Maddie held it out, blushing furiously.
Charlene leaned in. “Understated. Elegant. Naturally.”
Sera sniffled louder. “We all thought you’d be the sensible one, and now look—you’ve caught the worst case of it of all.”
Maddie blinked. “Caught what?”
Ashley beamed. “Wedding fever.”
That set off a round of giggles—Sera dabbing at her eyes, Charlene smirking, Ashley already planning a thousand details aloud—and Maddie stood at the center of it all, wrapped in their joy, her chest so full she thought it might crack open from the light inside her.
This was it.
This was her life now.
Then came the sound of footfalls in the corridor.
The men arrived—Thomas,Rotheworth, and Prince Alex—greeted with grins and teasing as they entered. Sebastian remained at her side, and she reached for him instinctively.
“Careful,” Thomas called out with a grin. “Don’t get too close. It’s contagious.”
“It is wedding fever,” Ashley said with great seriousness, still dabbing her cheeks.
“Please,” Rotheworth scoffed. “You say it like we’re trout. We weren’t caught.”
Thomas groaned. “Speak for yourself. I was the victim of a plot.” He took Ashley’s hand, kissed it, and added, “A successful one.”
Sebastian leaned close to Maddie, lips brushing her temple. “I walked right into the net. Willingly.”
“And gladly,” Maddie whispered back.
The room buzzed with laughter, with lightness and love. But when the women turned to each other—Charlene brushing Sera’s cheek, Ashley clutching Maddie’s hand—something deeper stirred beneath the surface.
“This isn’t fever,” Maddie said softly. “This is love.”
“A wild, reckless, wonderful love,” Ashley added, grinning.
Charlene gave a rare, genuine smile. “And thank goodness we all have it now.”
Sera, tear-streaked and glowing, threw her arms around all of them.
“Let’s never be sensible again.”
They laughed—the four of them—wrapped in each other’s arms. Maddie closed her eyes for just a second and breathed in the moment.
This. This was what forever felt like.
She turned, just slightly, and there he was.
Sebastian.
Watching her with that quiet, ruinous smile.
She held his gaze for a long beat.
He winked.
And Maddie knew, without a single doubt, that the rest of her life would begin just like this—
