Kit snorted and winked at Clara. “What did I tell you?Easy.”
Brody’s eyes simmered with annoyance, and something else lingered beneath the surface.
Oh. Oh shit. I know that look. That man is absolutely doomed.
“I need a drink.” Brody scanned the room until he locked eyes with Cal and headed in his direction.
Clara pressed her lips together, clearly trying not to smile before pulling Kit into a tight hug.
The afternoon blurred into a steady stream of people: neighbors, old classmates, business owners from every corner of town. They flipped through her lookbooks, signed up for consultations, hugged her like she’d just come home from a war instead of finally stepping into the life she should’ve had all along.
I moved where she needed me—refilling the punch bowl, grabbing extra folding chairs, fixing the loose screw on the bathroom door when it squeaked too loud. Mostly I hovered by the back wall, watching her work the room with that mix of nerves and competence that wrecked me every time.
She glanced over once, across the heads and the sound and the mess, and our eyes met. She grinned—wide and real—and the whole damn studio sharpened around her.
My woman.
My mind wandered to the ring that was waiting for her at home. I didn’t want our engagement to overshadow her big day, so it could wait, but I was crawling out of my skin. I couldn’t wait to ask her to marry me. To make her officiallymine.
Eventually, the tide started to ebb.
Elodie rounded up Cal and Levi, herding them toward the door.
“Come on, you two,” she said. “If we don’t leave now, I’m going to start reorganizing her supply closet, and then none of us will make it out alive.”
Levi dragged his feet, eyes still on the mirror. “Can I drive?” he asked Cal hopefully.
“Sure can, kid,” Cal said, digging out his keys and tossing them to his son.
Austin tucked a sleepy Winnie against his chest while Selene hugged her sisters.
“Say bye to Aunt Clara,” Selene murmured.
Winnie lifted her head, hair sticking up, and waved a floppy hand. “Bye, Aunt Clara. Your princess house is the best.”
“Thanks, bug,” Clara said, kissing her forehead. “Come visit me and boss me around soon, okay?”
Kit and Brody were last, of course. She shrugged into a denim jacket; he held the door open with his hip, already mid–eye roll.
“I’m not watching anything with dolls,” Kit said. “Or clowns. Or creepy children.”
“So ... none of the classics,” Brody said. “Got it.”
“Stop trying to trick me into having nightmares,” she shot back. “We’re getting Thai, and we’re watching something with absolutely zero murder.”
He shook his head like he was annoyed, but I saw how he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Seemed like I wasn’t the only one who was going to have thesorry dude, I kind of fell for your sistertalk with Hayes.
“Lock the door behind us!” Kit called over her shoulder, adding an incredibly unsubtle eyebrow wiggle in Clara’s direction.
The bell jingled as the door shut. Then it was quiet.
We both exhaled. Balloons bobbed gently near the ceiling. The last of the flowers sat in mismatched vases on every surface. The playlist had looped into something soft and slow.
Clara stood in the middle of it all, barefoot now, heels kicked off under the counter, her dress a little wrinkled, lipstick worn down to a soft stain. She turned in a slow circle, taking it in like she couldn’t quite believe it was real.
“Hey,” I said, coming to stand beside her.
She looked up at me, eyes tired and shining and completely, utterly happy.
