“You look nice, Mom!”
Before I can respond, he darts out again, already chasing whatever adventure awaits outside.
I laugh softly, pressing my hand to my chest.
“I’m so glad he’s happy,” I murmur.
“Hey, Kels?”Thatcher’s voice drifts in from the doorway.
I turn.
My brother is leaning against the frame with his arms folded across his chest, one shoulder propped casually against the wood like he’s just wandered in by accident.
But the look on his face gives him away.
His brows lift slowly as his eyes sweep over me from head to toe.For a second he doesn’t say anything at all.
Just stares.
“Yeah?”I ask nervously, smoothing my palms down the sides of the dress.
He exhales a low whistle, and something that looks suspiciously like pride fills his gaze.
“Whoa, sis.”
A grin spreads across his face, bright, sincere, and just a little emotional.
“You look amazing,” he says, shaking his head like he’s still processing it.“Ready to get hitched?”
I glance down at the gown again, fingers brushing the soft ivory silk as it drapes over my hips and falls in shimmering folds to the floor.
I never would have picked something like this for myself.
The vintage cut, the delicate lace, the way the fabric hugs my curves before flowing loose around my legs—it’s elegant in a way that feels almost unreal.
But when J.T.surprised me last week by taking me dress shopping in town, he refused to let me talk myself out of trying things.
“You’re trying everything,” he’d said, planting those big hands on his hips while the poor boutique owner watched with wide eyes.
It had been unconventional.
A little bullheaded.
Very J.T.
But I didn’t mind one bit.
In fact, I loved it.
He sat in the little velvet chair in the corner while I stepped out in dress after dress, his big frame looking hilariously out of place among the mirrors and delicate racks of silk and lace.
And when I stepped out wearing this one—the room went completely silent.
J.T.’s jaw literally dropped.
He just stared at me like I’d knocked the breath out of him.
Then he stood up, crossed the room in three long strides, and turned slowly toward the woman at the counter.
