I’m the one being left behind.
I shake the thought off, forcing my attention back to the pool. To the sunshine.
It doesn’t mean I’m not happy for her. Because I am. I amtotally happyfor Luna.
I swallow hard. “She would do the same for me.” I lean against the bar, let the water lap around me. “It’s just a week. Besides, you only get married once.”
“Theoretically,” Tay adds.
I turn around to see what she’s looking at.
Across the sand, Luna and Noah are getting strapped into a kite-like contraption. After a few minutes, they take off—literally—parasailing into the sky like two lovebirds. Everyone cheers. Josie, of course, is holding up her iPad videoing them.
Tay nudges me. “You should do it.”
“What? No way.” If I was the sort of person who snorted, I would have then. “I’m not the best swimmer.”
Tay just shrugs. “There’s this really cool invention. It’s called a life vest.”
Luckily I have another perfect excuse. “Beckett can’t get in the water…” I don’t bother explaining why because apparently everyone knows…
“Do it alone,” Tay suggests.
At first, it sounds absurd. I’mnota thrill-seeker. I’m not the woman who does wild, spontaneous things.
But… could I be?
Maybe it’s Alphonso’s special blend kicking in, or maybe it’s something deeper. Something shifting inside me—uncoiling after a year of tight control.
Whatever it is, I don’t fight it.
I let Tay drag me out of the pool and lead me barefoot across the hot sand to where most of the wedding guests have set up.
Just as we arrive, Luna and Noah come striding out of the surf, windblown and grinning. They're soaked from the waist down, hand-in-hand, looking like they just stepped off the cover of a honeymoon brochure.
My mom is tearing up. Josie’s mumbling something about "iconic content."
Noah lifts their clasped hands in victory, flashing that doctor-next-door smile. “Who's next?”
Everyone laughs. The obvious answer is no one.
But before I can stop myself—before I can remember who I usually am—I hear my own voice cut through the buzz.
“I am!”
The world tilts for a second. Heads turn. Even Luna’s brows shoot up.
Tay does a double take. “You will?”
I shrug, ignoring the flutter in my stomach. “Why not?”
A beat passes. Then the twins scramble up from where they’ve been digging around in the sand, castle molds and plastic buckets scattered everywhere.
“Are you seriously gonna do it, Mom?” Max’s eyes are wide open.
Blakey is frowning. “But… it’s the ocean.”
“I’m aware,” I say dryly.
