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My twin goes quiet. I stare at her, waiting for it to sink in.

How nice can Marcus be if he literally laughed at how I smelled during a photo shoot? I checked myself in the car. I didn’t smell bad—not that I could tell, anyway. And even if I had smelled bad, he shouldn’t have laughed at me. Who even does that?

“That is bad,” Winona finally admits. “I can't picture him saying that. You seem to bring out something in each other ... I don't know.” She shakes her head as if she can’t believe I’m not smitten with the amazing Marcus Delaney.

Bottom line? My sister will always have my back. She may try to convince me to make peace with the dragon, but at the end of the day, she will be the one to comfort me when the flames fly out of his nostrils and I get singed.

Winona’s face is so sincere. She looks me in the eyes and says, “I’m sure if Marcus is involved with Porch Light, he’ll do whatever you need. Don’t worry about it.”

“I hope you’re right. I’m going to mingle a little more. I need to make the most of having them all in one place. When else will I be able to get the Thunder players to commit to helping the project?”

“I’m sure you’d find a time and a way,” Winona says with a smile of admiration. “I’m going to go help my fiancé. I’m not sure Declan knows it’s not normal to have valets, servers carrying trays, food stations, and a DJ at a barbecue.”

I lean in and hug her through our laughter.

Then I walk toward Jaxon Pierce. He already knows me. He’s talking with Caleb Sutton and Aaron Hayward.

It’s possible Marcus won’t end up being able to be a part of Porch Light.

Maybe he’ll get the bubonic plague or black death, leaving him unable to participate.

I chuckle softly to myself.

With my luck where Marcus Delaney is concerned, I'd catch a fatal disease from him.

Declan and Winona Text Thread

Winona: We’ve got a situation

Declan: Does it involve the porch geese? A runaway goat?

Winona: No. Marcus and Cass.

Declan: A situation? Is that what we’re calling it?

Winona: Declan, I’m serious. They’re in our wedding party. And they drive each other crazy. I think they just got off on the wrong foot.

Declan: Last Thanksgiving? Or in St. Thomas?

Winona: Yes. Both. And now. Don’t you think if they just had a chance to sit down together, they could see the good we see in each of them?

Declan: That’s like saying I just need to go to lunch with the Falcon’s linebacker.

Winona: Well, maybe you do.

Declan: Forever the optimist. It’s one of the many things I love about you. What do you have in mind?

Winona: What if we set them up on a date?

Declan: A date? They can’t stand one another. A date is the last thing they need—and it’s definitely nothing they’d agree to. No offense. Your heart’s in the right place.

Winona: Hear me out. It’s not a date-date. What if we send them on a blind date so they’ll show up. Then, once they’re there, we text them and beg them to stay for an hour to give each other a chance.

Declan: I bet you dinner at The Standard they don’t stay one minute after they see each other.

Winona: I think if we beg them. Tell them we want this for the wedding …

Declan: It means that much to you?