“Trust me,” Matteo replied. “That is the only reason you don’t see a Matteo-shaped cutout in the door.”
Emma blew him a kiss, and Matteo disappeared back behind the curtain.
“So…yeah.” She turned to face Haddie and Levi. “That was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I think that makes three of us,” Haddie agreed.
“There’s a small rack in back with the tuxedo options,” Emma continued. “Layla doesn’t really keep those on display since they don’t take up much space and the dresses need a lot more room to breathe. Layla and I have already pulled the maid of honor and groomsman options and put them in fitting rooms for you. So allyou have to do is try them on, let me know what you think, and we’ll all make the final decision together.” Her cheeks flushed. “I found my dress months ago, so no worries about Matteo seeing anything he shouldn’t before the big day.”
Haddie pouted. “DoIget to see it before the big day?”
Emma beamed. “Of course! My mom is going to meet us here in about ten minutes so I can show you both. I just wanted to get the boys started first.” She backed up toward the curtain and pulled it part of the way open. “Right this way, bridal party of two. Your wardrobe awaits!”
Levi and Matteo, relegated to the shop side of the curtain while still in their tuxedos, stared at each other for several seconds.
“I might have snapped a stealth photo of you doing birthday-party magician cosplay,” Levi admitted.
“You’re an asshole,” Matteo replied.
Levi laughed. “I know.”
“Emma, honey,” they heard Layla say. “When you’re ready, I’m going to have you hop on the platform in front of the three-way mirror.”
“Out in a second!” Emma called.
Levi gave his brother a single nod. “You gonna peek?”
Matteo shook his head. “Are you kidding? Emma will kill me. Plus…I kind of want to be surprised on the big day.”
Levi backhanded his brother on the shoulder. “Look at you being all traditional and shit.”
Matteo shrugged. “If I’m lucky enough to get a second chance with her, I’m gonna do it right.”
Levi could hear in his brother’s voice that Matteo still didn’tbelieve he deserved that second chance. The thought filled his chest with a hollow ache for all that his brother went through to get to this day.
“You don’t look like a magician in this one,” he said, gently grabbing Matteo’s lapels.
Matteo huffed out a laugh. “Is that big brother speak forI clean up good?”
Levi took a step back and crossed his arms. “Something like that.”
“Oh my god,” they heard Emma’s mom say, followed by a choking sound.
“It’s perfect, right?” Layla replied. “Like it was made for her.”
“You look stunning, sweetheart,” Mrs. Woods continued, and Levi could tell the woman was crying.
“Thank you.” The sound of his fiancée’s voice made Matteo stand at attention. “I am a freaking smoke show in this thing, right?”
Haddie laughed, her voice thick, and Levi wondered if she was crying too, something he’d never witnessed her do, even the night of the storm when she’d been so scared he could see her body trembling beneath her blanket.
He watched a glassy sheen grow over Matteo’s eyes.
“What the hell is it like?” Levi asked, and Matteo turned to face him again.
“What is what like?”
“Being that happy,” Levi admitted.
