Dad answered, accepting a bouquet from the resort staff.
White lilies.
My stomach did a small flip as I took them from him, already knowing what I was looking at. I found a card tucked between the stems.
Handwritten in a far-too-familiar script, it read:The dress is beautiful. If you ever get bored of the boy toy, come find me.
I cast my gaze heavenward, as though I’d find an explanation up there for why he continued with this ridiculous game.
“What is it, darling?” asked Mum.
White lilies had been my favorite. It was what Noah would bring as an apology or when we celebrated. He’d brought them to my room in Venice before nearly getting into a fight with Malcolm. He’d left them in my house before I got home from Rome.
And he liked calling Malcolm ‘the boy toy.’
I let out a long breath, staring at them. Beautiful, expensive, perfectly arranged. Just like everything Noah did—beautiful on the surface but ultimately ugly underneath. “They’re from Noah.”
“So…” sighed Brie. “The Carabinieri didn’t find him, after all?”
“It would appear not.” I picked up the vase and walked to the desk in the corner.
Tough luck for him. I’d found someone who fit into my life perfectly. Malcolm didn’t need me to be anyone other than exactly who I was. He didn’t play games, leave coded messages, or show up uninvited with grand gestures. He stood up to my mother, was best friends with my brother, and made me feel more special than Noah ever had.
I rolled my eyes and dropped the lilies into the trash, card and all.
Jenn wrapped her arm around my waist. “Done?”
“So done.” I leaned my head on her shoulder. “And so ready to get married.”
As if on cue, there was another knock at the door, and Ashley entered, wearing the same dress as Jenn. She took one look at Brie and said, “We’re going shoeless? Perfect!”
I glanced at my mother, who cocked her eyebrow yet again. At leastshewas reasonable enough to keep her shoes on.
Outside, gentle stringed music began to play. That was our cue.
I glanced outside and waved Brie over to see our men. Our future husbands.
She held my hand, practically bouncing. Emmett had claimed to have been rooting for Brie and Will to get together for years. Even Malcolm had asked about their relationship theday he met the two of them. Somehow, I’d missed it. They’d been best friends since they were little, two halves of the same whole.
“My remarkable daughters.” My mother joined us and kissed both my cheeks, then Brie’s. Her voice caught slightly. “I’m so happy for you both.”
She left first, composing herself as she walked out the door toward the beach. Jenn squeezed my hand, then walked out with Ashley.
The music changed—our cue.
Dad offered us each an elbow. “Ready?”
Brie took his left arm, and I took his right.
“Thank you,” Brie said softly to Dad as we walked. “For being here.”
“Thank you for working so hard to free me, and for still wanting me after all these years.”
We stepped out into the evening sun, the path to the beach lined with more flowers. Will stood at the altar, radiating more confidence than I’d ever seen in him.
Malcolm stood beside him. Tall and steady and absolutely jaw-droppingly gorgeous. He’d always looked good in a tux. Images flashed through my brain of the first time I’d seen Blue Eyes staring at me from the lobby of Philip Maguire’s mansion. Then, when I’d snuck the girls out the back door when he showed up at my home, and I’d pulled a gun on him.
My cheeks started to ache, remembering how I’d zip-tied him to my car and pulled a hat over his whole head.
