Page 101 of My Silver Lining

Rafe

Emerson had always beenthe only girl in the family when we were growing up. The only female sibling and the only female cousin.

She had a huge wedding planned with her ex-fiancé, who cheated on her and slept with her maid of honor shortly before the big day.

We’d all hurt for my sister. She finished her pediatric residency at a big-city hospital, training under the top physicians in the country, and she changed course.

Her life had been turned upside down, and she moved to a small town, Magnolia Falls, where she found Nash Heart. He and his son, Cutler, were not what she was looking for, yet she’d written a new ending to her story.

A much better ending.

The ending she deserved.

And now we were all going to celebrate her wedding to the man of her dreams. This weekend was full of events, as my mom had planned most of it, and she’d gone all out.

There was a bridal shower yesterday, just for local family and friends, and her girls from Magnolia Falls had come into town early to celebrate with her, as well.

Lulu had been included like she was part of the family. She and my mom had grown close, and Emerson had FaceTimed with Lulu several times about fashion advice.

She fit in with my family like she’d always been there.

Of course, the girl that finally fits and feels right is the one I can’t have.

The one I can’t keep.

Maybe that was why it felt safe, because I knew it couldn’t go anywhere.

I wanted to believe that I was only in this deep because I knew she was leaving.

I wanted that to be true.

But in my gut, I knew differently.

And somehow, my sister seemed suspicious, as well. She and I had walked over to pick up some parsley from the Green Basket that my mother needed for the rehearsal dinner tonight.

Emerson had asked me to come with her, but I had a feeling she had an agenda because as soon as we left the store with the parsley, she suggested we take the long way home and walk along the river.

“Are you ready for tomorrow?” I asked.

She smiled up at me. “I’ve been ready since the day he asked me to marry him.”

“I’m so glad you held out and found what you deserve, Em.”

“Me, too. It’s funny, you know? I moved to Magnolia Falls after I called off the wedding to Collin, and the last thing I was looking for was love. But maybe that’s how it’s supposed to happen.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You know how Dad said he just felt different with Mom? Their connection was different from anything they’d ever experienced. I never had that with Collin, but I didn’t think it meant anything because we’d known one another most of our lives. I had nothing to compare it to until I met Nash. And everything was just different, you know?”

“That makes sense. It all turned out as it should. I’m so happy for you. You deserve the fairytale. The happily ever after. All that romantic bullshit.” I barked out a laugh.

“What about you? Don’t you deserve that, too?”

I quirked a brow. “I don’t think everyone is looking for the same thing. I’m a pretty happy dude, no need to worry.”

“I know you are, Rafe. I’ve never worried about you. But I’ve also never seen you like this.” She shrugged as we paused to sit on the bench along the trail, staring out at the water.

“Like what? I thought this was your wedding weekend. Did you lure me out here to psychoanalyze me?” I asked, my voice laced with humor.

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