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And I love her for it, because I would rathernotdiscuss my ex with anyone, especially not on my fake-but-real wedding day.
“Say your goodbyes to Marci Walsh. Next time you see her, she’ll be Marci Taylor.”
Oh God.
I say goodbye to Belle and Lily, blowing them kisses, and then turn to Han and June. We clasp hands.
“Thank you for being here for me,” I whisper.
“You’ll always have us,” Hannah says, picking up a bouquet.
“Always.”
I hug them both, and we descend the stairs. Music plays in the backyard, and June opens the door and starts down the makeshift aisle. Chairs have been set up either side of it, and the only people invited are the Taylors, Savage, and the staff from the Heartstopper, including Grant and Riley. Billy’s still in jail.
Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.
He doesn’t need to be here. It’s not real.
I wait until it’s my turn, then descend the stairs on my own, my throat aching when Mr. Taylor steps up and takes my arm. But I forget the pain when I find Jesse, standing underneath an arch covered in flowers. He’s wearing a neat black suit that fits him perfectly.
His gaze fixes on mine, and the look of intensity he’s wearing melts me.
The music plays and the backyard disappears. Mr. Taylor kisses my cheek and hands me over to Jesse.
“You’re beautiful,” he says. “Perfect.”
“Thank you. It’s a short-notice dress.”
“Perfect,” he repeats.
Cash and Savage are lined up as his groomsmen, dapper in suits. And the officiant, the local reverend, stands waiting for us.
We clasp hands as he talks, and I can’t concentrate on anything he’s saying because this is it. I’m marrying a man who I swore I hated for the wrong reasons with a plan to divorce him, and the people here, the people who love us, have no idea.
But I don’t let go of his hands. I say “I do.” And Jesse does too. We exchange wedding bands he got for us.
And then, he sweeps me into his arms and presses a kiss to my lips that’s full of the unspoken desire that’s been drifting between us for the past two weeks, since that first night we nearly broke the rules. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back, arching into him.
The crowd cheers and?—
“What the fuck?”
The shout comes from the back yard, near the fence.
Jesse holds me close as we break the kiss.
Billy is halfway over the fence, wearing a scowl, his dirty blond hair shaved at the sides. He’s grasping a bottle of vodka as he tumbles into the Taylors’ backyard.
No.
Jesse stiffens, but I place my hand on his arm.
“Please,” I say. “Let me handle this.”
Murmurs spread through the crowd. Grant and Riley pull faces at each other and rise from their seats like they want to help. We’re a family at the Heartstopper, and they don’t like Billy either. Nobody likes Billy except for me.
I walk over to my brother.
