"That was yesterday. This is today. Different day, different favor."
I look around the room at eager faces: the committee vibrating with anticipation, Mrs. Lee already mentally measuring me for alterations, and Emma with puppy dog eyes that have been getting her out of trouble since we were five.
Then I look at Logan, Griff, and Xavier, still kneeling on the floor with hope written across their faces like they're afraid I might change my mind.
"Fine," I say, and the cheer that goes up probably registers on seismic equipment. "But I'm not wearing the soda can ring for the actual ceremony."
"Already handled." Xavier produces four simple gold bands from his other pocket like a jewelry magician.
"You had rings in your pocket this whole time?"
"I've been carrying them for three months," he admits, looking embarrassed. "Just in case."
Emma makes a sound like a deflating balloon. "That's so romantic I might actually throw up."
The chaos that follows blurs together: excited chatter, plans being made and immediately changed, and controlled pandemonium that only happens when the matchmaking committee gets involved. Beverly starts barking orders like a drill sergeant. Mrs. Lee begins taking measurements with a tape measure that appeared from nowhere. Carol Anne mutters about cosmic alignment while Rose Kim makes lists with campaign manager efficiency.
Through it all, I keep staring at the three men who just turned my world upside down in the best possible way.
Thanks, universe, I think as chaos swirls around us. Took you long enough.
38
SAVANNAH
Afew hours later, the venue has been transformed from "post-blizzard disaster zone" to "winter wonderland wedding venue" through what can only be described as barely organized pandemonium orchestrated by the matchmaking committee.
I'm standing in the bridal suite while Mrs. Lee performs actual magic with needle and thread. The backup dress fits like it was made for me, the alterations so precise I'm convinced she sold her soul to the sewing gods decades ago.
"Hold still," Mrs. Lee mumbles around a mouthful of pins, her weathered hands working with the precision of a surgeon. "Perfection takes patience."
Emma sits cross-legged on the bed, somehow managing to look elegant despite her rumpled state and the chopstick still holding her hair up. "I can't believe you're stealing my thunder."
"You literally begged me to share your wedding day."
"Minor detail." She waves a dismissive hand, her engagement ring catching the light. "The point is, you look gorgeous and I'm taking full credit."
"For what, exactly?"
"For orchestrating this entire romantic disaster, obviously. Who do you think suggested the mountain venue in December? Who insisted on inviting everyone within a fifty-mile radius? Who got us snowed in because she wanted a winter wonderland wedding?"
"So you're admitting this was all an elaborate matchmaking scheme?"
"See? Mastermind." Emma grins, then sobers slightly. "Seriously though, Sav, I'm happy for you. You've been miserable for months, and watching you three dance around each other was painful."
"We weren't dancing."
"You were waltzing. Badly. Like middle school dance level awkwardness."
Through the window, I can see the barely contained chaos happening outside. Logan is directing what appears to be a small army of teenagers in clearing snow from the ceremony area. Emma's cousin Jake is lobbing snowballs at his girlfriend Mia while she tries to arrange pine boughs, creating a winter decoration war zone that would make Martha Stewart weep.
Griff has somehow charmed his way into the kitchen and is coordinating with the catering staff to create a reception menu from whatever survived the storm. The man could probably convince penguins to host a barbecue in Antarctica.
Xavier stands in the middle of it all with a measuring tape and the expression of someone solving a complex architectural problem. Because of course he's turning emergency wedding planning into a geometric exercise. I bet he's calculating optimal guest flow patterns.
"Your boys work well together," Rose Kim observes from her perch by the window. She's been quietly watching the proceedings with the intensity of someone conducting a scientific study.
"The pack dynamics are excellent," Beverly adds, scribbling notes. "Alpha cooperation, shared purpose, division of labor based on individual strengths."
