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He frowns. “You think I have potential?”
“You’re joking, right?”
“What are you talking about, Rowan?”
My mouth just drops open. I can’t help it. “Parker, you’re brilliant. At everything. And it’s the most galling thing ever. Think about it. You broke up with a girl by introducing her to her husband.”
He laughs. “That was just timing.”
“I still remember the time we walked into that instrument store, and you, at eight years old, just walked up to the drum kit and started wailing on it like you’d been doing it for years.”
He chuckles and shrugs. “Yeah, but that wasn’t anything special.”
“No, Parker, that’s actually the definition of special. Why do you think Mom has always called you hervery special boy?”
“I thought that was to make me feel better because my brothers didn’t like me.”
“Oh my god, you suck so hard.” I ring my arms around him in a hug and fight the urge to cry. I can’t believe he thought we didn’t like him. “We love you, you idiot.”
He laughs and hugs me back. “I didn’t know. Sue me.”
“You’ve been gone a while. I’m a lawyer now, so I just might.”
He laughs again, and we both do the guy thing of hiding our tears and wiping them while pretending to look out on the horizon. Then Parker sighs. “That was the other thing, Rowan. I could never do the law and business thing like the rest of you, and it felt like another huge divide between us, and I couldn’t follow you guys down that path, so I just…went and did my thing, like I always do.”
“Bullshit. You could have—
“Icouldhave, but I would have hated office life. And life isn’t for hating. It’s for loving. It is short as hell, and I will not waste one moment of life doing something I don’t want.”
I chuckle. “I’m not sure if that’s incredibly immature or the opposite.”
“Both, knowing me.”
“You’re coming to the next one of these, right?”
He smiles and stares at the water again. “If I’m not working, then I’ll be here. Count on it.”
“Whatever happens, Parker, I’m glad you’re here today.”
“Yeah, me too.”
22
Autumn
The Somerset Harbor Yacht Club has an enormous veranda that juts out over the water. Normally, it’s home to tables and chairs for the club’s outdoor dining. But not today. Today, the veranda has been reorganized to the perfect place for Sawyer and Willow’s wedding.
After all the planning that had gone into having the wedding at the Cargill estate, Sawyer had an abrupt change of mind on the matter, and everything had to be switched to the new venue. Upon seeing what they were putting Mrs. Cargill through, and knowing his staff could handle an event this size, it was an easy decision to switch venues.
The ceremony site put the happy couple in front of the water underneath an elegant white arch covered with ivy, and it is timed so they have the sunset behind them during the ceremony. The guest chairs are white and wooden, each with their own ivy tied into a sash. A string quartet sits near the ceremony site, ready to begin. Simple, clean, classic, and elegant. All the things Willow and Sawyer are.
As the photographer, I have the perfect excuse to stand around and not engage with anyone. My camera works like a shield for when I feel introverted, and today, I have the urge to keep the whole world away. I couldn’t say no to the job—work has been sketchy lately.
But being plunked in the middle of the Cargill crew is not currently my idea of a good time, since things have gotten weird between me and Rowan. It does not help that the woman from the clambake has captured Rowan’s attention. She’s either a guest of the wedding or is here as Rowan’s date. I’m not sure which.
I’d sent Delia to find out the details, but all she learned was that her family and the Cargills are old family friends. Not knowing if Rowan is on a date is killing me. My camera is a great excuse to avoid him when I see him. I look like I’m working.
And I am. Most of the time.
