Page 124 of Lessons in Heartbreak

She touched my chin with her thumb. “I’m glad he said yes.”

“Me too.” I wrapped her in a hug, sighing happily as I rested my chin on the top of her head. Ruby pressed a kiss to my sternum. “It’ll be a good week. Do you think they’ll like the rooms I set up?”

Ruby smiled. “They’ll love them.” She glanced over at the clock and grimaced. “Come on. If you keep your hands to yourself, we can save time and shower together; otherwise you’ll smell like me when you pick them up.”

I bent at the knees and swung Ruby up into my arms as she squealed in shock. “If you keep your hands to yourself, birdy, I’ll be very put out.”

Ruby wrapped her arms around me as I strode to the bathroom, her mouth curled into a contented grin. “What am I going to do with you, Griffin King?”

I rested my forehead against hers. “Just love me, baby. That’s all I need.”

“That, I can do,” she whispered.

EpilogueRuby

Eight months later

“You are the hottest bride ever,” Lauren proclaimed.

My eyes met hers in the mirror, and I smiled. “You’re just trying to keep me from crying before I see him.”

It was a lost cause, but I gave her props for trying. I’d been weepy the entire day. My makeup was tear-proof, according to the makeup artist who’d done her magic on me a couple hours earlier. Lauren had been in charge of my hair, curling it loosely and then pulling it back off my face, weaving tiny white flowers among the curls that fell to my shoulders.

The moment my mom had finished buttoning the back of my dress—a high-neck A-line dress with a lace overlay that hugged my upper body and flowed gently away from my hips—I took one look at myself in the mirror and promptly burst into tears.

I didn’t realize how much I’d grieved having a moment like this until it was finally in my grasp. It was crazy how you could trick yourself into thinking you’d made peace with something, and really ... it was simply acceptance of a fact, not true, down-to-your-soul peace.

The makeup artist touched up my face one more time before she left, and Lauren and my mom, red-eyed and smiling, told me I had to try not to sob my way through the entire day.

“Or maybe I’m trying to keep myself from crying.” Lauren adjusted her strapless bra underneath the blush-colored dress she was wearing, grimacing when she had to tug on her very plentiful cleavage. “Good Lord, my tits are obnoxious right now.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have let Marcus plant his Viking seed inside you, then,” I pointed out. “Pregnancy has a tendency to do that.”

She blew out a harsh breath, cupping a hand over her six-month bump. “Once. The man mentionsoncethat we should have a kid, and of course I get pregnant the first week we try it without protection.”

“Yes, I’ve heard all about how virile he is.”

Lauren grinned. “He’s such a dope. It’s stupid how much I love him.”

“Aren’t you glad I gave him your number?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes. “I suppose.”

Lauren reached into the cooler on the floor and removed the bouquet of white peonies. It was tied with a pale-pink ribbon, and stuck just inside, where no one could see it but me, was a minuscule tuft of hair from the giant stuffed bird Griffin had won for me at the fair.

From the moment I woke up, the day had felt like it progressed in a dreamy sort of haze. My mom, Lauren, and I had breakfast with Griffin’s mom and Maggie while Griffin and the dads played a round of golf with Marcus, Bryce, and a slightly hesitant Barrett.

Barrett’s girlfriend hadn’t been able to make it ... and that pairing? None of us sawthatone coming.

Things weren’t fixed between the brothers, but they were slowly—veryslowly—getting better. At least they could be in the same room without fighting now. It wasn’t much, but it was progress.

Maggie burst into the room, eyes widening when she saw me in my dress. “You look like a princess, Aunt Ruby.”

I tugged her close for a hug. “Thank you, sweetie.” As she pulled away, I held her arms out and smiled. Her makeup was subtle, her fatheragreeing to some mascara and a little blush to go with her full-length dress with delicate lace cap sleeves, in the same blush color as Lauren’s. “That dress is perfect on you.”

Maggie was standing up for me with Lauren, and Bryce was standing up with Marcus. The time they’d spent with me and Griffin over the last eight months had cemented them as two of my favorite people in the world. Maggie still warranted being on an FBI watch list for all the things she knew how to do on her own, but I’d take a bullet for those two kids without blinking.

“Uncle Griffin is going crazy waiting for you. Marcus and I started a betting pool on how long he lasts before he starts crying.” She glanced down at her phone. “So far we have ninety-nine percent of the guests taking part.”

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