Page 97 of Moving Forward

“I don’t know. I promise I’ll give this my all and we’ll be back together before you know it.”

“Okay.”

“And as much as I hate to say this, if time makes you realize you don’t want to be with me . . . it’s okay. I’m the first person you’ve been with since Ethan, and this time we’ve had together . . . it’s been the best of my life. But I realize space might change your opinion of what we have.”

“You think you’re my rebound.”

“In some ways, I am. I also know I’m more than that, and I hope you continue to see it that way. If you end up wanting to make this a permanent break, just let me know. I can handle it as long as it’s best for you and you’re happy.”

“I won’t want that.”

“So, you’re okay with this?”

“If it’s what you need, yes.”

“It is.” He strokes my hair absently. “I wish we could stay here for the rest of time. Just you and me and this bed and us.”

I snuggle into him. Tonight, I can pretend this is how we’ll spend the rest of our lives. That we aren’t about to go without one another. “You know I love you, right?”

His heart beats out an unsteady rhythm, rising in tempo and then slowing down. “I love you too,” he whispers, as though he’s praying that is enough.

I know in my heart that it is. I just wish he could see that too.

###

Ellie looks beautiful. Her dress is the perfect amount of princess and class. Her hair is pulled up in an elegant swoop that, with her red lipstick, makes her look like a model straight out of the fifties. I’m pretty sure when Danny sees her, he’ll fall even more in love with her. I can’t wait to see his expression when she walks down the aisle.

But before we can even hope to get to that point, we have to get her to stop crying. She was fine until I walked in, or at least that’s what Zoey told me in a snobbish tone, as if I was the cause of all the world’s problems. We all keep trying to get Ellie to explain the tears but all she says is that she’s just so happy.

Erin rests her arm on her belly. “Are you pregnant?”

Ellie hiccups. “No. Why would you think that?”

“Because I’ve cried more in the past nine months than I have in my entire life, and you, sweetie, are overwhelmed with emotion right now.”

“I’m marrying the love of my life!” Ellie holds her hands up above her head and does a little shimmy that makes us all laugh. Her tears don’t stop. “Of course I’m emotional! I’m getting married . . . Max is leaving me, and she has Cain . . . and you’re having a baby . . . and Zoey—what are you doing with your life, Zoey?” She doesn’t give her time to answer. I’m pretty sure it has something to do with genitalia-shaped baked goods. “So many changes! It feels so unreal.”

“That’s the way it happens, honey,” Erin says, gathering her sister into her arms for as much of a hug as she can manage. “You’re growing up. That’s a big step. It’s scary, even if you’re taking that step with the person you love. Plus, you’ve been waiting to marry him since you were in elementary school. You’ve practically waited forever for this day and here it is.”

“Here it is!” Ellie repeats with a sob. Erin waves for me to join in on the hug. I do. So does Zoey, if a little begrudgingly. We all start crying as we hold onto each other, none of us worried about ruining our makeup.

Eventually Debbie walks in and joins the hug-fest. Tom follows behind her but remains in the doorway, sniffling and wiping his eyes. He winks when he notices me watching him.

“Okay, okay, girls,” Debbie says, pulling away. She runs her pinky beneath her eyes to smooth out her eyeliner. “Alright. I’m here for the important part. The part that will ensure your marriage will last forever and ever and ever and ever. The luck part.” She motions to Tom, who’s holding a shopping bag, to come closer. “I had to struggle to find something . . . but I thought . . . well, your favorite perfume is blue.” She pulls the bottle out and sprays Ellie’s wrists, neck, and then her legs. “For when you walk.”

That makes all of us laugh, including Zoey.

“Something borrowed.” She gives Ellie a pair of pretty dangling pear earrings. We all ooh over them as Ellie puts them in her ears. “And something new to match them. Every girl needs a pretty pearl necklace. And then something old. This is also borrowed. Erin wore this on her wedding day, and I would like you to as well. It’s your great-grandmother’s cameo. My mother had it turned it into a bracelet.”

“It’s beautiful, Mom,” Ellie sniffles.

“Isn’t it?” Debbie agrees. “Now why is Max the only one dressed? You two, go.”

Erin and Zoey do as Debbie says, but Ellie stays by me, snickering. “Because getting dressed at Cain’s meant she got to spend more time with him.”

“I had to pack,” I clarify, even though I did that last night. I spent my morning wrapped in his arms, delighting in everything about him. When it came time to get dressed, he kept kissing me and our clothes kept magically disappearing. I ended up in his arms every time, naked once again.

“Riiight,” Ellie laughs. “Sexy, sexy time. Will you even be able to walk straight down the aisle?”

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