Emma laughed and grabbed her friend’s hands, giving them a reassuring squeeze. “Oh, honey. You chasedme. And I don’t mean to Summertown, though I’m super happy that’s how it all played out. But even back in Chicago when I would have been content with the little hermit life I’d built for myself,youwouldn’t let me. And your grandmother? You went to her assisted living facility for every FIFA Women’s International game that was broadcast in the United States becausesheloved the game. She’s the reason you fell in love with soccer in the first place. You chased her love or her connection orsomething, Hads. And it’s okay to admit that, even if your relationship was strained.”
Haddie squeezed Emma’s hands back. “I thought it would hurt less if I didn’t admit that I loved her.” If she didn’t admit that she loved Levi. But it still hurt.Somuch.
Emma sniffled, then blinked wildly. “You’re going to make my mascara run, but you know what? I really like this new, vulnerable Haddie.”
Haddie laughed. “I’ll remind you of that a week from now aftercalling you each night of your honeymoon as I sob through all my new feelings.”
“I’d answer every time,” Emma replied without missing a beat, and Haddie believed that she would.
“Should we go back out there?” Haddie asked. “I think I’m supposed to give a speech or something.”
Emma’s face lit up with the all-consuming type of joy reserved only for someone who just realized she was about to go greet her new husband again. Then she nodded, and Haddie squared her shoulders and led her friend back outside.
She’d felt her feelings, and her heart still ached. But she would also be okay. Eventually. Because the more she let Emma in, the less she’d be alone. And maybe the same would be true for other people who entered her life, if she could just be brave enough to let them in too.
Chapter 29
“Um…excuse me, everyone. I know you’d rather continue dancingin the middle of the square or enjoying the delicious food prepared by the Woods Family Inn, but you’re going to have to pause for just a few minutes to let me steal the spotlight from the bride. My name is Haddie Martin. I’m the maid of honor, and I’d like to say a few things to Emma and Matteo.”
Levi dropped the meatball on a toothpick he’d been twirling around his plate, his head jerking in the direction of the square. There, standing in the parklike area of the town’s main square, beneath fairy lights that had been strung from the branches of last summer’s newly planted trees, stood the woman who’d eluded him all night—and for the past four weeks.
He abandoned his plate on top of a trash can where many others were piled and weaved between various high- and low-top tables peppered along the sidewalks and barricaded streets until he was standing on the perimeter of the square, close enough to see that the whites of Haddie’s eyes were tinted pink as if she’d just been crying.
“As many of you know…” she continued, “Emma and Matteo’sstory began long before I met either of them, but I like to think that I’m the reason for them finding love a second time around. I say this because I was present when it happened, and therefore it must have something to do with me.”
She grinned, and Levi found himself laughing along with many others around him.
“Actually,” she continued, “I have always been quite the skeptic when it comes to matters of the heart. But Emma and Matteo, and many other wonderful people I’ve met since moving to this town, have made me question my beliefs…and quite possibly all my life choices.”
More laughter burbled through the crowd, but Levi’s chest grew tight. Was Haddie being self-deprecating for the purpose of the speech, or did he dare to hope there might be an admission hiding between the lines?
“Happily ever afters are alive and well in Summertown, everyone. And nothing makes me happier than being able to raise a glass to two people who deserve the overflowing joy they’re experiencing tonight.” She lifted her champagne flute, and everybody else did the same. “Ems…Matteo…may the rest of your life continue to overflow. I love you.”
Applause, cheers, and severalAwesrang out. Then silverware chimed against crystal as wedding guests insisted the bride and groom kiss, which they were more than happy to do.
“And now…the best man.…brother of the groom…Levi Rourke.” Haddie set the microphone down on a stool that had been next to her, but before she walked away, she looked directly atLevi as if she’d known exactly where he was for the entirety of her speech. She gave him a soft smile, and everything inside him lit up like a thousand fireflies illuminating a summer sky.
He wanted to follow wherever she went, wanting anything other than taking his eyes off of her and losing her once more in the crowd. But he was next at the mic, and the one thing he would not do tonight or ever again was disappoint his brother.
So Levi made his way to the center of the square, swiping his own flute of champagne from where several were lined up for the taking along the outdoor bar and lifting the microphone that had just been in Haddie’s hand. He shivered from the inside out, imagining—remembering—her touch. Then he cleared his throat and pulled out his phone, not wanting to forget a single word.
“Good evening, everyone. I’m Levi, the groom’s older brother. You might know me from such things as growing up in this town, playing ball for the Muskies, and quite recently from a little mishap that was lucky enough to make it onto national television.” Unlike Haddie, Levi’s attempt at levity only earned him a few uncomfortable laughs. “I’d say you were a tough crowd, but you’re right. I shouldn’t make light of the things I’ve done that I’m not proud of. None of us should. But here’s the thing. I’m not the guy I was ten, fifteen years ago. Hell, I’m not the guy I was ten, fifteen weeks ago.
“Truth is, I look at the second chances at love bestowed upon my brother and Emma…” He glanced to where his brother and sister-in-law stood hand in hand on the opposite end of the square. “Upon my father and his new fiancée.” He gave his dad and Tilly a nod. “And I think about how much their stories have changed inthe span of the years we’ve all been stumbling around this town or country or planet. None of us are the people we’ve always been. We aren’t the mistakes we’ve made or the losses we’ve endured. Those things are a part of all of us, but they aren’t the whole story.”
He scanned the crowd for Haddie but of course couldn’t find her. “Someone once told me,” he continued, “not to let others tell you someone else’s story. So I’m not going to tell you Emma and Matteo’s or my father’s—or anyone’s story, for that matter. What I will say is that we cannot rewrite the chapters we’ve already lived. But the ones not yet written are so full of possibility, and I cannot wait to see what my brother and Emma—now my sister—write next.” He held his glass high. “To Emma and Matteo and the best parts of the story yet to come. Cheers.”
He saw Emma swipe a tear from under her eye and caught his brother mouthing the wordsThank you, and Levi knew that his whole family’s story still had so many more good chapters to come, even if he had to live them without Haddie.
***
When an hour had passed and Levi swore he’d scanned every face in the crowd, had peered into every possible nook and cranny of the closed-down square, he finally gave up and made his way to the pop-up bar in front of the town hall.
He was opening his mouth to order something strong when a voice from behind interrupted before he could.
“I’ll have whatever he’s having,” she said, and for a moment, Levi lost the ability to speak or move or pretty much anything.Because if he turned to face her and itwasn’tHaddie, he was pretty sure his heart would turn to dust and he’d basically disintegrate along with it. If he turned and itwasHaddie, then what? He got his hopes up and she got scared and bailed again?
“He hasn’t ordered yet,” the bartender said.
