I was at the bar, leaning against the counter, a whiskey in hand. I took a slow sip, letting the burn settle, and tried to focus on anything other than the swirl of thoughts I’d been carrying all day.
“Hello, handsome,” Norah approached me.
“Hi,” I said, smiling back. I followed Hazel around the room with my gaze. She was talking to Mady’s parents. “Where’s your husband?”
“He’s taking selfies with Ethan. Apparently, he found the photo booth. You know how that goes.” Norah looked at me, and, after a pause, added, “I saw some interesting,newjewelry on Hazel this evening.”
“You did?” I asked casually without a hint of surprise in my voice.
Our gazes met, and I grinned, not able to hide it anymore.
“Congratulations,” she whispered and squeezed my arm.
For the most part, it was Norah who pushed me, who supported me. Now I understood. It wasn’t that she simply wanted me in a relationship. She knew being open to love would bring out the best in me. Love had the power to make me grow in ways I never imagined. It liberated me, rather than chaining me, as I once feared.
“You know that’s all thanks to you,” I said.
“Nothing I did would have changed a thing if you hadn’t wanted it. You have no one to thank but yourself.”
Norah was the steady presence our group didn’t know we needed—part older sister, part parent. In some ways, she saw me in a way my mom never had.
“It really suits you,” she said. “Love, I mean.”
“Who knew?!” I teased back, as she was walking away in search of Logan and Ethan, I assumed.
“Hey, Norah,” I yelled out, and she turned. “Love suits you, too.” I nodded at her swollen belly. She was five months pregnant and glowing. She raised her glass in a toast from a distance, and I mirrored the gesture in response.
Meanwhile, Hazel’s eyes had found me, and she was walking in my direction.
“Ms. Ridley, how nice of you to join me,” I said, putting my whiskey down to take her in my embrace. As we were swaying to the sound of music, my gaze instinctively drifted to her palm, and there it was—the ring. “Or should I say future Mrs. Davis?” I pulled back, surprised yet happy.
She gave me a soft, subtle smile. “Yeah, I figured out there’s no harm in me wearing it now. I felt like it showed that I was yours.”
“Youaremine. With or without it.”
Hazel’s head rested gently against me, a peaceful contentment in her touch. “I am.”
Technically, Hazel had fulfilled all her maid-of-honor duties, so we could slip away for a moment without causing any trouble. But just as I was about to suggest it...
Clink, clink, clink
“May I have your attention, please?” John spoke into the microphone on stage. A little tipsier than I would ever find myself on my wedding day if you asked me. Mady sat at the newlywed table.
“We want to thank you for coming to this event, that... that my beautiful wife had... had organized.” Alcohol was making its way through his system, but nobody batted an eye at a man of the hour who clearly celebrated his own wedding. It was the happiness and love of the bride and groom that clouded the guests’ vision. His words were jumbling together in a swirl of alcohol and appetizer paste.
“Also to my parents and Mady’s parents for blessing us with your presence, but most of all,” he said, looking at his new wife with glazed eyes. “To my... my gorgeous, beautiful wife. I’m so lucky to have you in my life. I, for sure... definitely would be a worse man without you. There’s never a day when I don’t thank God for bringing you into my life.” Mady looked with dreamy eyes at John and mouthed ‘I love you’at him.
“You’re my dream girl, you’re...”
“Nothing.”
“Say it again.”
A sudden loud voice echoed through the room, causing everyone to turn their heads. On the plasma TV, which had been set up for the Newlywed Game earlier, a black-and-white video flickered to life.
“She’s nothing compared to you, Liz. I’d give her up in a second just to touch your boobs.”
The first thing on the screen was a man, butt-naked, having sex with a dark-haired woman. It took me a moment to recognize the man, but when I did, it was undeniable. It was John.
