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“Kyan told me his aunt is coming from Ireland,” Linnea exclaimed as she bit into a dripping snail. “You must be so excited to meet her—I’m excited to meet her!”
“Yeah, Colleen and Leena are flying in together after Christmas.”
Leena being Taylor’s mother, Leena Patel Kerrigan. She lived in London and was still friendly with Jesse’s mother, Colleen, from when they were neighbors here in the city. Colleen was traveling from Dublin to London to meet Leena so they could be on the same flight. She wasn’t going to lie, she was nervous to meet them.
William Kerrigan, Taylor’s father, and his twenty-five-year-old girlfriend were not coming. Taylor hadn’t even invited them.
“Stop stressing. It’s going to be wonderful, Chlo. You’ll see.”
“Do I look stressed?”
“Yeah, you kinda do.”
“I’m not stressed over the wedding.” She pushed her soup to the side to grasp Linnea’s hand. “I know it’s going to be beautiful and magical and more than I ever dreamed of.”
“What is it then?”
She exhaled with a sigh.
Lots of things. The baby. New house. Taylor leaving.
“I didn’t think it would hurt so much for someone not to accept us.”
Her dad.
She wiped at a tear that escaped from her eye with a muted giggle, embarrassed by what she perceived as her own weakness. “Didn’t think I’d care, you know?”
Linnea’s hand squeezed hers.
“What if Colleen and Leena don’t accept us either?”
“They wouldn’t be flying across the pond for your wedding if that were the case.” Linnea smiled knowingly.
She supposed that was true. When had her sister from another mister gotten so wise?
“I guess I should just get used to it, yeah?” she huffed out with a sardonic laugh. “Most people won’t accept how we love each other.”
“But you do love each other.”
Chloe closed her eyes against the overwhelming emotion that washed over her. “Yeah, we do. God only knows how much.”
“A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
She opened them. “What?”
“It’s from the Bible. Ecclesiastes. ‘Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.’ It’s supposed to mean…”
“I don’t care what it’s supposed to mean. I know what it means to me and I like it.”
“Good.” Linnea’s smile widened. “The love you share with Jesse and Taylor is right and good and uniquely yours—Monica taught me that. And that love will give you all the strength you need. Take it.”
By the time Chloe stuffed her belly with Crêpes Grand-Mère Au Gratin, topped off with a slice of her favorite warm apple torte and vanilla ice cream, she felt better. Fuck what anyone else thought. They didn’t have to live the life she chose. The life she felt fortunate to have. The life she loved.
After Chloe saw her reflection in the boutique’s mirror, dressed in the shimmering sequined gown she would get married in, she thought nothing in this world could steal the joy in her heart. She looked at Linnea behind her in the silvered glass.
She was crying.
Then Chloe was crying.
