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“My marriage.”
Now the older Lamont sibling scowls. “What the hell? Why would she say something like that?”
The groom shifts on his feet, a guilty move if I’ve ever seen one. “I kept my eyes closed,” he says, defensiveness coloring his tone as his face stains red.
Luna pokes her brother. “Explain what happened ’cause I’m about to go shake some sense into your soon-to-be mother-in-law.”
“Don’t do that.” He reaches a hand up as if to comb his fingers through his hair, but Luna grabs his wrist before he messes up the already styled mass. “I hadn’t seen Paige since last night. I just wanted to check how she was doing.”
“And?”
“And…we ended up making out in her bathroom. Ginny found us and yelled at me to get out and said I jinxed everything.” Dash huffs out an offended breath. “But I kept my eyes closed!”
A snort from my left has me glancing over to see Marianna covering her mouth as her eyes twinkle with laughter. I grin along with her. Paige found a good one if he can’t go twenty-four hours without touching her.
A minuscule stab of envy pricks at me.
None of my relationships ever came close to the type of devotion Dash just displayed in his misstep. Sure, I’ve cared about all the women I’ve been with. Enjoyed our time together. In fact, I’m still friends with most of them. We exchange catch-up emails every few months or get drinks when we’re in the same city.
But when we ended things, there was no passionate parting. Which is probably why the end came.
And isn’t that just my whole life in a concise summary?
Passionless.
“You’re impossible. Couldn’t keep your hands to yourself for one day?” Luna has no pity for her brother, and the groom scowls back at her.
“It’s an outdated tradition.”
“Whatever. Mrs. Herbert will forget about it the second the ceremony starts. Stop pouting.” Luna grabs her brother by the shoulders and maneuvers him into the proper position under the archway. “Now stand there and don’t mess anything up.”
“What would I mess up?”
Before the siblings can really get into it, there’s a rising, purposeful note from the band indicating that everyone needs to shut the hell up. The gathering goes quiet as we all turn our attention to the house.
The doors open, and Mr. Herbert steps through first, tall and intimidating in his all-black suit. Most of the time that much dark, stiff clothing in New Orleans would be torture, but the day holds a comfortable coolness that we all appreciate. Pumpkin trots at his side, the brindle pit bull wearing a collar of flowers that matches the floral arrangements. Mr. Herbert unhooks the dog’s leash, and I let out a short whistle my friend taught me. As Pumpkin bounds down the aisle toward me, petals someone must have sprinkled on her back flutter to the ground.
A four-legged flower girl. The small crowd coos and claps, and I pull a bacon treat and a short leash from my pocket. Most brides only want someone to hold their bouquet. Paige asked that I also hold her fur baby.
Ginny Herbert appears next, decked out in a floral gown. She pauses beside her husband, and a moment later their daughter joins them.
Paige hovers between the pair, beauty personified.
The impressive thing is her grace doesn’t come from the flowing dress or expertly styled hair or professional makeup. Instead, every bit of her radiance glows from her smile.
Everyone in attendance knows this woman has no doubt in her mind. Paige gives an excited wave in Dash’s direction as she glides down the aisle. I glance at the groom. Dash stands tall, biting his lip as a tear tracks down his cheek while he watches Paige float toward him.
Luna reaches a hand forward, circumspectly passing her brother a tissue, which he accepts without looking away from the vision of the woman he loves. As Luna retracts her hand, our eyes catch.
Five bucks, she mouths with a triumphant grin.
LUNA
After Paige reaches her spot beside Dash, I have trouble paying attention to the rest of the service. Not because I’m bored, but because their love is distracting. The way the woman stares at my brother, as if he’s the sole root of all her joy, is both impossible to look away from and hard to watch.
Could I ever love somebody like that?
Even if that is a possibility, I don’t have time to go searching for the perfect person to spend the rest of my life with.
