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“He said, ‘Whatever you want is fine.’”
“You don’t actually believe that? Say you wanted him to wear a lilac morning coat to coordinate with the lilacs you carry.”
“I’m writing that down just to see his face. He doesn’t want to be poked by every detail. I’d say as long as I don’t want that morning coat or horse-drawn carriages—and I don’t—all good.”
“It’s good you know who you’re marrying. You should also know Mom’s going to want to get her hand in. So am I.”
“I’d be crazy to toss away experts, especially when I know I’m going to want and need help.”
“Say that again.” Nell tapped her phone. “So I can record it for the future.”
“I want and need help planning the wedding,” Morgan obliged. “Signed, Morgan Nash.”
“Okay, that’s on the record.”
“Knowing Miles, he’ll want Jake and Liam to stand up with him.In fact, that’s the one clear answer on all this he gave me. Nell, would you stand up for me?”
Reaching out, Nell gripped Morgan’s hand. “God, I was hoping you’d ask. I’d love to.”
“I’m so glad. How do you feel about puce? Kidding,” she said when Nell’s mouth fell open. “I expect to see a replica of that expression if I test Miles with lilac morning coats. I know I have to pick colors, but I swear whatever they are, flattering is key. Do you think it’s weird I’d like to ask Jen to be an attendant, to balance it out?”
“I think it’s perfect. Delicate question while we’re on it. Your father?”
“No.” That came easy, and without regret. “So many reasons, no. I’ll send him a note, but not an invitation.”
“Do you want someone to walk you down the aisle?”
“Yes. My mother and my grandmother.”
As her eyes filled, Nell held up a hand again. “Okay, I’m no soft touch, but that got me. More perfect, and so lovely, Morgan. Have you told them?”
“They cried. We all did. And it was perfect.”
“We’re going to have so much fun with this, and it will be perfect. Nothing’s going to spoil it.”
After nudging her cup aside, Nell took a breath. “We won’t say his name, not here and now. But I’m going to assume Jake gave you the update.”
“He did.”
“Morgan, you became family to us when you took over Après. That’s how the Jamesons work. You’re only more so now. We’ve got your back, your front, your sides. Anything we can do, anything you want us to do, it’s done.”
“I didn’t know just how much I wanted family until I let myself have family. I keep coming back to that. And in that spirit, of family, I’m going to ask… you and Jake. Any thoughts?”
“A lot of them, since you ask.”
Nell looked around the tables, at people having a drink, a bite to eat, relaxing as the summer day turned to summer evening. “He waited, and that was really smart of him, to wait until I was ready. Orclose to ready, whether I knew it or not. I’m not ready, quite, to take the leap you and Miles are. I want to give it a test run—that’s me all over. Live together first.
“He’s got a nice place, but I like mine better.” She shrugged, picked up her water glass again. “Mine’s closer to my work, his is closer to his. And the practical part of me knows that he’s chief of police, and being closer to town’s important.”
“Find a house you like between those two points. Then it’s not Jake’s place or Nell’s, it’s Jake and Nell’s.”
“Buy a house together? That’s… really smart. A compromise and commitment all at once. He’d like that. I’d like that. Maybe. Yeah, maybe. I’m going to like having a sister.”
“So am I.”
“Okay, Sister, go make me a drink, and we’ll get down to business.”
Across the continent, Rozwell drove into Two Springs early to avoid the heat of the day. A joke, he thought sourly. The heat never left. But he wanted to get this trip over with, get those new towels, some fucking food, some decent booze.
