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He bites his lip around a dirty little grin. “Like what?”
Laughing, I sweep past him and meet Oz’s eye who, up until that moment had been deliberately avoiding our conversation by being unrealistically intrigued by a smudge on the hallway mirror.
“Is Mom in the yard?”
He clears his throat and nods. “She is, and you do look beautiful.”
I smile at him and press a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you.”
I find Mom in the middle of a garden blooming with flowers and strung up with tiny lights. A hardwood dance floor expands across the yard under looping chains of roses in every color. Tables cluster the outer area draped in white cloth and displayed with ornate bowls of floating tea lights. It’s breathtaking.
“This is amazing!” I gasp, reaching the woman watching the catering team arrange the food along a table near the edge of the patio.
Mom beams turning to me, but her eyes widen as she takes me in. “Oh my God, Addie! You look incredible. The pictures you sent did not do that dress justice.”
I smile and brush a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you, but you’re the one rocking that dress.”
Mom runs a hand across the shimmering fabric making up the Grecian gown with the single shoulder strap and thick, gold belt. The cream brings out the soft tones of her face and compliments the bands securing her dark curls back.
“I think we’re both dressed really nice,” she decides, looping her arm through mine and guiding me around the edges of the makeshift floor. “Everything looks okay, right? I wanted simple, but cozy.”
“I love it,” I tell her honestly. “It’s perfect.”
Mom beams and squishes my arm against her. “You should use it for the wedding. Like—”
I stop and face her. “Stop that. I told you, not tonight. No talking about me or Rhys, or the wedding. Tonight is about you. Only you. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.”
Still, she bites her lip and giggles like a little girl. “I am just so excited! I want to tell everyone.”
“No!” I grab her arm. “Mom, no. It’s your night.”
She rolls her eyes. “It can be two things.”
“No, it can’t be. Promise me.”
“Seriously?” she huffs when I narrow my eyes. “Fine. God, you’re a mean child.” I laugh as she takes my arm and leads me a little further. “Okay, but there is one thing I do actually have to talk to you about...” she stops to face me sheepishly.
“Okay...?”
She nervously licks her lips and lowers her voice. “I was thinking it might be best if you and Rhys relocated to the guesthouse tonight.”
I stare at her for a long moment, not understanding. “Why?”
Mom purses her lips and averts her eyes to somewhere over my shoulder. “It’s nothing terrible. Oz and I just feel like maybe a little privacy might be good ... for all of us.”
I continue to eyeball her, certain she’s intentionally being vague. “Because you don’t want to see us together...?”
“No!” she grabs my hands and squeezes them between both of her warm ones. “That is not it at all. I cannot be happier that you’re with Rhys. It’s just...” she clears her throat. “The walls are very thin at the house and—”
It clicks and I’m not fast enough to stifle my gasp of horror. “Oh my God, Mom, I—”
Mom puts her hand up. “No, no, it’s perfectly natural to want to ... practice your yoga.”
“Oh my God,” I moan, covering my face. “Did you guys hear...?” I cut myself off. Of course they heard. Rhys hadn’t been joking when he said we weren’t quiet or gentle, but had we really beenthatloud? I am so mortified, I want to die. “I am so sorry.”
Mom gracefully waves a dismissive hand, the corner of her mouth tilted in amusement. “In the guesthouse, you and Rhys can practice yoga all you want.”
I feel my brows furrow even as the heat amplifies in my cheeks. “Mom, I beg of you, please stop.”
