The wedding ceremony is tucked into a tree-lined corner of the city park, and all the autumn colors pop under the bright blue October sky. It’s the perfect day for a wedding, and everyone seems thrilled to be here, but I’m self-conscious the moment I arrive. The Jackson brothers are all congregated on the side of the parking lot opposite the ceremony site. They’re dressed in black tuxes and look like something out of every woman’s fantasy. Five brothers with broad shoulders and killer smiles, standing around and laughing while waiting for the ceremony to start.
I consider going up to Levi to let him know I’m here but decide against it. Today’s a family day, and he doesn’t need me interrupting. I make my way past a white tent toward a seat on the bride’s side, but an arm darts out and grabs me.
Shay sticks her head out between the flaps. “The bride wants to see you.” She tugs me inside, and I let the tent fall closed behind me as I enter.
When I spot Ava, I throw my hand over my mouth. “You look gorgeous.”
Ava beams. “Thank you.” She’s in a simple white satin gown with sheer cap sleeves and a mermaid-cut skirt that hugs her petite curves. Her dark hair is gathered in a low chignon—perfect simplicity for a beautiful bride.
“Jake’s gonna lose his shit when he sees you.” I bite my lip, but my eyes still fill with tears.
“Don’t start that, or I’ll cry too,” Ava says.
“We’ve already had to fix her makeup twice,” Molly says. The sound of her voice sobers me, and as I turn to her, my feelings must be written all over my face, because her shoulders sag. “Sorry. I’ll get out of your way.”
“No,” Ava says. “Please stay. No fighting on my wedding day.”
“Molly, it’s fine,” I say. It doesn’t feel fine, but I’ll try for Ava.
Ava takes my hand and smiles. “You were supposed to be my maid of honor, but when you weren’t returning our calls . . .” She forces a smile. “Anyway, it feels weird to know I’ll be standing up there without you.”
“I’m here, though,” I say, squeezing her hand. “And this way I can take the pictures I need to paint you a special memory from today.” I wasn’t planning to make any such promise, but now that the words are out there, it feels right. I should paint again. Fuck not being “good enough.”
Her eyes go wide. “You never paint anymore.”
I shrug. “Maybe your wedding day was the inspiration I needed.”
She wraps her arms around me and pulls me into a tight hug. I close my eyes and hold on. With so many questions in my life, it’s good to know I have a few steady people I can rely on. Ava and Levi are that for me right now. Maybe they have been for years.
When she releases me, I look around at the bridesmaids in their beautiful plum-colored dresses. I know them all—Nicole Maddox, Ethan Jackson’s fiancée—the one who tucked the note into my invitation; Shay, Levi’s sister; Teagan, a local friend who’s a regular at girls’ nights; and, of course, Molly, Ava and Colton’s stepsister. It seems like just the other day we were all gathered around the table at Jackson Brews trying to convince Ava to ask Jake for sperm so she could have a baby. So much has happened since then.
“Oh, Ellie. You came.”
I turn to see a woman with short gray hair heading toward me. Levi’s mother, Kathleen Jackson, opens her arms and wraps me in a hug. “Hi, Mrs. Jackson,” I say, hugging her back.
“Thank you so much for coming. I know it means the world to Ava to have you here.”
“True story,” Ava says behind her.
“How are you?” I ask Kathleen.
“I’m amazing. I have family and good health, and I get to welcome Ava to our family on this beautiful day. What more could I ask for?”
Nicole is smiling at me too. “I’m so glad you came,” she says.
I nod. “Your note was really sweet.”
Nicole’s sister Veronica steps up beside her. She has her arms full of a chubby infant and waves. “Hi, Ellie.” She picks up the baby’s hand and mimics a wave. “Say hi, Jackson.”
“She named him after the Jackson family,” Nic says softly.
I nod. My hand goes to my stomach, and I feel that intense rush of grief for the child I lost the night of the assault. “I remember.”
Teagan is less restrained in her affection and picks me up off the ground when she hugs me. “You scared us,” she says. “I’d have been so pissed at you if you’d died.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want that,” I say, laughing. “Missed you, Teagan.”
She pulls back and beams at me. “You remember me. Yay!”
I nod. “I pretty much remember everyone now.”
“Anything about what happened to you?” Ava asks, wrapping her arms around her waist. “Or about who . . . ?”
I shake my head. “Unfortunately not.”
“But you’re staying with my Levi,” Mrs. Jackson says. “You’ll let him take care of you until the police get to the bottom of all this?”
I nod, my throat suddenly too clogged to talk. If I had any doubt that Jackson Harbor is my home, this moment with the people I love brings that truth front and center. I belong here. “I’d better get out there. I don’t want to miss anything.”
Molly catches me as I step out of the tent, and I stiffen even though I want to pretend she doesn’t bother me. “I wanted to apologize,” she says.
I arch a brow. “I was told you don’t have anything to apologize for.” The edges of my words are so sharp they could cut me open.
She shakes her head. “I didn’t sleep with him, but that doesn’t mean I don’t owe you an apology. I handled everything with Noah so terribly and it blew up in my face, and now . . .” She turns, but not before tears spill down her cheeks. She wipes them away. “Shit. He loved you so much. I wish I’d never told him the truth.”
I put my hand on her arm and nod toward the tent. “We can have this conversation another time. Right now, you need to be in there for Ava.”
She nods. “Thanks. I’ll call you, okay? Maybe we can get together next week.” More tears spill over, and she shakes her head. “Crap. I just hate this. I’m scared something terrible happened to him.”
I bite my lip. He’s okay. I saw him yesterday afternoon. But can I trust Molly? Colton must have good reasons for hiding, and he told me not to trust anyone but Levi. I say all I can: “I hate it too.”
She shocks me by pulling me into her arms for a quick hug. Before I can decide what to think, she releases me and ducks back into the tent.
I blink after her. She’s so genuine that it’s impossible to hate her. Damn it.
All thoughts of Molly disappear when I spot Levi walking toward me.
“There you are,” he says. Taking my hand, he pulls me around to the back of the tent so we’re tucked between the white canvas and the tree line. He cups my face in his hands and studies me. “Holy shit, I’m glad you’re here.”
Then he kisses me. It’s not long or tender. Just hard and meaningful.
“Hi,” I whisper when he pulls away.
He grins, stepping back and raking his gaze over my fitted red dress. His eyes linger on my legs before coming back up to meet mine. “Save me a dance tonight.”
“You dance?”
He holds my gaze. “Anything for an excuse to hold you close.”
“Everyone take their seats, please,” someone calls from around the front.
“We should go,” I say, totally not wanting to.
Levi kisses me hard again. “I changed my mind. Save me all your dances.” Then he walks away, and I’m left having to make my way to my seat with wobbly legs.
The ceremony is beautiful. The music is a simple flautist and violin duet that is the perfect fit for this outdoor wedding.
The bridesmaids gracefully make their way down the aisle, their skirts sweeping over the grass. The ring bearer comes next, and my heart tugs the moment I see his face. He looks so much like Colton, and it makes my heart ache. Whatever Colton’s hiding from needs to be resolved quickly. This little guy deserves to know his father.
The flower girl is adorable. Levi’s niece, Lilly, tosses rose petals on the grass and beams at everyone in a way that suggests she thinks this is her day as much as it’s Ava’s.