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“What does that mean?” Willow questioned.
“What if I’m not made for marriage? I honestly never thought I’d get married. And then, over the past weeks, I’ve been so thrown off by Nathan’s return to town that I’ve been distant with Wesley. Which makes me feel even worse, seeing as how he proposed with three rings. Who proposes with three rings? I feel as if I’ve been an awful girlfriend. I’d be an awful wife!”
“Probably an awful fiancée, too,” Willow joked.
“Don’t tease,” Avery whimpered. “Seriously. I’m not good enough for him. Wesley deserves better.”
“You’re overthinking it. Sure, you were knocked off-kilter with Nathan’s return, but that’s not your fault. It was a trigger. Triggers happen to us all and knock the wind out of us. But you love Wesley, and he loves you,” Willow explained.
“Obviously,” I agreed, gesturing toward the rings. “Plus, he still wants to marry you after you hijacked said rings and ran off to have a power meeting with your sisters before saying yes.”
Avery nervously laughed as she wiped the few tears falling from her eyes. Avery was so tough that it took a lot for her to actually shed tears. Her emotions must’ve been at an all-time high.
“Oh my gosh, I stole the rings!” she choked out. “And you know what he did after I ran off like a wild woman? He texted me and said, ‘I love you and I’ll see you when you get back from your sisters. We can get ice cream later.’ Can you believe that? He’s dating a psycho and still wants to marry me!”
“So marry him!” I urged. “You love him, right?”
She nodded slowly. “I do.”
“And he loves you. Now, just take that next step,” Willow agreed.
Avery turned toward me. “What if we end up like you and Cole did?” she questioned. “I mean, you two were happy for a while and then it all went downhill.”
I didn’t know her words would sting me so much. I thought I healed from that heartbreak, but like Willow said—triggers. They snuck up on a person out of nowhere. I didn’t blame Avery for thinking Cole and I were happy longer than we’d actually were. I felt as if I had to protect his image from everyone—especially my sisters. If they had known how cruel he’d truly been, he would’ve been buried six-feet-under by now. If my father had known, it would’ve been twelve feet.
I tried to push those feelings down, but unfortunately, I wasn’t a woman who could hide the hurt that she’d felt. It bled out of my eyes.
“I’m sorry, Yara. I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean…what’s the guarantee in marriage?” Avery asked. “What’re the statistics? Why should we do it? Most marriages end in divorce, so what’s the point?”
“I still believe in marriage,” I told her and truly meant it. “I believe in love and the commitment of marriage even though mine failed.”
“How?” she questioned.
“Because of Mama and Daddy. They both left marriages and found each other. Isn’t the idea of what they had something worth fighting for? Even with all that went down—and is still going down—with Cole and me, I still believe in happily ever afters in all ways and for always.”
Avery wiped at her tears and sat back. “In all ways and for always. Okay. Okay. I guess I’m a fiancée.”
“After he officially asks and you officially accept,” I added.
“Which I will. After dinner. I already ordered for us and got Wesley a meal to go,” Avery explained.
“For what it’s worth, I loved being married, too,” Willow said.
I rolled my eyes. “You were married to that fisherman guy for like two days before you ended it. I went through becoming an ordained minister for that ceremony, by the way.”
“You know what’s weird about that? I don’t even remember his name,” Willow remarked.
“You never remember their names,” Avery tossed out.
“You’re not wrong, my bride-to-be.” Willow’s grin only grew deeper as she placed her hands on Avery’s cheeks and leaned in and kissed each one. “Hello, bride-to-be.” Avery grew a little bashful from the comment. “Which ring are you picking?”
“This one.” Avery pointed at the pear cut—the perfect choice for my sister.
Willow swooned. “Wow! Look at that thing! I bet it could feed a whole village somewhere.”
Avery snickered and pulled the rings away from Willow’s reach. “Don’t start. We all know how you feel about diamonds.”
Willow grinned and sat back in her chair. “As long as we’re all aware.”
“We are,” I told her. “And still, I want a princess-cut one, please and thank you.”
Avery laughed as Willow grabbed the bottle of wine that was left at the table and poured herself a glass, then topped off the rest of our glasses, too.
Willow held her wineglass and straightened up. “A toast to the eldest. A woman who deserves the very best treatment in the world. I cannot think of anyone more deserving to find a happily ever after, let alone with a rocket scientist who might stop global warming,” she semi-joked. If anyone was going to do so, it was Wesley.
