The next hour was a blur of ridiculous bachelorette party games. We played “How Well Do You Know the Groom?” where Delaney proved she knew Trace better than he probably knew himself, answering questions about his favorite childhood memory (fishing with Jasper at age eight), his biggest fear (losing family), and what he’d wanted to be when he grew up (a cowboy astronaut).
Then we moved on to “Never Have I Ever,” which started innocent enough but quickly devolved into increasingly embarrassing revelations. I learned that Reece had once accidentally walked into the men’s bathroom at a fancyrestaurant and pretended she was supposed to be there rather than admit her mistake. That Blake had kissed three different boys at the same party in high school. That Billie had a secret tattoo that even Gage didn’t know about yet because she had it lasered off.
“It was supposed to be a set of balanced scales,” she admitted, blushing. “On my hip. I got it after I finished med school.”
“But?” Billie asked, barely containing her excitement.
“But… it looked like a pair of shrivelled up testicles,” she admitted and we all burst out laughing.
