“Good choice.” She made a note on her clipboard, then lifted her gaze to mine, her mouth already opening for her next question when we both suddenly heard loud voices echoing from the foyer. Miriam paused, her pen hovering above the checklist we’d been diligently working our way through. “Were you expecting guests this evening, Will?”
“No,” I said slowly. “Not that I know of.”
Her eyebrows drew together slightly. “Then who?—”
The doors opened, and strangely, most of my family walked in. I gawked at them for a second, trying to process that they were here. Charlotte and Trent were leading the charge, Kate and Nate behind them, with Jesse, Zach, and Theo bringing up the rear.
Our two youngest brothers were looking at the place like they were trying to take it all in, but were failing spectacularly. Jesse already looked bored. Trent was hanging on to Charlotte’s hand like he was holding her back.
“What are you guys doing here?” I asked, so surprised that I couldn’t even hug my sister when she launched herself at me.
“It’s nice to see you too,” Trent said, clapping me on the shoulder as they stopped beside me. “Hey, uh, where’s the bar? I’m never crossing an ocean with a pack of Westwoods again. I need a drink. Now.”
“I thought the wedding was off,” Nate said, looking between me and the decorations like he’d missed a crucial memo.
“So did I,” I said flatly, my gaze sliding to Jesse.
He lifted his hands in surrender. “I may have withheld that update.”
“Eliza!” Kate’s voice rang out a moment later.
When I turned, I saw her walk into the hall from the opposite side, stopping short when she saw them. Her expression mirrored mine, a mask of complete, unfiltered shock.
“Hi,” Kate said, immediately taking off toward her with Charlotte right on her heels. “We heard you might be in need of a new wedding dress.”
Ah. So that’s why Trent was holding Charlotte back.
Eliza blinked hard. “What?”
Charlotte smiled. “Don’t worry. We brought options. I’m the sister, by the way. Charlotte Westwood. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Options?” Eliza repeated faintly as she accepted my sister’s hug. “I, oh. It’s lovely to meet you as well.”
“Options,” Kate confirmed as if that explained everything. “As in, we’ve brought several different dresses for you to choose from. A friend back in Chicago let Charlotte borrow them.”
“Andthat’swhy I need a bar,” Trent muttered. “When they say a few, they mean at least a dozen. We spent half the flight debating the pros and cons of sweetheart necklines.”
Before I could even process what was happening, they’d reached her, and Kate was taking her gently by the arm. “Come on. We’re on a tight schedule. It’s okay if we borrow her, right, Will?”
“I… yeah. No.”
Eliza glanced back at me, wide-eyed but smiling while Kate shot me a grin. “Don’t worry, we’ll return her in better condition than we found her.”
They whisked her away before I could say another word. “I had things to say. They didn’t need my permission if Eliza actually wanted to try on their dresses, but I was going to tell them that they had to at least ask.”
“It’s real bold of you to think anything you wanted to say matters right now,” Jesse said dryly. “They flew a dozen wedding dresses to another continent, trying to help. There was no way they were ever going to listen to you about this.”
“That’s very true,” Trent said. “Now, about that bar.”
Aaron appeared at my side like he’d been waiting for this specific moment. “If you’ll follow me, sir.”
Trent lit up like a Christmas tree. “Of course, I’ll follow you. I’ll follow you through the seven circles of hell if you can point me toward a bottle of decent whiskey and a quiet room with a leather chair.”
Aaron tipped his head toward a hallway. “I have just the place.”
As Trent, Nate, Theo, and Zach took off after him, Jesse touched my arm. I turned to look at him, immediately realizing that he was deliberately hanging back. “What’s going on?”
“Is there someplace we can talk real quick?”
