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“You don’t regret not having one?”
She snorted. “God, no. But remind someone to take a picture of me here to slip to the paparazzi. They’ll finally have a picture of me at a bonding ceremony where I don’t look miserable.”
“No paparazzi,” Eva said. “I’ll kick their asses. Plus, Sloane is lucky enough to not have them on her tail.”
Petra rolled her eyes. “But they’re on your tail, Eva.”
“We were careful. And Grandma Glass has a fence that’s approximately a million feet tall.”
I reached out to the table nearby and picked up the necklace I’d chosen. “That’s definitely not an exaggeration.”
“Never. I would never blow things out of proportion.”
I held the chains back, and Petra hooked the necklace. The little charm fell in the hollow of my throat, and emotion rose. It was a small thing—and one I’d honestly forgotten about until Petra reminded me—but it felt important.
Ash gave me the necklace for my birthday one year. A teardrop crystal that was simple and lovely. ‘Blue’ was inscribed on the back of it. I shoved the thought of it out of my mind when I ran, but it stayed in my jewelry box. Now it was my ‘something old.’
I usually didn’t put much stock in traditions like those, but today? I wanted every cliche moment and little memory. My ring was blue, the dress was new. I didn’t have anything borrowed, but considering how quickly this came together, you could say I borrowed my grandmother’s entire house.
“Oh my goodness, you are a vision.” My grandmother swept into the room. Her dress was wild, a bright red that looked like flames. There was a subtle pattern in there that might have been an animal print, but I didn’t question it. She pulled it off.
“We’ll give you guys a second,” Petra said, and my friends excused themselves so I was alone with Grandma.
She squeezes my shoulders. “Are you nervous?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
“Good.”
Nervous laughter slipped out. “Good?”
Leaning her chin on my shoulder, her eyes sparkled. “Nerves are good. It means you’ve thought about every side of a decision. You know how big it is, and you’re choosing to do it regardless. If you weren’t nervous, I’d be surprised.
“Now,” she said, “are you happy?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“They’re good for you. And nothing came up in the background checks.”
“Grandma,” I gasped.
“What?” She gave me a look. “You didn’t really think I was just going to let some pack have you without making sure they deserved you, did you?”
Honestly, I had no idea. “I love you, Grandma.”
“I love you too, dear. I wish your parents were here to see it.”
“That would have been quite the trip,” I said. “I’m sure they’ll enjoy the pictures.”
A glimmer of hurt showed in her eyes. Grandma had always taken my mother’s indifference to motherhood harder than I did. What I didn’t tell her was that it would be strange if they were here. Everyone I truly cared about in my life was here.
It was more than enough for me.
Grandma cleared her throat and pulled away momentarily. “I’m giving this to you at a later date. But today, it will be borrowed.”
She lifted a bracelet I’d never seen, but it matched my ring. A golden chain spangled with smaller versions of the sparkling blue stone. She clasped it on my wrist opposite the ring. “It suits you.”
“I didn’t know this existed.”
