Page 93

“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
He pulled her close and moved toward her lips. “Maybe you should take a break from lists to make out with your fiancé.”
She chuckled but pushed him away. “Too much to do.” She leaned in and pecked him on the cheek. “When we’re done here, I’m all yours.”
He rested his head against the back of the couch while she opened her laptop and looked up wedding venues. Her voice was so soothing as she described each one, that he started to drift off.
In his partially asleep state, his mind envisioned a winery wedding with the ceremony in the vineyard. He and Sebastian were standing at the end of the aisle, and the bride came around the corner, but instead of Ivy, it was Skylar’s face he saw smiling back at him.
His eyes popped open.
“Welcome back,” Ivy said with a giggle.
“Sorry.” He rubbed his eyes.
“I asked if you had any suggestions for where to get married, and you mumbled something about the winery in your sleep. Did you mean Schultz Winery? Because I bet that would be beautiful in the fall.”
“It is beautiful in the fall.” Franky smiled to himself as he remembered Skylar walking beside him that night before the Bridge Walk.
Ivy jotted “Schultz Winery” down on the paper, and Franky immediately regretted mentioning it. He wanted Ivy to be happy and have the wedding of her dreams, but he wasn’t sure he could marry her in the place that meant so much to Skylar. And to him.
THIRTY
The ballroom at the Grand Plaza Hotel was decorated to the nines. Silver vases as tall as Franky, filled with white and pale pink roses, lined the centers of the tables. The room was professionally lit, highlighting a cake table with a wall of pink and white flowers behind it, and the space was filled with two-hundred people, more than half of which Franky did not know.
This was a much more elegant affair than Franky would’ve chosen, and it felt more like a wedding than an engagement party. When the topic had first come up, he had immediately pictured the upstairs room at Sunset Grill with the view of Lake Michigan. An intimate gathering of family and close friends. But a huge party was what made Ivy happy, and that’s all that really mattered.
Considering the size of this soirée, Franky was surprised she had pulled it all together in six weeks, but since the proposal, everything had quickly turned ultra-serious, and wedding plans were full speed ahead. Not that he didn’t think getting married was serious, but there wasn’t a conversation lately that didn’t surround the big day. He understood that weddings required a lot of planning, and he knew they would have plenty of time together once they were married, but what about in the meantime? They both had full caseloads, and when they weren’t working, all of her attention was on the wedding. Part of him wanted to go back to the way things were—just dating and getting to know each other without the pressure.
When it came to her job, Ivy was known for being incredibly organized and razor-focused. When it came to the wedding, she was overly methodical. Almost before the engagement ring was slipped onto her finger, she had called their parents, chosen her five bridesmaids, drafted her side of the guest list, and chosen venues.
Franky looked around the room and checked the time. The last half hour had been spent going from person to person, meeting Ivy’s extended family and friends. He was happy to finally meet so many of them, but the one person he wanted there, needed there with him, the one whose support he wanted more than anything, was nowhere in sight. Each time a guest entered the room, his eyes darted in their direction, and he was continually disappointed.
Several minutes later, the door opened, revealing Ephraim and Harriet Schultz, followed by Sebastian and Genevieve. But when Skylar wasn’t with them, Franky’s shoulders sagged, and the breath he’d been holding came out in a huff.
“What’s wrong?” Ivy asked.
“Nothing. The Schultzes are here.”
“Oh, wonderful.” Ivy took his hand, and they moved across the room to greet their guests.
Franky got a firm handshake from Ephraim and a hug from Harriet, and just as he was about to ask Sebastian where Skylar was, the door opened, and there she stood.
The simultaneous excitement and relief he felt at the sight of her burst out. “Sky!” He moved around Sebastian and Genevieve and walked straight for her. “You made it!”
“I did. Sorry we’re—”
Franky hugged her and lifted her off the ground like he used to.
“Late.” The last word of her sentence came out with her breath as he squeezed her tightly.
“I’m so glad you’re here. Thank you for coming.”
She gave him a weak smile.
“I hate that we never see each other anymore.”