“For all the nasty things I said back at the inn.”
Natalie turned away, suddenly unable to meet Marigold’s eyes. “I deserved them.”
“No, you didn’t. Jonathan and I were never right for each other. Deep down, we both knew it.” A smile crept into Marigold’s voice, giving Natalie the courage to look back up. “But you and I were made for each other. Our bond is stronger.”
Natalie opened her mouth to laugh and was surprised when a sob escaped instead. Marigold closed the space between themand pulled her into a hug. “Are you really forgiving me?” Natalie asked after regaining enough composure to speak.
“Yeah. Do you forgiveme? I mean, the way I’ve always taken you for granted. Maybe even taken advantage of you. You’re right—I did always assume you’d be there to clean up my messes, and I didn’t really stop to wonder what messes of your own you might be hiding. It was just easier for me to believe you had everything under control all the time.”
Natalie shook her head. “I wanted you to see me that way. I wantedeveryoneto see me that way. What you said was right: it was easier to blame you than accept that I’ve been holding myself back, making excuses instead of going after what I want.”
“You’re not the only one.” Marigold sank into an armchair and waited for Natalie to sit on the plaid couch next to it. “I spent the last four years convincing myself that he and I were right for each other. I was so desperate to be the type of person he’d fall in love with.”
“So, what?” Natalie asked. “Marrying Jonathan was some kind of rebrand?”
Marigold leaned back against the chair. “Yeah, I guess. But it wasn’t just about the optics. I really believed he’d make me a better person. That he’d turn me into someone who deserved a kind, responsible man who cured kids with cancer.”
“But you love him,” Natalie said quietly.
“I do… but I also love theideaof someone like him loving me. It’s different with you.”
“Is it?” She thought for a moment. “I fell in love with him when he was just a goofy college kid with a terrible haircut who made me laugh.”
“And that’s why you belong together.”
Natalie turned to Marigold, startled. “Oh, come on.”
“No, I mean it,” she said firmly. “You and I have both wasted enough time worrying about what other people think. We both deserve to be happy. And I’m going to make sure it’s not too late, for either of us.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUROlivia
“You drive,” Olivia said as she unplugged the golf cart from the charger.
“Wow.” Zack raised his eyebrows. “You really are a changed woman. What happened to the control freak whose domineering ways proved so irresistible to me?”
“I’m still a control freak. I just need to draft something on my phone.”
“You can’t be serious.” Zack looked truly aghast, no hint of teasing in his face. “You’re working. Now.”
“No.” Olivia slid into the passenger seat. “I need to draft my apology to Marigold.”
Kissing Zack in the kitchen had been a top-notch distraction, but eventually, the seriousness of the situation had sunk in. She had to find her sister and apologize for ruining her wedding day. Or perhaps, more accurately, for making her already-ruined wedding day even worse. And she’d have a betterchance of making things right if she sorted out her thoughts properly ahead of time.
“You’re… emailing her?” he asked. She’d briefed him on the situation while they’d waited for the golf cart to charge.
“I’m writing some notes! Is that so terrible?”
Zack lowered himself into the driver’s seat. “No, I guess not. But this seems like a situation where you really just need to speak from the heart.”
“No one’s first drafts are ever that good, especially non-sentient organs.”
Zack turned the ignition, twisted to look behind him, and began to back down the driveway.
“You can turn around on the grass, if it’s easier.” Zack completed a deft reverse K-turn and steered the cart onto the narrow, tree-lined dirt path that led to the main road. “Stay to the left here; there’s a ditch that’s hard to see… oh, and watch out for those big roots up ahead.”
“I thought you were going to write,” Zack said dryly.
“I am!” But as she stared at the Notes app on her phone, she found herself drawing a blank. Her brain couldn’t focus—an unusual sensation for her. The events of the past few days had thrown her entirely off-kilter; humans weren’t designed to experience so many highs and lows in such quick succession.
