AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good.” Nia preened and turned toward Beau and Bentley, who were standing next to him. “And you two, on your way to having another baby… I wish I could get to meet him.”
From there, she made her rounds, circling the room with everyone stepping forward, one after another when it was their turn for their one-on-one goodbye. When it came time for me and Luke to step up, I sucked in a worried breath, certain she was going to accuse me of killing her.
A million apologies filled my tongue, but the moment Nia saw me, she burst out smiling. “Little Chloe,” she greeted. “You were so young when we met. I feel honored to have watched you grow up and fall in love and find…”
When her eyes strayed toward Luke, they widened.
“Oh…” she murmured in surprise as if just remembering something. “I’m going to miss it.” Then her expression crinkled with concern. “I can’t believe I’m going to miss it. Do you…do you still have it on you?”
I glanced toward Luke in question, not sure what the heck Nia was talking about, but he nodded sadly. “I do.”
I frowned, wanting to ask justwhathe had on him.
But the hospital chaplain showed up to see Nia then, and his appearance effectively distracted everyone from the current topic.
We backed up to clear a path for him, and he went to her bedside, talking quietly with her and Julian, getting to know them, and asking if she needed anything.
“I…I think I’m doing okay,” Nia answered, nodding gratefully. “I mean, I…I feel strangely okay with it. Maybe that’s just the drugs talking, but honestly, I’ve lived a good life and shared it with a great man…” She smiled at Julian. “We have the perfect daughter. I really couldn’t have asked for anything more. Just more time, you know, and maybe…”
She looked toward me with aching regret. “My sister-in-law’s about to get engaged, and I’m going to miss it. I helped pick out her ring today.”
She’d donewhat, now?
I whipped a startled glance toward Luke, who met my gaze and offered me a sheepish smile.
I was still blinking in shock as Nia kept talking to the chaplain. “I’m going to miss so much, and I…well, if I could just see this one last thing, I think I could go in peace, you know. So… Do you think you could maybe marry them? Right now? So I could see the wedding.”
“I…” The chaplain looked toward us in surprise, and Luke and I exchanged puzzled unsuspecting glances. “Well…” The chaplain turned back to Nia. “We don’t have any legal paperwork or—”
“That’s okay,” Nia assured him. “It doesn’t have to be official. I just… I don’t want this to be one more thing I’ll miss.” Glancing toward me and Luke, her eyes pleaded. “Please. I want to see you as a bride. I want to go with a smile.”
“Y…” Luke glanced at me, already nodding before he turned back to Nia. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “Whatever you want.”
Then he glanced at me again for confirmation.
My mouth opened, but no words came. “I…” Dear God. But how could she want me to get married right here and now, even if it was a fake wedding? She wasdying. I couldn’t…
It was hard to process anything past that.
But then Julian spoke up for me. “Of course, they will,” he assured, his gaze seeking mine. “Of course, you will.”
And that’s why I found myself nodding and agreeing too. “O-okay.”
Then I glanced toward Luke. He sent me a hopeful but concerned smile and took my fingers, squeezing them hard.
“So we’re going to have a wedding,” Pick said, clapping his hands.
“This is highly irregular,” was all the chaplain could answer before he shrugged. “But if this is what you want…”
“It is,” Nia assured. “The deathbed request girl always gets her way.”
She laughed at her own joke, but no one else joined in.
A bustle of activity followed, however, covering what probably would’ve been an awkward, stilted moment of silence.
My dad nudged Luke toward the chaplain, before dragging me backward toward the doorway of the room, and the others conformed themselves to stand in two groups like they were guests at a wedding with Nia’s bed as the focal point, and an empty lane in the middle to act as the aisle.
“Are my parents still here?” I heard Luke ask, and people nudged both Dr. Hamilton and Zoey up toward the front of the crowd so they were next to my mom.
