“You have our assurance that all evidence of what happened in that hotel room has been scrubbed from the internet and all devices we were able to locate — including your own devices and the email server’s,” Rhys continues. “Part of our fee also includes continued scans for these videos should they be uploaded from a hard drive. We cannot guarantee that the files have ceased to exist, but we can guarantee that they will never be found on the internet.”
“Great, thank you,” Tilly says.
We all stare at each other in silence.
Tilly squeezes my hand as though to communicate something.
“Right, yeah. Thanks, guys.”
Rhys nods to us.
Leo continues to stare at Donovan.
After another impossible silence in which I take my shot glass, sniff it, and decide it’s definitely grass juice, Tilly says, “Would you, umm, like to hold him?”
Leo considers it. Seriously considers it. Like, either you do or you don’t, but he’s unsure. I’m about to pick up Donovan for his own safety when Leo says, “No.”
The moment they leave, Tilly whispers, “I think they took Ani-Con away from the Winn and killed those people in an elevator.”
“Yeahhhhhh.”
Our final bye week is the first weekend in December. I’m back on the field by then and, just as I promised, playing better than ever. Morales did turn it around and finish his brief tenure strong, but my position is secure. And we’re finally saving money, although we had a long discussion and decided that Tilly’s father’s comfort and her unconscionable medical debt from both the cancer and the C-section needed to be taken care of before we can start spending money.
But Tilly deserves a wedding, and thanks to a lot of friends chipping in and a teammate who’s ordained, we’re having a wedding.
We set it up at the Jugs house. It’s not unusual for big parties to happen there, and the neighbors have all been warned in advance and told it’s a birthday party. We set it all up in the backyard, hidden from prying eyes by fences, so we know it’s not going to leak that Tilly and I are actually getting married now and not two years ago.
Cora makes Tilly’s wedding gown. I tell Tilly to ask for whatever she wants, that what she wears is her own choice. I figure she’ll go with something simple, and instead, whatwalks out of the back kitchen door of the Jugs house and onto the dense trail of white flowers, speckled with pink rose petals dropped by Allore’s little girl, is a princess.
The dress is gigantic, layers and layers of skirt traveling miles behind her and a snug bodice with the sleeves that lay over the arms instead of the shoulders and the dip in the center that almost shows cleavage. She’s got a long, shimmery veil and a gigantic bouquet of white flowers that drapes nearly to the ground. Behind her veil, I catch a peek of soft, baby pink curls.
I’m marrying a goddamn princess.
I sniffle.
Gammy in the front row, with Donovan in his tiny tux on her lap, sniffles. Tilly’s dad, who wasn’t able to walk Tilly down the aisle but was at least able to sit next to Gammy, sniffles.
Joss, standing across from me in the maid of honor spot, sniffles.
Gabe, standing directly behind me, sniffles.
Cadence Morales begins to play a different song on her fiddle from what she played for everyone else, something more regal, and I swear even she sniffles.
We didn’t write our own vows. That was Tilly’s call, too. She said because she didn’t trust me not to say something dumb, but I think it was just a lot of pressure she didn’t want, and I get that. I tell her all the reasons I love her every day. So does she. I don’t need to tell the entire world those things.
Kai Bodley walks us through the vows. He finally asks if I take Tilly to be my lawfully wedded wife in all those things they always say, and I say, “I do.”
He asks Tilly if she’ll take me to be her lawfully wedded husband, and she says, “Apparently, I did two years ago,” and everyone laughs.
Cora whispers to Joss, “Technically, Blaise was her kill,” and I have no idea what that means because I’m slipping a ring on Tilly’s finger — my one splurge since I stopped stressing about the blackmail, a giant engagement ring she’ll only wear for fancy occasions, I’m sure, but everyone does need to see she’s getting all the shinies from me — and kissingmy bride.
Chapter 34
Tilly
It’s another two hours before I can get to my own reception, thanks to the photo shoot Cora shells out big money for. Not for Blaise and me to have the best wedding photos ever, although we’ll certainly take them, but so she can use them to advertise her clothing line catering to larger women.
I don’t mind at all. And Blaise is looking sexy as hell in his suit. They’ll be great promotions. Emily Hess has already signed off on it, as long as Donovan’s not in any of them.
