“This is so beautiful,” Millie says quietly, and when I look down at her, her eyes are suspiciously shiny.
“It is, baby.”
“Do you think that’ll happen to you someday?”
The question catches me off guard. I want to give her a comforting answer, something about how love finds everyone eventually, but I can’t quite make the words come out.
“I think,” I say slowly, “that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be right now. With you guys. Building our new life. And if something else comes along someday, that’s great. But this is pretty great too.”
She considers this, then nods. “That’s a good answer.”
“I’m a mom. Good answers are my specialty.”
“You literally told Aidan that sharks could live in our bathtub.”
“I said no such thing.”
“I heard you...”
“Let’s go congratulate the happy couple.”
I herd my children toward Delilah and Levi, who are still glowing with that just-engaged energy that makes everything around them seem brighter. Up close, I can see the ring better. Simple, elegant, a single stone that catches the fading light.
They’re adorable. Disgustingly, impossibly adorable. I’m so happy for her I could burst, even as a tiny, petty part of me wonders if I’ll ever have something like this again.
“The girls are going to lose their minds,” I tell her. “You know Hazel’s going to cry.”
“Hazel cries at everything.”
“She cried at that commercial with the dog last week.”
“It was a very emotional commercial!” Delilah laughs, then grabs my arm. “You have to be there when I tell them. Tonight. At book club. Promise me.”
“I’ll be there. Wouldn’t miss it.”
“And bring your camera. Jo’s going to want photos of everyone’s reactions.”
“Already planning the shot list in my head.”
She hugs me, tight and quick, smelling like flowers and happiness. “I’m so glad you moved here, Emma. I’m so glad you’re one of us now.”
My throat tightens unexpectedly. “Me too.”
Levi tugs her gently back toward him. “Come on, fiancée. Let’s go call your mom before she hears it from the Twin Waves gossip network.”
“Too late,” Delilah says. “Mrs. Sanders was walking her dog on the beach. She definitely saw. Mom probably already knows.”
They head off down the pier, wrapped up in each other, and I watch them go with that complicated feeling sitting heavy in my chest.
“Mom?” Jenna’s voice, surprisingly soft. “You okay?”
“I’m great.” I force a smile. “Come on. Let’s pack up. I’ve got book club, and you’ve got homework you’ve been pretending doesn’t exist.”
“It doesn’t exist if I don’t acknowledge it.”
“That’s not how homework works.”
“That’s not howyouthink homework works.”
