Page 95 of Beauty and the Beach

My second weddingto Holland Park takes place on a hot day in August, and the entire town is there.

This was not my idea, for the record. I was given very little say; all I really got to choose was my suit and my groomsmen.

Maggie is Holland’s maid of honor, and she looks supremely pleased with herself the whole day; she keeps saying she knew this was going to happen. Nana Lu sits in the front row along with Holland’s mom, and although her mom is smiling, Nana is absolutely beaming.

Wyatt is my best man. The Butterfields were invited after significant debate, but my mother is the only one who came—my mother and, shockingly, Lawrence. He’s jovial but smug, while Marshana Butterfield-Park pretends to dab nonexistent tears out of her eyes so that she can appear as the quintessential loving mother.

I don’t know how accurate that is, since she turned out to be the one who stole the marriage contract from my home study and passed it to Mavis. She overheard my conversation with Holland while we were leaving the family dinner we attended, when I mentioned the contract.

So in a twisted way, I’m glad she’s here. I’m glad she seesHolland and I together. As Holland said—“I sort of want to rub it in her face.”

I don’t miss Butterfield at all. What I miss is the feeling of working hard, achieving goals, and sinking my teeth into problems until I solve them. Which is why, as of a few weeks ago, my new business is officially up and running: Park Logistics and Fulfillment. Wyatt and I have been working round the clock to make it happen, following the plan we laid out shortly after Mavis released her will to the family. I knew even then that I needed to be prepared for things to go belly-up in Butterfield.

Mavis had some scathing words to say about my new business venture and even tried to sue, citing breach of contract, but the company’s lawyer went through my non-compete and pointed out that I was only forbidden from starting another sanitary or paper goods company. My logistics company is perfectly allowed.

That lawyer works for me now, and I’m happy to say that while his benefits package allows him to see a therapist as often as he needs, he’s not nearly as miserable working with me as he was working with Mavis.

We’re a small business still, and it will take time for us to grow—especially enough that I can start down the humanitarian road I’d like to take. But we’ll do it.

Most of my new employees are here today, sitting in the chairs lined up on the beach—along with everyone else we know and then some. Wyatt, Beau, and Dax stand next to me, and waiting for Holland on the other side are Maggie, Cat, and Jane. Wyatt’s gaze follows Marlyss Gapmeyer, the owner of Beach Break Bar and Grill—something I’ve noticed happening a lot recently. Beau is waving to Gemma Sawyer, and although Dax isn’t a big waver, his eyes are on Ivy Brooks. Beau’s brother, Tristan, lives on the island too, andhe’s here with Capri Collins. I see Briggs Dalton keeping a low profile in the back row, and next to him is the actress Presley James.

Yep. Everyone on earth is at this wedding. But I only have eyes for one: the woman who appears as if by magic and begins walking down the sandy aisle toward me, her arm linked through her father’s.

And she’s gorgeous. Breathtaking. Wearing the same dress she wore for our pictures, but it looks different today, and I know why—because she’s so radiantly happy.

She’sthathappy—to be marryingme.

Hey, Trev,I tell my best friend.I’m marrying your sister. I never told you this, but we made out in a closet once. It was an accident.I let my eyes flick briefly to the cloudless blue sky, and then they’re pulled back to Holland.She makes me crazy, but I can’t imagine not having her in my life. So we’re brother-in-laws now.

And I swear I can almost feel him by my side, another groomsman.

“Hi, Husband,” Holland whispers when she reaches me.

I smile, taking her hands in mine as we stand beneath the white trellis. “Hi, Wife.”

We look in unison at the same officiant who married us at City Hall; he looks much happier today than he did then, possibly because Holland isn’t wearing black mourning clothes.

“We’ve gathered here today to celebrate again the union of Holland Park and Phoenix Park…” he begins.

Holland and I look at each other, and then we smile.

“Favorite animal.”

“Hmm,” Holland says from where she lies next to me. My arm is around her, and half her body is draped over mine, her head on my shoulder, her arm flung over my chest, our legs tangled together. “I think…penguin.”

I tilt my chin, tracing my fingers up and down her side. “I think mine is probably a tiger.”

“Favorite movie?” she says.

“Matrix,” I say. My eyes drift absently over the ceiling of our hotel room as I think. “Or—no.Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

“I’m a big Harrison Ford fan,” she says.

“What would your movie be?”

“ProbablyFather of the Bride.” Her breath ghosts over my skin as she speaks. “OrClueless.”

“I’ve never seen either of those,” I say reluctantly.

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