Page 59 of Another June with You

It was a while before the door opened again, and Keely walked out with red eyes and blotchy cheeks. Her perfect makeup was no longer perfect. Her happy eyes and joyful smile had been erased.

Keely reached her hand out to Shannon and led her back into the girls’ room with her.

Shannon watched Chase walk away sadly and meet up with Micah, before she closed the door behind them.

“What’s wrong?” Becca asked her sister.

Keely started to get choked up again and brushed away a fat tear that slipped down her cheek. “Chase’s mom tried to sabotage the wedding,” she mumbled.

Gasps filled the room.

“No way.”

“Why would she do that?”

“What did she do?”

“She pulled the alarm at the restaurant, and she actually paid someone to steal Shannon’s equipment and throw it in a dumpster.”

“No!”

“Are you serious?”

The girls were all flabbergasted.

“When we got home from that disaster of a rehearsal dinner last night, we found the box with my grandparents’ dishes from the 1940s—the dishes Grandma gave us for our wedding gift—on the floor, most of them broken. We thought it had fallen accidentally, but now I’m not so sure. If she’s capable of all this, I wouldn’t put it past her to destroy our dishes too.”

Shannon felt sick to her stomach hearing that. Would Georgia be that blatantly cruel? She had made a comment about having fine china at the bridal shower. The vintage dishes must not have been good enough for her.

“I just …” Keely started to cry again. “She was never anything but kind to me, but I guess that was all an act. All these years, she resented me for taking Chase away from some debutante he was supposed to marry so their families’ businesses could merge into some gigantic multi-billion dollar company.”

Some of the girls moved closer and put their arms around her.

“How am I supposed to go through with this now? How can I marry into that family?”

“What does Chase say?” Shannon asked.

“He wants to marry me.” A little smile broke through her sadness. “He doesn’t care about his family’s money. He’s willing to walk away from all of it for me. But can I really ask him to do that?”

“What did you tell him?”

“That I needed to think and talk to my girls.” She wiped away tears again. “I love him, you guys. I can’t imagine my life without him in it.”

Shannon’s heart ached, remembering her kiss with Micah in the hallway. She’d lived years of her life without him in it, and she knew a thing or two about regrets. If Keely didn’t marry Chase, it would be the one decision she’d wish she could take back.

“Then marry him,” Shannon blurted. “Forget his mother, forget the fortune he’s giving up. Marry the man you love. It can be that simple. Just choose love. Choose Chase.”

“I want to.” Keely started smiling, which quickly turned into happy laughter. “I’m gonna do it.”

The girls all hugged her, then Keely moved closer to Shannon and squeezed her tightly. “Thank you.”

Shannon smiled. “You’re welcome. You won’t regret it.”

Keely looked her in the eyes then and whispered, “Choose love, Shannon. Choose Micah.” She winked and headed for the door with the girls following, leaving Shannon behind with her words.

Shannon recalled Maggie’s words from that morning, reminding her that God sees the big picture and there is a greater plan. Could Micah be part of that plan? Is that why he came back into her life after all this time? The fact still remained that she couldn’t have kids. Could she make Micah happy without them? Would he be content with her alone?

The girls’ giggles drew Shannon in, and she joined them in the hallway outside the room. Keely’s steps quickened on her way to Chase, who was pacing at the opposite end of the hallway.

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