“Come back with me,” she urges gently. “We’re finishing the final details at the site. Everything’s almost ready.”
I glance past her at the women as a few staffers join them. I’m a bridesmaid, after all. I should be part of this.
“Come on,” Ariel says again. “Please?”
I nod, mostly because I don’t have the energy to say no.
“Don’t forget the floral arc needs to be re-anchored,” Evangeline is saying to the staffers. “The wind’s going to rip it apart by tomorrow morning if it’s left like this.”
Jazz peers over her sunglasses at me. “Youdoesn’t look like someone who gives a damn about flowers right now.”
Everyone goes still.
I try to swallow, but my throat’s too tight.
Ariel shoots Jazz a warning look, but I lift a hand. “It’s fine.”
Jazz shrugs. “Hey, I’m just saying what we’re all thinking. You’ve got heartbreak written all over you.”
“You don’t even know me,” I murmur.
She pulls off her sunglasses, revealing eyes sharp enough to cut glass. “You’re right. But I know that look. I’ve worn it.”
I look away, pretending to study the arch again, thoughthe breeze has kicked up and the fabric’s started to twist on one side.
“Well,” Cheryl says, brushing off her linen shorts, “the arch looks solid and the weather’s lookin’ good. I’d say we’re sittin’ pretty.”
Ariel exhales with a relieved little laugh. “Don’t jinx it, Mama.”
Jazz stretches with a groan and props her hands on her hips. “If that arch collapses, we’ll just make Evangeline hold it up with one arm while she holds a glass of champagne in the other.”
Evangeline doesn't even blink. “If the arch collapses, the staff will be fired, not me.”
“Okay, everyone relax.” Ariel smiles. “Tomorrow is going to be beautiful. No falling arches. No rain. No…whatever Jazz is imagining.”
Jazz lifts her sunglasses and gives me a sidelong look. “You’re quiet.”
I shrug, trying to keep my face neutral. “Just taking it in.”
The arch really is beautiful. Plain but elegant. It has thatpromiseto it, like it's holding its breath. Like tomorrow, something big will happen here. Something permanent.
Ariel tugs on my arm. “You’re coming tonight, right?”
I look at her, eyebrows raised. “I’m a bridesmaid.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” I say, and it’s not a lie.
Because no matter how much everything aches inside me right now, Ariel deserves this. Every smile, every toast, every happy memory before tomorrow changes her life forever.
Jazz lets out a satisfied sigh. “Good. Because I’ve got a playlist that would make a stripper blush and at least two games that may or may not get us banned from this island.”
“You’re determined to make me regret this party, aren’t you?” Ariel teases.
“Absolutely,” Jazz grins.
Cheryl checks her watch and taps it like she’s in a rush. “Well, if y’all want time to get ready, we need to scoot. I still have to do something about this humidity.” She lifts a piece of hair off her neck with a grimace. “This heat has no manners.”
