Page 122 of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

‘Can you guys leave him alone?’ Hols says. ‘He looks ridiculously handsome in floral prints.’

River groans. ‘Good thing someone still lies to you.’

‘Seriously, you two hate it?’ I ask, pulling the lapel with my free hand.

‘Don’t let them pick on you,’ Hols says, ‘or I’ll create the sister code.’

‘And what would that entail?’ River asks.

‘Notboning your best friend’s step-sisters.’

He rolls his eyes.

‘Hollyn.’ Dr John says her name like she’s a little girl, swearing when she shouldn’t.

‘You should find your mom,’ she says to me.

‘Right, I’ll see you in a few.’ I kiss her lips, walking away from her right as Mercy walks up, leading her away from me. The two of us make eye contact, and she flashes me a smile.

Mercy and I haven’t always gotten along, but things have improved. I can appreciate that she loves Hollyn as much as I do, and I honestly couldn’t imagine our lives without her in it. She’s helped me tremendously with this plan, and she’s quite possibly as excited as I am.

I walk through the house, towards the bridal suite, knocking twice. Mom asked me to walk her down the aisle since her father is long gone. Of course my answer was yes. She seems happy, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted for her. Plus, her marrying Mick means she’ll never be alone again.

‘Finally,’ Brynn says as she pulls open the door. ‘Did you take the bus?’

‘I’mtenminutes late.’

‘Dax!’ Mom interrupts us, looking at me through the mirror she’s standing in front of.

‘You look beautiful.’ I kiss her on the cheek, handing her the bouquet. ‘You nervous?’

‘Not at all,’ she says, cool as a cucumber. ‘I’ve waited years for this.’ She turns my way, now adjusting my jacket. ‘Areyounervous?’

‘Yes,’ I say. ‘Very,very.’

‘She loves you, sweetheart. There’s no way she’ll say no.’

A detail I’m putting all my faith into.

‘Shall we get this party started?’ I ask, extending my elbow to her so I can escort her down the aisle.

Mercy plays violin as we walk down the aisle and Mom is as excited as I’ve ever seen her. Once the ceremony gets under way, Hollyn sits at my side, her hand in mine, a grin on her face as she watches Mom and Mick tie the knot. She has no idea what I’ve planned.

The wedding goes off without a hitch and the guests move to the backyard, where lights hang from the trees, creating a soft glow against the quickly setting sun. A fire burns in the pit, soft music plays, and food is served buffet style. Even a freaking swan paddles through the small pond, something I didn’t plan.

I glance around, finding Mercy and lifting my chin her way. She nods.

‘Can I grab you another glass of wine?’ I ask Hollyn, who nods, handing me her glass as she talks to her mom.

This is it. The moment I’ve waited my whole life for.

‘Mercy, I’mnotsingle. I don’t qualify for the bouquet toss.’

I can hear them talking from the bar, which is only feet from where they are.

‘You’re single till Dax puts a ring on it,’ Mercy says. ‘Do you never listen to Beyoncé?’

Hollyn glances back at me as I make my way towards her with wine. We’ve talked about catching the bouquet and who qualifies. It was kind of a set-up to see if I could pull this off. After scouring the internet for romantic, surprising ways to propose, Mom suggested I ask her today because our delightfully overly involved friends and family wanted to witness it.

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