Losing him isn’t an option and I’m done being angry.Done carrying everything alone.Done mistaking control for love.
Maybe it’s time to be his brother, not his shadow.Maybe it’s time to trust he’s stronger than I ever let myself believe.
“Okay,” Jake says quietly.“We’ll try.”
And for the first time in months, I actually believe we can.
CHAPTER23
AN INFINITE LOVE IN A FINITE EXISTENCE
NORA
The champagne glassfeels delicate between my fingers as I raise it, the crystal catching the fairy lights strung above the reception tent.My heart pounds against my ribs—not from nerves, but from what I'm about to say.The marquee quiets, expectant faces turning toward me, but my eyes find Mom and Nick first.They're glowing in that way people do when they've found their person and everything else becomes background noise.
"If you love something," I begin, my voice carrying across the warm evening air, "love it wholly and completely.Don't love it half-heartedly.Cherish it.Say it and more importantly, show it."
I pause, letting the words settle.
The reception tent feels suspended in time, everyone leaning in.I think about Dad, about how he would have been over the moon that Mom, the love of his life, had found her happiness again.
"If I've learned anything over the past few years, it's that life is finite.It's fragile, and just because something is here one day, it might not be the next.But love—love is infinite.It will outlive us all."
My voice catches slightly, but I push through.
"Mom and Nick, I look at the two of you here today, surrounded by so many people who love you.But the two of you look at each other with a knowing that even though everything is temporary, your love won't be."
I raise my glass higher, my smile genuine and bright."So here's to infinite love in a finite existence."
The clinking of glasses creates a symphony of celebration, applause following like gentle rain.When I scan the room, my gaze inevitably finds Nate.He's already looking at me—of course he is, the way he always is when I search any crowd.His eyes hold something soft and proud and so deeply loving that it steals my breath.
There's this flutter in my chest, wild and desperate, reminding me I'm not just surviving anymore.
I'm finally living again and it’s because of him.
The first dance begins, and I watch Mom and Nick move together like they've been dancing their whole lives.There's something magical about watching two people who found each other later in life, who know what it means to lose and therefore understand the preciousness of what they've found.
Mom's dress flows around her effortlessly, and Nick's eyes never leave her face.They're writing their own love story, one that includes all of us—the messy, complicated, beautiful family we've become.
Jay and Camilla sway nearby, lost in their own bubble of contentment.I see Ollie grab Mia's hand and pull her onto the dance floor, and something in my chest tightens with joy.The happiness is overwhelming in the best way, but it still makes me crave space where I can breathe and think.
The night airis cooler by the water, carrying the faint echo of celebration from the tent.I walk to the end of the dock, my heels clicking against the weathered wood until I slip them off and feel the smooth planks beneath my bare feet.
The stars are brilliant tonight, scattered across the sky like diamonds, and I tip my head back to take them in.
"She's really happy, Dad," I whisper to the darkness.
The words feel natural, like he's standing right beside me.
"And I know you're happy for her too.I miss you though."
The silence that follows isn't empty—it's full of memory and love and the kind of presence that death can't quite erase.I wrap my arms around myself, feeling the soft fabric of my bridesmaid dress against my skin.
Footsteps sound behind me, slow and deliberate on the dock.I don't turn around because I already know.It's the same sixth sense that's been guiding me to him for years now, the invisible thread that connects us across rooms and distances and time itself.
Nate's arms find their way around my waist from behind, and it feels like every piece of me that was scattered suddenly clicks back into place.His cologne encircles us—cedar and something distinctly him that makes my head spin in the best way.When his face finds the crook of my neck, when his lips press gently against my skin, warm and soft and reverent, every fiber of my being comes alive.Electric currents race from where his mouth touches me to every nerve ending in my body, and I'm burning from the inside out.
I lean back into his chest, my eyes fluttering closed as I let myself melt into him completely.His heartbeat thrums against my back, steady and strong, and I can feel the gentle rise and fall of his breathing.
