“And I am.” I force the corners of my mouth up. “How lucky are we?”
“So, so lucky,” Luna says. “You and Bex can take long strolls on the deck in the moonlight, dance till dawn, all the things you haven’t been able to do lately.”
Because Beckett’s been working all the time.Supposedly.
“I’m so excited.” I glance over at the twins’ finger paintings on the fridge—two stick-figure dads with matching messy hair under a glittery sun.
Snapping my head back, I open up my laptop, closing out my client schedule and bringing up the spreadsheet I made for the wedding. “Decorations are here and packed. We’ve received all the RSVPs. And I talked with Liza Gardner, the event coordinator on the ship, yesterday.”
“Thank you. Ash. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“We’ve got this, you and me.”
“You’ve got this. And I know you love it.”
“I do.” I glance at the clock. “But for now, I’m gonna have to let you go, okay?”Sorted & Styledneeds new reels—three before the cruise—and I still have to finalize the color palette for the Parkers’ pantry.
My little organizer business is the thing I built after bedtime and between loads of laundry—proof that I’m more than Max and Blakey’s mom, more than Mrs. Beckett Carrington of Walpole, Massachusetts, land of white fences and neighbors who trim their boxwoods to match.
Before I can say a proper goodbye, though, Luna jumps in. “One more thing, Ash.”
I hum questioningly to let her know I’m still there.
“I was just thinking—I wasn’t gonna wear one, but do you still have your veil? It can be my something borrowed.”
“My veil was longer than my train,” I say. I picture my own wedding dress—silk, beaded, an elaborate thing I wore when I was twenty-two. In our local church, in front of nearly three hundred guests.
God,eleven years ago.
Luna’s dress, by contrast, is a simple shift of soft white linen, sleeveless, perfect for a winery ceremony in Ensenada.Perfect for Luna. The thought of pulling my veil out of the attic makes me nauseous.
“Oh.” Luna sounds small for a second, disappointed, and I hate it.
I imagine Luna padding around her amazing kitchen, curls escaping from one of her hair clips, eyes bright with a stupid kind of joy I once took for granted.
“I can shorten it,” I add quickly. “I’ll make it suit your style. Of course you can wear my veil. I’d be honored.” I mentally set aside time to go up to the attic, after the boys go to bed and before my nightly shower.
“But that’ll be even more work for you to do. Are you sure you still have time to plan the bachelorette party? I could ask Tay?—”
“No,” I cut in instantly. “I’ve got it covered. Maid of honor duties are nonnegotiable.”
Luna laughs, and for a sliver of a moment, I feel light enough to match it.
“I really need to go, though…”
“Okay,” she says, her voice softening. “You don’t think it’s weird, do you? That I asked Bex to walk me down the aisle? I just… with dad gone...”
Dad, right. Because he’s not gonna be there. Four years, and somehow the ache of his passing still sits just under my ribs.
“Not weird,” I manage. “Like, not at all. Beckett is—” I glance at the empty chair across from me. “He’s honored, and he’s happy to do it.”
There’s a beat of silence, then a shuddering breath before Luna comes back on, bright and cheerful again.
“I know you need to go, and I’m gushing. I’m just… After, well… I didn’t think this was in the cards for me.”
“But it is. Everything is gonna be perfect. And… I can’t wait.”
“I can’t either. Love you.”
