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“That’s exactly what we think,” Jenny says. She pats the top of my head, and I half-expect her to follow up by offering me a dog treat.
Close—she grabs one of Shannon’s Twizzlers and hands it to me.
“Worst case scenario: you’re shacking up in a cute little house with the kind of guy who would do all this for you, plus his adorable mom, and you’re having vet school paid for. Everybody wins.”
Unless I lose my heart. Which I may have already done.
“It’s almost time,” Shannon says, and suddenly my throat is tightening up again. “Let’s get you out there. And when you sayyour vows, say them for real. Then blow out your candles and make a wish that Eli’s doing the same thing.”
I don’t bother reminding Shannon that wedding cakes don’t have candles for wish-making.
“Everything is perfect,” Parker gushes.
She’s wearing a huge smile, hugging a clipboard to her chest, and wearing an earpiece I’m pretty sure she doesn’t need for a wedding this small. To Parker, wedding planning is a serious business. Even one I know she knows is more about visas and avoiding student debt and less about love. We’re standing just inside the back door of her parents’ house—one of themanyback doors, I should say—and everyone else is in the tent. Ready. Waiting.
While I’m rethinking the whole escape-out-the-window plan and debating about whether I’m going to vomit halfway down the aisle.
“You look gorgeous,” Parker says. “Eli is going to lose it. I predict tears.”
“Oh, I highly doubt—” I start to argue, but Parker boops me on the nose, a move that surprises me into silence.
“Trust me,” she says through clenched teeth, in the kind of tone a kidnapper might use to threaten their victim into compliance.
It works. Or, at least, I’m prepared to walk through the door. But before we can, a figure in a suit jogs out of the tent, up the back steps, and inside. It’s Van. Gone is his usual smirk. His face is a study in fierce intensity, instantly making me want to panic.
“Is Eli okay? Did he …”
I can’t quite make myself form the words,Did he change his mind?But they’re right there on the tip of my tongue.
Van’s brows dip and he shakes his head. “Everything’s fine. Except the big dummy failed to mention you didn’t have anyone to walk you down the aisle.”
“Oh. I was just planning to walk myself.”
Shannon and Jenny both offered, but I decided in addition to not having a traditional wedding party, I didn’t need to have an escort. After all, I’m giving myself away.
Van runs a big hand through his hair, glancing away with a quick nod. “Right. Sure. Good. You can do whatever. I just didn’t want you to not have the choice of someone standing beside you.”
He starts to turn away, but I grab his arm and link mine through it, ignoring the burning in my eyes and nose and the tightness in my throat. Parker tries to hide a tiny sniffle.
“I’d love to have you walk me down the aisle, Van.”
“Yeah?” he asks, his dark eyes regaining a little of their usual swagger.
I nod, and Parker steps in front of us both, opening the door and grinning, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “It’s time.”
As Van and I step through the door, he slows the pace and looks down, catching my eye. “You good, B?”
Something about him using the nickname my friends call me makes my chest cinch tight. “I think so? Ask me tomorrow.”
CHAPTER 21
Eli
I glancearound the big tent in Parker’s backyard and realize I wouldn’t change a thing. Except maybe one: groomsmen.
Because as I stand up here alone, waiting for Bailey to appear, I desperately need someone beside me. Felix telling me it’s going to be fine or Van whispering insults under his breath—either one. Both.
Or someone to catch me if I happen to pass out, which feels at this moment like a very real possibility.
