She shakes her head. “Nah. She might be scared, but I know her. She’s my best friend, after all. The one you’resleeping with,” she says pointedly.
I shrug, probably not as sorry about it as I should be.
“So you’ll talk to her?”
“I’ll talk to her.”
“And tell her you love her, right? I mean, you do love her, don’t you?”
I chuckle lightly. “Yeah, Izzy. I love her.”
She claps her hands excitedly, and fuck if that doesn’t bring a tear to my eye. She just went through this awful thing yesterday, yet here she is smiling and laughing, and still believing in love.
I’m glad. I don’t want her to sit around miserable like I did for years. I don’t want her to swear off relationships or marriage or getting close to someone just because she’s scared of getting hurt again.
Izzy is stronger than I’ll ever be, and I wish I could be more like my little sister.
I clear my throat, pushing down the emotions that lodge there. “So, any big plans for the day?”
She hits me again. “Too soon, Noah. Too soon.”
I grin into my glass, going to take a drink before remembering too late that it’s empty.
“You know ...” Izzy says, looking around the cidery that’s half finished for the cocktail hour. Odette spent all day yesterday working on it to ensure it was perfect for today, making a few last-minute changes to the table situation. “You guys did do all this work.”
She doesn’t have to tell me that twice. My back is still killing me from the hours I spent working on the barn, that damn chicken coop, all the weeds I pulled, and the mowing I did. Not to mention the painting and helping Odette move stuff around in the taproom. I haven’t been this tired since the end of a hockey season.
“I don’t think we should waste it,” she announces.
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah.” She nods. “Let’s not waste it. Let’s have a party.”
“A party?” That’s the absolute last thing I thought she would suggest on today of all days. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I am very serious. I did not cram planning a wedding into ten weeks for nothing. The whole reason I wanted to get married this year was so Mom and Dad could be there to celebrate with me, and I wouldn’t have to call them back from their big RV road trip.”
Is that why she rushed her wedding? I had no idea. She kept saying it was because of her anniversary, but I always thought there might be another reason. Now I know.
“Mom and Dad are still here. You guys have already done all this work, everything is paid for, and the taproom is already practically ready. We’d just need to finish the barn. A party makes sense. Besides, I’m a free woman now, and I want to celebrate that.” She bumps her shoulder against mine. “What do you say, Bubs? Do you want to party?”
Honestly, no, I don’t want to party. I want to find Odette and I want to tell her how I feel. But I also want to give her a little space. Maybe stepping away from this situation will give her a clearer perspective.
Or maybe that’s just me being afraid again.
I huff out a breath. “Oh, what the hell? Let’s party, little sister.”
“Yay!” She shimmies back and forth. “We can invite everyone in town. Throw out the guest list. Anyone who wants to come can come. It might look like a wedding because I wouldn’t want all your and Odette’s hard work to go to waste, but it won’t be. It’ll be a ... a ...” She taps her finger on her chin. “I got it! A liberation celebration!”
I grin. A liberation celebration sounds exactly like what she needs.
But she’s right. This place will still look like a wedding, and it gives me an idea.
“You know how you said I need to tell Odette how I feel?” Izzy nods. “I think I have a few ideas ...”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Odette
