Page 124 of Seale the Deal

I’m not okay. I’m lying to you and your mom, the kindest people I’ve met here. I just had incredible sex with my fake fiancé, and now my best friend’s worried that everything is going to change for the worst.

It’s wedding stress, isn’t it? Audrey asks.

It’s an easy out and not entirely a lie. I nod.

I get why people elope, she sighs. Honestly, I’m surprised you and Ruger are doing a wedding at all.

My heart kicks. Does she know?

That was originally the plan, I say. But then… I trail off, not sure how to kindly say the town seemed to decide in less than an hour that we were having a full-blown wedding.

But then Alpine Harbor happened, Audrey says, saving me from having to.

Exactly.

The price of moving to a small town, Audrey says. I had the exact same thing happen. I wanted something small and intimate, but the town caught wind of the plans, and it wasn’t so small anymore.

Isn’t that weird, though?

She shrugs. Probably to an outsider, but to me, it’s just… Alpine Harbor. Everything has always been a community event, and I don’t know any different.

I smile because there’s something about this town’s weird need to be involved in everything that’s almost charming. Which is strange to think because when I first got here, I would’ve described it as suffocating.

I lived in the same building for almost a decade, and I couldn’t tell you the names of most of the people I rode the elevator with. But here, everyone knows everyone. And there’s something comforting about belonging somewhere that never lets you feel alone.

So, what’s got you stressed about the wedding?

Oh. Shit. I need to think of something fast to tell her. So much to do. Decorations. Wedding dress.

Oh! How about a little bridal party? Instead of games, we could help make things for the wedding.

I open my mouth to protest, but Audrey’s already off and running.

We could do it at my house. I have a huge basement that will be perfect for this. I’ll set up stations, get a cake, finger food… Oh, Wrenley, please let me do this for you.

I want to scream no. To tell her it’s not necessary.

But then I think of Ruger. And Remi. About everything they’re doing and sacrificing for me and how I can’t decide which future makes the most sense, and once again, I’m frustrated with myself. But I can’t let Audrey know any of that.

That sounds amazing, I say instead.

Audrey claps. I’m so excited.

I smile again, but it doesn’t reach my eyes.

You still look stressed.

I shrug, forcing tears back. If I crack, everything might spill out.

Oh, Wrenley, she says gently. I know this is a lot. But in the middle of the stress, there’s beauty. Marriage is like making a quilt. At first, it’s just scraps you’re not sure will fit together. But as you keep stitching, it grows into something beautiful. Every moment, every memory, it all becomes part of the design you’ll call your life.

And what if the quilt gets dirty and worn? The words slip out before I can stop them.

You’re a seamstress, she says with a wink. You mend it.

The words settle somewhere deep inside me.

For so long, it feels like my life has been a series of things unravelling. My career and relationship came apart at the seams so quickly I barely had time to understand what was happening before I was packing my life up into boxes.