“Yes, I did, Ryder! Don’t gaslight me!”
Baby in hand, Raleigh stepped up to me and lowered his voice. “What’s going on?”
“You’ll see. But if Erin isn’t here in the next thirty seconds, I might need you to drive the getaway car.”
“We have to leave here in fifteen minutes,” Hannah was saying, taking on a look that was too similar to her mother formy liking. I gulped, slightly scared as she turned a blue-eyed glare on me. “IknowI walked in here with that dress and if you—Mom?”
“I’m here!” The door had burst open as Hannah was scolding me, and Erin rushed into the room, cradling a second dress bag. Her hair was swept away from her face and pinned into a bun at the nape of her neck, and she wore a matching dress to the one that Hannah had intended to wear. “Sorry! Dress crisis. It almost didn’t fit.”
Hannah was staring at her, disbelieving. “What are you doing here?”
I, meanwhile, let out a sigh of relief. “You could’ve texted me, Erin.”
Erin mouthed another apology over Hannah’s shoulder, who’d appeared between us. “What the hell is going on?”
Instead of answering her question, I turned to my mom. “Did you bring it?”
Grinning ear-to-ear, she nodded. “It’s right here.” She reached into the handbag she’d brought with her, withdrawing a small jewelry box and handing it over. She tapped my father and a very confused Raleigh on the shoulder, ushering them into the hallway. “Let’s go, you two.”
Noah went to follow, but I stopped him. “Can you stay?”
“Um, sure. Where do you want me?”
“Wherever. Just keep doing what you were doing.”
Erin stepped over to the closet, opening the door and hanging the dress bag from the top. She lowered the zipper and pushed the canvas fabric out of the way, letting the white satin slip dress take shape. The train hit the floor, and so did Hannah’s jaw.
“Mom,” she gasped, “tell me you aren’t going to wear that.”
“You are,” Erin and I said at the same time.
Hannah’s head whipped around to me so fast that I thought she’d faint. “What? I can’t wear white to a wedding.”
“Ourwedding,” I corrected. “Which means you can if we say you can.”
“James approved this?”
“He did, and he’s with Kian as we speak.”
Hannah shook her head, as if trying to bring herself back to reality. Then her eyes narrowed. “Doingwhat?”
“Han, you’ve moved mountains the last six weeks to give us the perfect wedding. By the sounds of it, you’ve spent your entire life doing it. You’ve turned out to be an amazing young woman, and you’re the entire reason that I’m standing here. There’ll never be a good enough way to thank you for it, but I can start with this.”
Erin sniffled, and I glanced over to see her fanning her eyes. “I’m fine. Continue.”
Laughing, I turned back to my daughter. “You gaveusthe wedding of your dreams, so thanks to you, we know it’s everything all of us have ever wanted. We would be honored to share this day with you and your husband.”
Hannah’s eyes welled up with tears. She floundered, searching for something to say, but Erin spoke first. “You always said it was your dream to wear my wedding dress. I hope that’s still true.”
Our daughter nodded, bottom lip trembling. “It is. But… Ryder, I can’t take this day from you. You’ve come too far for me to steal your spotlight.”
“You’re not taking anything,” I promised. “You’re joining me in it, and James and I can’t think of anything that would make us happier. You put all of this together for us, and we agreedtogetherthat this was how we want to repay you. Will you let us?”
Hannah blinked rapidly to keep the tears from ruining her makeup. I held my breath, and just when I thought I’d pass out from the lack of oxygen, she nodded and drew in a deep inhale. “Well, I’m glad I brought silver shoes.”
“Better get into that dress then,” I said, clearing my throat. “We’ve got a wedding to get to.”
Hannah took the dress and disappeared behind the dividing wall in the room. Erin and I watched each other, misty-eyed as we waited for her to call for help.
