Marigold nodded, and they made their way down the grassy slope. “Want me to do the talking?” he asked quietly. “You can even wait inside, if you want.”
Marigold considered the implication of this hugely generous offer—not having to see the shock on the guests’ faces. Or worse, the excitement at getting front-row seats to such a juicy scandal. The faux concern from Liesl and Bri as they tried to conceal their secret glee. Hannah’s last-ditch attempt to “talk sense” into her. But caring too much about what other people thought had gotten her into this mess. It’s what made her leave Hugo. What kept her obsessed with proving herself to Jonathan and his family.
“Thank you. But I want everyone to see us together. We need to make it clear that this a mutual decision, one that I’m taking responsibility for.”
The string quartet couldn’t drown out the agitated murmurs of the crowd as Marigold and Jonathan approached, or the gasps that rose up as everyone turned toward them. Her childhood friends and all their parents. Cousins, aunts, and uncles. Family friends. College friends. People she’d met through work.Jonathan’s colleagues. Most of Sandpiper Island. Hadn’t she had nightmares like this growing up? Wasn’t this just as terrifying as standing up to give a book report at school only to discover that you were naked? Wasn’t wearing dirty jeans next to her tuxedoed ex-fiancé, in front of two hundred people in evening wear, pretty much the same thing?
“Dearly beloved,” the senator began. “Please rise.” Marigold shot him a confused look and he cleared his throat. “Sorry, please remain seated. The couple would like to make an announcement.” He extended his microphone toward them, unsure who to hand it to. Marigold took it. “Um, hi everyone,” she said. “Sorry to keep you waiting. And thank you so much for coming this weekend. I know Sandpiper Island isn’t an easy place to get to, and it’s meant the world to me, Jonathan, and to our families that you’re here. We feel so, so loved.”
It was true, she realized. This wasn’t what she’d planned, or what her family had hoped for. But none of that could change the magic of sharing her favorite place in the world with people who’d played an important role in her life. And it certainly couldn’t take away from what it’d given Lulu, who was sitting in the first row, eyes shining.
“You’re doing great,” Jonathan whispered, squeezing her hand.
She took a deep breath. “After a lot of soul-searching, we’ve come to a decision—one that’s going to come as a surprise to a lot of you, but one that feels right to us…”
Marigold stumbled up the lawn in a daze, feeling almost drunk with relief. In the aftermath of the announcement, everything seemed funny to her: the way Hannah had burst into tears; thefact that Patty had broken the stunned silence by shouting, “Holy fucking shit”; how Bri had gasped and then audibly asked Liesl, “Wait, does this mean that Jonathan’s single now?”
Marigold could hear the officiant asking the crowd to remain in their seats, explaining that the ceremony would continue in a moment. She grinned, thinking about what Bill had whispered to her when she’d finished her speech. She needed to make this fast so she didn’t miss anything.
She ducked around the side of the yacht club and held her phone in the air, searching for the elusive spot where she’d get full reception. She was about to make the most important phone call of her life.
She took a step forward, then froze as four bars finally appeared on her screen. Without shifting her weight an inch, she pressed “Hugo” and held her breath as it rang.
“Hey.” Hugo’s voice sounded slightly distant, and there was more noise in the background than Marigold had expected. “Mare? You okay?”
“I’m fine. Are… are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m…” He trailed off, then started again. “Did you make it back in time?”
Even over the phone, a thousand miles away, Marigold could sense the enormous effort it took for Hugo to ask the question, how hard he was fighting to keep his voice steady as he waited to find out if the woman he loved was about to marry another man. Or if indeed she’d already done so.
“Yeah, I made it back, but…” She could almost hear him holding his breath on the other end. “We called it off. Jonathan and I aren’t getting married.”
There was a long silence. Marigold lowered her phone tocheck if the call had been disconnected. It hadn’t. “Hugo? Are you still there?”
“Yeah.” His voice was shaky. “I’m here.”
“I couldn’t do it. I don’t love him. Not in the way I love you.” Her heart was beating so hard, it felt like her blood was pushing the words out of her before her brain had time to make sense of what she was saying. And yet she knew they were truer than anything she’d said before. “I was an idiot to run away that time. I felt… well, it was so intense, and I was so happy, I assumed it had to be all wrong. Because I’d never wanted anything good for me that badly. Which is messed up to say, I know. But I’m not going to make that mistake again, and I’m ready to give this a real shot. I mean, if you’ll let me.” She took a deep breath. “I love you.”
She heard a muffled noise that sounded sort of like a laugh, but she wasn’t sure. Then Hugo cleared his throat. “I love you, too, Mare. Yes, let’s give this a go.”
“Really?” Marigold spun in a circle, too full of fizzy happiness to stand still a moment longer.
“Really.”
“Okay, okay. I know you have that camping trip, but maybe I can fly up when you’re back? Or maybe even head up a little early and wait for you? Do you need someone to watch Humphrey? Because I could—”
He cut her off. “I’m not going on the trip.”
“Oh, I didn’t expect you to cancel. Have your friends already left? I mean, it’s fine if—”
“Yeah, they left.”
“Can’t you catch up with them?”
“That’d be tough because I’m in Maine.”
Marigold froze. “Maine?”
