Maggie blinked down at her, dazed. The champagne flute stem was still in her hand, forgotten, the cheap plastic biting into her palm. She wanted to say something sharp —you don’t get to swoop in now, you missed so much already— but what came out instead was a shaky laugh.
“There’s this demonic swan,” she muttered. “That’s the top.”
Gwen’s brow furrowed, like she thought Maggie was joking. Then she glanced at Izzy, who raised both hands solemnly. “True story. Swan’s got a vendetta.”
Pete walked in from the back deck and paused to proclaim, “Gwyneth!”
Gwen laughed, giving Pete a wave. Her gaze went back to Maggie’s ankle, then up to her face, all careful intensity. The kind of look Maggie used to fall into. The kind of look that made her feel seen, even when she didn’t want to be.
And damn it all, Gwen was here. Gwen had come.
CHAPTER 30
Gwen
She’d leftthe office garage with no luggage, just her blazer and her phone. At the airport, she bought a ticket for the first flight to Traverse City without even checking the price. When the agent asked if she had any bags to check, Gwen just shook her head.
She’d cut it close — sprinting down the terminal with her shoes slapping against the carpet as the final boarding call echoed overhead. She collapsed into her seat, heart pounding, and texted Pete and Danica with the bluntness of someone who couldn’t sugarcoat it:On my way to Michigan. I know I’m crashing the wedding.
Danica had immediately sent a string of exclamation points, followed byYESin all caps. Pete replied with a promise of free rein in her closet, which had almost made Gwen laugh out loud at the absurdity.
Her layover in Dallas had been exactly forty-two minutes — just enough time to find a sandwich she barely tasted before boarding the second leg. Then Traverse City, an absurd minivan rental car, the drive north with Google Maps droningat her. She’d broken at least half a dozen speed limits on those winding roads, gripping the wheel hard enough to leave dents in the leather.
Then she’d been standing in the doorway of the lake house, chest heaving, blazer wrinkled from travel, Maggie staring at her with wide eyes.
It had been… heartbreaking, in a way she hadn’t expected. Maggie had crumpled at the sight of her, like Gwen’s presence had torn down all her defenses.
Their friends had joked for a moment, but then the air shifted and suddenly everyone seemed to remember something urgent to do in the kitchen. Within seconds, the room had emptied.
It was just the two of them.
Gwen let out a breath she’d been holding since Austin.
Maggie shifted against the pillows, her eyes flicking to Gwen’s and then away, like it was too much to look straight at her. “You didn’t have to come.”
“Yes, I did.” The words left Gwen before she could edit them, sharper than she intended.
Maggie scoffed lightly, though her voice wavered. “No, really. It’s such a hassle for you to get here.”
“It really wasn’t.”
Her head snapped toward her. “But?—”
“Maggie.” Gwen reached for her hand before she could overthink it, covering her fidgeting fingers with her palm. “Shut up.” She said it with a smile, soft enough to break the tension.
Maggie’s shoulders eased, the faintest laugh escaping her. For the first time since Gwen walked in, she looked a little less braced for impact.
“What do you need? Ice? Tylenol?” Gwen asked.
“Well,” she said, gesturing weakly at the open box of champagne flutes, “if you’re going to be here, then help me with these stupid cups.”
Gwen took the plastic stem from her hand, snapped it into place, and set it neatly in the box. “Done.”
Maggie smirked, shaking her head, but she didn’t pull her hand away.
For a moment, Gwen let herself believe this was what showing up felt like — quiet, ordinary, and right.
The restof the afternoon blurred — tasks traded hand to hand, laughter ricocheting across the yard, Maggie perched on the couch like a reluctant monarch while Gwen fetched, carried, and quietly logged her pain med doses in her phone under a note calledMags Meds.She typed the timestamps like they were sacred, as if recording them could keep her from slipping through Gwen’s fingers again.
