“Uh-huh,” he replies, still smiling. Then his expression softens. “But seriously, I’m happy for you, Reyes. After years of watching you swear off anything real… You deserve this. You deserve someone who actually gets under the standoffish armor you’ve worn for the past few years.”
“I don’t have a standoffish armor,” I protest.
He gives me a blank look, and my lips press into a thin line.
“Sienna crashed through all of that,” he continues. “She also deserves someone who sees her fire and doesn’t flinch, someone who stays. And you… you’re that guy, Reyes.”
I nod, my throat suddenly tight. “I want to be that guy for her.”
“You already are,” Ethan says, raising his beer and clinking it against mine. “To falling in love and finding the person who makes your heart feel like home.”
I clink back, the sound bright and clear in the quiet night. “To that.”
We stand shoulder to shoulder for a while, looking out over the dark ocean. The waves keep rolling in, steady and endless, and for the first time in years, I don’t feel the need to plan what comes next. I just feel… here. Present. Completely caught up in a woman I never saw coming.
Ethan bumps my shoulder lightly, a wicked grin on his face. “She’s going to drive you fucking crazy sometimes. You know that, right?”
I stare at the ocean, a smile tugging at my lips. “Oh, yeah. I’m counting on it.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Sienna
The morningof Aria’s wedding is beautifully chaotic.
The bridal suite has become a full-blown command center. Hair stylists and makeup artists are set up in every available corner, with brushes, palettes, curling irons, and spray bottles covering every surface. The air smells of hairspray, perfume, and pure happiness.
Bridesmaids lounge in baby-blue silk robes and slippers, laughing, gossiping, and occasionally panicking over a lost earring or smudged eyeliner. An upbeat playlist of love songs fills the room, and every few minutes another burst of giggles erupts over something silly.
I’m sitting in one of the vanity chairs while the stylist finishes twisting my hair into a half-up, half-down style. The baby-blue silk dress with thin straps hangs on the door in front of me, its chiffon flowing to the ground. It’s beautiful and breezy enough for the island heat.
Aria stands at the center of the room on a small platform, adjusting her veil. She looks absolutely breathtaking. Her ivory gown is simple and elegant, with delicate lace details, and her hair falls in soft waves, pinned back with fresh flowers. But herhands tremble as she smooths them down the front of the dress, and her face is pale beneath flawless makeup.
“I think I’m going to throw up,” she whispers, eyes wide. “Sienna, what if?—”
I stand up immediately, ignoring the hair stylist’s protest, and cross the room to take her hands. Her fingers are ice-cold. “Hey.Breathe. Everything is going to be fine.”
Aria’s eyes fill with tears. “I love him so much that it scares me.”
“That’s how you know it’s real. Love that big is supposed to scare you a little,” I say, squeezing her hands and feeling their slight tremble. “But you’re not doing it alone. You’ve got me. You’ve got Mom. You’ve gotallof us. Most importantly, you’ve got Ethan waiting for you at the end of that aisle, ready to spend the rest of his life with you.”
She lets out a shaky laugh, then pulls me into a tight hug. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Sienna.”
“You’ll never have to find out,” I whisper, hugging her back just as tightly. Her heartbeat thuds against mine, fast and nervous. “Because I’malwaysgoing to be here, especially now that you’re moving to New York next year. We’re going to be so close again. I can already picture us having chaotic Sunday brunches and complaining about the subway together.”
Aria pulls back just enough to look at me, her eyes shining with happy tears. “You’re really planning to stay in New York longer than you originally planned, then?”
The question settles warmly in my chest. I nod, my throat suddenly tight. “Yeah… I am.”
Her smile is so wide it almost outshines her dress. “Is it because of Milo?”
I try to press my lips together to suppress my smile, but it breaks free anyway. “Today is about you. We’re not making this about him and me right now.”
“But—”
“No ‘buts.’”
Before she can push, Mom comes over, her eyes already misty, and wraps her arms around both of us.
