Page 105 of Objection to Love

Em wrapped her arm around Garrett’s waist and caught his eye at the word “fun.” Then his mom called them to get their ice cream, and over the course of the evening, Garrett might have been convinced his mom dating again wasn’t so bad.

It helped to have Em’s hand on his knee, sending him glances almost as often as he sent them to her.

Epilogue 2.0

Em

“Weshouldhavegottenthe champagne color. I know wedding dresses are supposed to be white, but champagne is just so beautiful. And has anyone checked on the napkin fiasco? I swear, if they didn’t get the embroidered ones, I’m going to have words with the planner.”

Em lounged on the chaise in the hotel room, staring out the window, half a smile playing across her face while her mother paced the length of the room.

“September, are you even listening to me?”

Em turned back to the chaos of her mother’s meltdown. “Honestly, no. I’m getting married in an hour. One hour. I couldn’t care less about the napkins, and I think I look great in my dress.”

Mom’s shoulders lost some of their rigidity. “Well, of course you do. But…”

April came up behind her mother, her four-month-old baby asleep in the crook of her arm. “How about we go check on the napkins, Mom, and give Em a minute?”

Em shot April a look of gratitude as her sister steered their mom from the room. Em never would have expected this side of Mom. She was the definition of a bridezilla… and it wasn’t even her wedding. Since April had essentially eloped and deprived their mother of micromanagingherwedding, Em got twice the micromanagement. And April had been more than happy to help, with Em’s cute little niece strapped to her chest while she and their mom debated flowers and invitations.

And honestly, Em didn’t even care. She was grateful not to plan anything, and she had even enjoyed the time spent with her mom and April in semi-harmony.

But mostly, she was just glad she was getting married.

The door to the bridal suite opened, and Em shouted as she jumped to her feet, “Hey! You can’t be in here!”

Garrett closed the door, fumbling a little to find the handle. “It’s okay; I tied a tie around my eyes, so I can’t even see you.”

Em was still backing away. “But it’s bad luck!”

“Seeingthe bride in her dress is bad luck. Kissing her in it? No one said anything about that.”

Em stopped her retreat. “Kissing?”

Garrett turned to the sound of her voice. “I mean… only if you want to.” The humor threading its way through his words drew her to him.

She fingered his lapel. “You look great. Even with the lopsided tie around your eyes.”

He pouted. “How rude that you get to see me, but I can’t see you. Just tell me… did you pick one of those really big dresses or something… tight?”

She gave him a little shove—not enough to move him anywhere. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

“Fine, fine. Well, I had more than just kissing in mind when I snuck in here… I have something for you,” he said, moving back just enough to show her he had a rectangular, wrapped object behind his back.

She took it from him. “I didn’t realize we were exchanging gifts?” She should have gotten him something. Was that a thing? Why had no one told her that was a thing?

He shook his head. “No, this is just something I’ve owed you for a while. But I haven’t had much time to work on it… Someone keeps monopolizing my free time.”

She smiled, not at all offended to be accused of monopolizing his time. “Should I open it now?”

“Yes. But tell me your reaction, since I can’t see it.”

She pulled the paper off, freezing as she saw what it was. A wooden frame, carved with several small pictures. But what was in the frame was what caught her attention. “When did you take this picture?”

His voice was quiet to match her own. “That second night you came over to my house for dinner. After you agreed to call our weekends dates.”

It was a picture of the two of them sitting on Garrett’s couch. She was asleep, with her head on his shoulder, their faces lit almost blue from the reflection of whatever movie they’d been watching.

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