Page 37 of Love is a Harmony
She smiled against him, letting her arms wind around his waist.
No, she didn’t think she’d regret this at all.
* * *
Justin,
You always told me all you wanted was for me to be happy. I’m going to tell you the truth here. I haven’t been happy a day since I lost you. I can hear your voice in my head, a voice full of disappointment.
But now… there’s this girl who needs me. She needs us, me and Noah. I can’t explain it. I’ve never been good with kids. In fact, they usually hate me. And yet, here I am ready to make promises I’ve only ever made to you before.
This marriage won’t be real.
But still, the nerves as I sit here in a wedding dress are real.
The people coming to witness our union are real.
And Noah, he’s very real.
I don’t know what the point of me writing to you today is. I guess I just needed to feel your approval.
I won’t fall in love with him. That is reserved for you. Forever and always, yours.
-Melanie.
Melanie set her pencil down and folded the sheet of paper, sticking it in her suitcase. Once she got back to L.A., she’d add it to the box in her closet. She wrote to Justin whenever she felt sad or guilty.
And today it was the latter.
Mari Martin lent her a simple white dress with a high neckline and capped sleeves. The silhouette hugged her curves before flaring out at the waist. It wasn’t a real wedding dress, but then, this wasn’t a real wedding.
Ten days ago, she told Noah she’d become his wife, and she didn’t regret it. They stayed in France waiting on a marriage license before their civil ceremony at the mairie. For over a week, she’d worked at odd hours to accomplish work tasks on L.A. time and spent her free time at the beach with Noah and Stella. It was their spot despite the worsening weather. The two of them loved to watch the waves crash against the bottom of the cliffs.
The Martin family helped arrange this ceremony and a small party at their home afterward, but Melanie wasn’t supposed to know about that. Stella dropped hints in her excitement.
It seemed they were all coming back to life, and for the first time, Melanie was content.
In two days, they’d board a plane for L.A., and she didn’t know what to expect when they landed. She and Noah needed to stay married for a little while, but they’d probably go back to their separate lives, and Melanie couldn’t fathom the thought of setting foot into her empty apartment.
She bent over the sink in the public bathroom that was so different from the fancy dressing room at her first wedding. Here, there were no friends attending her, no proud father waiting to walk her down the aisle.
That wedding had been for love.
She supposed this one was too, just a different kind of love. Turning on the faucet, she had to stop herself from splashing cold water on her face and ruining the makeup applied by a kind Frenchwoman she barely knew. The door opened, and she shut off the water before turning to find Mari and Stella watching her.
Mari said something under her breath in French before uttering a quick “beautiful.” She wasn’t as fluent in English as her husband, but two women didn’t need to speak the same language to understand each other.
Stella rushed in and wrapped her arms around Melanie’s legs. Melanie hugged her back, wondering how she was ever going to let go of this kid. Over the last ten days, they’d played games, run on the beach, and told stories by moonlight. Melanie did what she could to help the quiet girl, the grieving girl, but she wasn’t enough.
Yet, today, she let those feelings go. She hugged Stella back and smiled at Mari because both of them believed this was the happiest day of Melanie’s life. They had faith in her and Noah’s marriage.
The lie settled in Melanie’s gut, and she couldn’t shake free of it.
Mari scanned her from head to toe, examining the makeup caked onto her face and issued a short nod. “Stella.” She held out a hand.
Stella went to her, glancing back over her shoulder. “They said to tell you five minutes.”
Five minutes.
