“Okay.” Isla claps her hands, silencing the group of women around her. Lexi and I share a grin, while Isla’s best friends, Jess and Nevaeh, beam at my future sister-in-law. And they deserve to beam at her. After all, the two of them are the reason she met my brother. Isla puts her hands on her hips and smiles. “The wedding colors are cream and sage, so your dresses will be sage. They’ve pulled a handful of different style options for you to choose from by the same designer. Pick whichever one you like the best.”
A consultant wheels a rack of satin, sage-green dresses out. They’re all floor length, but some have spaghetti straps whileothers have draped bodices or sweetheart necklines. The color will perfectly offset Isla’s pretty red hair, and I love it. The employee waves Nev over first, and we all sip champagne and enjoy the mini fashion show.
One by one, each of the bridesmaids tries on dresses until only I remain. It’s been fun, spending the day with these women. I’m so happy I’ll be able to call Isla my sister-in-law in a couple of short months.
“Hey,” the woman in question says softly. She places a palm on my hand to get my attention and leans in. “I just wanted to say sorry again.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about. I know my brother’s heart was in the right place. But I’m an adult, and I don’t need him to butt into my life anymore. He doesn’t have to save the day or fight my battles for me. It was sweet when we were younger, but now I need him to trust that I know what’s best for me.”
My sweet, soon-to-be sister-in-law nods. She studies me a little too intently. “He does. Whenever you have someone important to introduce to him, I hope you know he’ll support you. As long as you’re happy, he’ll be happy.”
“I sure as hell hope so,” I mutter.
Isla cocks her head to the side and the faintest smile twitches at her lips. “He will be. Even if it requires some adjustments on his part.” That smile of hers finally slips free and grows.
I’m opening my mouth to ask her what she means by that—because that’s an oddly specific thing to say—when the consultant calls my name and waves me toward the dressing room. “Right. We can finish chatting about this later.”
“I’m all ears whenever you want tochat,” she says. “About anything.”
Right. That feels… Does she suspect something?
Not allowing myself to go down that rabbit hole, I follow the employee back to the dressing room, where she has my top threechoices hanging and ready for me. As I change into the first one, I can’t help thinking about Griffin. All this wedding planning makes me a little sad that he and I skipped right over this part. I was never the girl who spent time actively dreaming about her wedding, but I did always assume I’d have one.
Getting married by a young Elvis in Vegas was never a thought that crossed my mind.
The first two dresses are okay, but the third is perfect. It’s got a simple, classic design that makes me look tall and curvy in all the right places. The neckline has a drape to it, the straps are thin, and there’s a slit that goes halfway up my left thigh. When I leave the dressing room to show Isla and the girls, they all cheer and clap.
Isla’s eyes tear up, and she clasps her hands in front of her chest. “You look so beautiful. I can’t believe I’m going to have a sister, let alone one so hot!”
I laugh at that, even though I’m tearing up too. I couldn’t have asked for a better sister-in-law, and I’m so glad my brother got his head out of his ass. Part of me was worried he’d never find someone after the way a couple of his exes treated him, but I’m happy to be wrong.
We all pay for our dresses and make appointments for alterations. It’s a quick timeline, but with Maddy’s career and the time the Rogues spend out of town, they only have a small window where they can get married and go on a honeymoon without having to plan around hockey.
After we settle everything at the dress shop, we go out for mimosas and brunch. Conversation flows so easily, and not for the first time, I’m filled with gratitude that things with Jared didn’t work out. If he and I had stayed together, I never would have left Chicago. I would have missed out on this time with Isla and my brother, I never would have become friends with Lexi,and I never would have wound up married to the sweetest man in the entire world.
When talk turns to men, and Isla grills Jess and Nev about their dating lives, I am so close to spilling the beans and blurting out that Griffin and I are in a relationship. That we’re married, and the sex is earth-shatteringly amazing. But I don’t. I can wait for another week. I can.
I wonder what would have happened if we’d come clean about everything that first morning in Vegas? How different would things have been?
But it’s pointless to consider what-ifs, because I can’t go back in time and change anything. And I’m not sure I would. The months we’ve spent married in secret have given us time to grow closer and let our relationship evolve without any pressure or outside input. And I think we needed that, even though I know Griffin has hated keeping this a secret.
Just another week. I can wait another week.
“I missthe hell out of you.” Griffin sighs as he flops down onto a hotel bed, his hair still wet from a post-game shower.
“I miss you too. You look tired.”
“I am. It was an intense game. I swear they had the refs on the payroll for this one.”
The Rogues won tonight, but barely. It was an intensely physical game, and I shouted at the television more times than I could count. Especially when one of the opposing players checked Griffin so hard into the boards that he looked slightly dazed afterward.
“I’ll give you a massage when you get home.”
Griffin perks up at that. “A naked massage? Because that would definitely help me feel better.”
“Yeah,” I say, chuckling. “A naked massage.”
“Hell yeah. You can oil up your tits and rub them all over me.” His expression goes dreamy. “I miss your tits.”
