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She cracked a smile. “You mean compared to the monster I’ve been all week?”
“Uh…yeah.” I cringed, bracing myself as I poked the Lindsay bear. “What happened?”
She chuckled and sat down at her mirror table. “I guess you might say certain recent events have put things in perspective.” She handed me her veil, and I helped her settle it on her beautifully styled hair that was just a shade lighter than mine. “I’m marrying Troy because I love him, and I want to share my life with him. That’s the most important thing about today. It’s family.”
“You’re amazing.” I pinned her veil in place with a bobby pin she handed me.
There was a knock on the door. One of the bridesmaids opened it, and my dad poked his head through with his hand shielding his eyes. “Is it safe to come in?”
“Yes, Dad.” Lindsay inclined her head with a sparkle in her eyes. “We’re all dressed. And if we weren’t we’d be in trouble for being too far off schedule.”
He made his way to Lindsay’s side and looked at her reflection in the mirror. He put his hands on her shoulders, and a tear gathered at the corner of his eye. “You’re so beautiful, my girl.”
“And you are too, Margot,” he said quickly, turning to me. I cringed a bit inside that he thought he had to reassure me. It was okay with me that this was Lindsay’s day. Why wouldn’t it be? Whatever desperate fervor I’d felt at the beginning of the week that had led me to prioritize getting a gorgeous date to Lindsay’s wedding to flaunt at Josh and my family had dissipated. Dating Tanner this week and getting to know him, interacting with Josh again after all these years, and being forced to confront my feelings about all of it had provided growth experiences I hadn’t yet fully processed. I wasn’t clear on my love life at the moment. Maybe I loved Josh. Maybe I’d outgrown Tanner in the days that I’d gotten to know him. Maybe I needed a few more years to figure it out.
But none of that mattered on the happiest day of Lindsay’s life so far.
“Thanks, Dad.” I kissed his cheek. “But Lindsay is the beauty today. She’s so happy she’s glowing.”
She was too. Lindsay beamed at me in the mirror, and her cheeks suffused with a rosy glow.
“She certainly is. Inside and out.” He glanced between us with a puzzled expression. “You know, this is the best I think I’ve ever seen you girls get along in—maybe in forever. I’m glad that with your recent…hardships, Margot, you two were able to come together and support each other.”
I frowned, genuinely confused. “Hardships?”
Dad’s eyes went wide, and he shot a panicked look at Lindsay. Her eyes were equally wide. She stood from the dressing table and took Dad’s arm. A bridesmaid handed her the bouquet. Lindsay gave me a placating smile and patted my arm. “Dad means all the stress you’ve had. It’s been a lot, and we all understand that you’re going through something.”
I nodded, but there was something I was missing here. Why all the extra concern for me on a day that was supposed to be all about Lindsay? It wasn’t natural.
“Let’s get out there, kiddo.” Dad took Lindsay’s arm and led her through the door, her long, lace-edged train fanning out behind her. The bridesmaids and I scooped up our small bouquets and got in line in the hallway with me leading the charge.
Josh and the other groomsmen were already out there. Josh approached me like I was a bomb that could detonate, his face intense with concentration, his brows pinched. “Isn’t it a little strange that I’m going to be the first groomsman to walk out there but I’m not the best man?”
I shrugged. Of course it was strange. But I’d already argued the point. “It’s what Lindsay wanted. And what Lindsay wants—” I stopped myself short of finishing the cliché as realization dawned. “Oh, my. She’s making us walk out there together! On purpose. She’s maneuvering us. She’s been throwing us together all week.” I thought back to the previous wedding events, and the pieces fell into place. “Lindsay and Mom insisted we take the subwaytogetherto take the gown to the cleaners. I never needed you to bring me a paper clip. No one else at the rehearsal dinner was as squished as we were, right up against each other like that.” My mind briefly went back to how stimulating it was being squished up against Josh just like that, but I rolled on with my discovery. “And there was no weirdmannequindrama that Lindsay needed to send you on my date with Tanner to confront me about.”
He bobbed his head, a light coming into his amber-flecked eyes. “You’re right. That was weird.” He smiled and took my hand. It was warm around mine. “But I’ll have to thank her later. All I’ve been trying to do all week is get close to you.”
What was left of the hard shell of ice around my heart melted. “You were?”
His body angled over mine, partially blocking us from the rest of the wedding party. He let go of my hand to adjust his tie and then picked it back up again, looking nervous. “I have to tell you something, Margot. I didn’t come back to the US for Troy and Lindsay’s wedding.” He stared down at our linked hands. “I came back here for you.”
There were gasps from the bridesmaids behind us. “What about Bruno?” one asked the other. I ignored them.
Adrenaline pumped through my thawed-out heart. Josh was back here for me. But what did this mean? Nothing permanent with the whole of the Atlantic Ocean between us.
I squeezed his hand and let go. “But you live in London,” I whispered. The wedding planner frantically waved at us to start down the aisle.
“Not anymore,” he whispered back.
My breath caught, and my heart stuttered. My entire world tilted on its axis.
Josh linked my arm with his, and we started down the aisle. Together.
Chapter Twenty-One
The wedding ceremony itself was relatively short—fifteen or so minutes of vows and promises and then Lindsay and Troy were kissing, probably more sedately than I’d ever seen them accomplish the feat before.
All too soon we were clapping and whooping for Lindsay and Troy. I smiled so much my cheeks hurt. Lindsay and Troy left for the reception room, and the rest of us followed. When I didn’t see Tanner among the other guests, I came back. Everyone had moved on except for Tanner. I could see the back of his head. He was perfectly still and all alone in the big room. I went over and sat beside him.
