Page 89 of Second Chance Fate

“I’m serious.” Annie put her hands to her chest. “It will break my heart if I do anything to ruin or even dampen your day; you have to be honest.”

“I will, I promise.”

She stared into her eyes, then took a deep breath. “Okay.”

Then she opened her hands, and in her palms there were teardrop sapphire and diamond earrings and a delicate necklace with a small heart and a diamond in the center.

“On my wedding day my mother presented me with these earrings and a necklace similar to this. These earrings were my great-great-great-grandmother's, and they are something old, borrowed, and blue, if you’d like to wear them.”

“Are you sure? Are they real? What if they fall off?” Taylor was sure that they were real; they looked real, and if they were, they had to be worth a lot of money.

“Yes, I’m sure. Yes, they’re real. They won’t fall off, and if they do, then they fall off being worn by the woman marrying my son.” She smiled as she handed them to Taylor, whose hand was still shaking.

“And this necklace is something new.” She handed her the necklace.

“It’s part of a set.” She put her hand on her neck, and Taylor saw that she was wearing a necklace with a larger heart that had a cutout the size of the heart pendant on the necklace in her hand. She also had a gold necklace with a small heart that looked similar to the small heart pendant necklace she’d just given Taylor. “My mom gave me this small heart and told methat everywhere I went, I would be taking a piece of her heart with me, and now, everywhere you go, you will be taking a piece ofmyheart with you.”

Taylor’s lower lip trembled.

“Ifyou want it,” she quickly amended. “You don’t have to take it or wear it.”

“No,” Taylor sniffed. “I mean, yes, I want it, and I want to wear it. Yes, thank you. Can you…”

Taylor pulled her hair to the side, and Annie clasped the necklace in the back for her. Then Taylor put the earrings on.

“How do they look?” she asked as she touched her neck where the heart fell flat against her skin.

“Perfect.” Annie beamed as two large tears fell down her cheeks. “You look perfect.”

“Mom, it’s time!” Owen shouted as the door flew open.

“Oh! It’s time! I gotta go get my seat!” Annie clapped her hands and rushed out of the room.

When she did, Owen watched her fly by him, and when Taylor stepped beside him, he asked, “Was Grandma crying again?”

“Yeah.” Taylor nodded.

He didn’t even ask why. It was funny how, over just a few days, so many things could feel so normal, like Owen calling George and Annie “Grandma” and “Grandpa,” and Annie crying at the drop of a hat.

“You look so handsome.” Besides the suit, he’d also gotten a new haircut, and she couldn’t quite get over how grown-up he looked.

“I know, right?” he agreed with a lopsided grin.

She rolled her eyes and smiled.

“You look really beautiful, Mom.” The sincerity in his eyes caused her throat to clog with emotion. “You really do.”

She scrunched up her nose to try and confuse her tear ducts into thinking there was a traffic jam or something. “Thanks, Bubbs. Ready?”

“Yep.” He held out his elbow, and they started walking down the hallway toward the family room, where she’d exit to the backyard.

They made it about halfway down the hall, and Owen stopped.

“What?” she asked, thinking he had to tie his shoe or maybe she had lipstick on her face or something.

He didn’t respond; he just looked down at the floor, so she waited. She knew he must have something he needed to say to her, but he just didn’t have the right words yet. When he finally lifted his gaze to her, the somber look in his eyes caught her off guard.

“It’s been just us for a long time,” he said.

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