Page 57 of Another June with You

When the guys arrived at the church, Shannon snuck away for a bit to photograph them getting ready. Groomsmen were usually much lower maintenance than the girls were, so it never took long to snap pictures of them helping each other with their ties and such.

But when Shannon walked in, there was a hush over the room she hadn’t expected. The mood felt somber. Most of the guys were already dressed and sitting quietly, staring at their phones. Micah and Chase were speaking quietly at the far end of the room. Keely’s dad was red in the face, and Chase’s dad was nowhere to be found.

Micah spotted her near the door.

“Did I come at a bad time?” She spoke in a whisper as he approached, but it was so quiet in there that it sounded like she had spoken at full volume.

He gently took her arm and led her into the hallway.

“What is it? What’s happening?”

“It was Georgia, Chase’s mom.”

“What was Georgia?”

“Jacqueline told me that a woman in a blue dress pulled the fire alarm last night. A woman that was with our party at the rehearsal dinner.” He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “I asked some of the bridesmaids. Georgia was the only woman wearing a blue dress.”

Shannon’s mouth fell open. “You’re sure?”

“I showed Jacquie a picture of Georgia, and she confirmed she was the one.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Apparently, she does not approve of Keely.”

Shannon was floored. “Are you serious? Keely is the sweetest girl on the planet.”

“Yes, but she’s from the wrong family. Georgia had plans for Chase to marry into another well-to-do family to merge together two very successful business empires. She tried to get him to break things off with Keely last year and marry this other girl. Chase would have none of it. This was her way of trying to sabotage the wedding.”

The thought sickened her. And then she had another. “What about our cameras?”

“Georgia.”

Shannon’s mouth fell open.

“I went back to the restaurant today, and a couple guys admitted she paid them to take your stuff and toss it in the dumpster out back.”

Shannon backed against the wall behind her, completely shocked and appalled. “Who does that?”

“A woman with messed up priorities.”

“She seemed … normal.”

“Not everyone is as they seem.”

Shannon gasped. “Keely doesn’t know, does she?”

Micah shook his head. “Chase is trying to decide how to tell her or if he should wait until after the ceremony.”

“She’ll be heartbroken.”

“I think he should tell her now. Something this big … she should have the right to decide if she wants to go through with it.”

Her heart leapt into her throat. Even though Micah had no idea, what he’d said could’ve easily applied to them as well. She had made a huge decision for the two of them—leaving him because of her diagnosis, so he’d have a chance at a family with someone else someday.

Over the years, there were plenty of times when she’d doubted herself, wondering what might’ve happened if she’d told him the truth and let him decide. Hearing him say those words now, even if they weren’t about their relationship, touched on that insecurity and brought it all to the surface.

She breathed deeply and set her camera on a nearby table. “So … I guess we’ll probably never get our stuff back. All those pictures of Keely’s dress fitting and the rehearsal are lost.”

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