“Now if I could ask everyone to clear a little path here, stand back just a bit, we can do this.” She turned over her shoulder. “Nick?”
The lights dimmed so that the room glowed with the golden warmth of candles, and the dark-haired man Erin had pointed out as their friend Coco’s husband stepped out from the crowd and stood in front of the fireplace, a leather portfolio in his hand. So was he ordained or something? I noticed Sebastian step out as well, standing opposite Skylar and me, hands folded in front of him. I glanced at Skylar, who was giving him a look that said if you knew about this and didn’t tell me, you are dead.
But before she could accost him, the music started again—Frank Sinatra’s “Young at Heart,” which was our parents’ wedding song. My mother was already dabbing at her eyes by the time Natalie and Miles appeared, hand in hand, walking through the path the guests had created. My throat closed, and Skylar and I clutched each other. How did we miss this?
Natalie wore a short, A-line maternity cocktail dress in ivory with a halter neck tied in a bow above her left shoulder. Her hair was up, her skin was radiant, and she had a smile on her face that rivaled all the strings of lights in the room.
Miles looked handsome in his dark suit, but more than that, he looked madly in love with our sister. Suddenly I realized that his family wasn’t here, and I felt sad for him—I knew they weren’t very close, and maybe it didn’t bother him that his parents wouldn’t see him get married. Although, maybe he’d invited them and they hadn’t elected to come.
Miles and Natalie reached the front, and she looked over at Skylar and me, a guilty but gleeful grin on her face. My eyes teared up, and I smiled back. Nick began the ceremony, and I looked for Levi in the crowd—he was so tall, I found him pretty easily, standing a little to one side and pointing things out to Scotty. Poor kid thought he was coming to a party and has to endure a wedding, I thought. I’ll make sure to get him something sweet to eat as soon as it’s over.
I still couldn’t believe he was here, and I blinked a few times to make sure he didn’t disappear from the flickering shadows. But there he was—tall and strong and beautiful, holding his son’s hand and locking eyes with me, telling me without words that from now on we would share one life together, celebrating beautiful times like this and supporting each other when things got tough. Because it wasn’t about being perfect, it wasn’t about having the perfect love story, and it didn’t matter that it might take us a little longer to get where we wanted to go. We’d get there.
With our eyes still on each other’s, he brought one hand to his ear and rubbed it—their little sign for I love you. My breath caught, my eyes filled, and my entire body hummed with assurance that I’d found—we’d found—where we belonged.
? ? ?
I introduced Levi and Scotty to my parents, who both insisted they come for dinner tomorrow night.
“Thank you,” Levi said. “Scotty is going to spend the night at his grandparents’ house, but when I drive you back after brunch, I might be able to stay for dinner, maybe the night.”
I smiled. “Of course. However it works.”
Scotty and my dad talked baseball stats for a while, and Levi laughed that finally, finally, Scotty had found a kindred spirit, someone who appreciated the history of the game as much as he did.
When Scotty got tired, I walked them to the door, where Levi gave me a kiss good night and pulled me close. “If Scotty is OK at my parents’ house tomorrow night, I’ll come down and spend it with you.”
My heart beat hard against his. “I’d love that. It’s been so long.”
He groaned. “Believe me. I know.”
I bent down to ruffle Scotty’s hair and say good night, and he made eye contact for a second and said, “You and me, we’re in a club now.”
I smiled but looked up at Levi, a little confused.
Levi seemed baffled for a moment too, but then it must have clicked. “It’s from Up, a movie he likes.” His voice cracked a little. “The character that says it is named Ellie, and I think he associates her with you because I was talking about you last time we watched it.”
“Oh my goodness, yes! I love that movie!” Touched, I leaned down to Scotty again. “You’re exactly right, we are. We are in a club now.” I held out my fist, and he bumped it with a grin.
When I looked at Levi again, he went to say something but ended up just shaking his head, and I realized he’d gotten too choked up to speak. I took his face in my hands—I’d never get enough of that beard against my palms—and kissed him once more. “I love you. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He nodded and whispered, “I love you too. You have no idea.”