Page 26

Twenty-Six

I was still in a boot by December, but I could officially put weight on my ankle again.

“No, don’t even think about it,” Marco said when I tried to help Austin and him move Dad’s antique rolltop desk.

“You aren’t allowed to lift high-impact, heavy stuff yet.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?” I asked.

“Everything here is high-impact.”

“Supervise!” Da called.

“Visualize!”

It was December 13, and everything in the Cheval Collective’s barn was either being moved upstairs or stored in our garage.

We had other plans for the office tonight.

“Should we take the current listings down?” Amanda asked, eyeing one Realtor’s FOR SALE board on the wall.

“And leave the artwork?”

“Definitely.” I nodded.

Dad had an impressive art collection, all classic oil paintings featuring what else?

Horses. “I think the art will go well with the wreaths.”

Amanda smiled.

“Mom made so many.”

“They’re stunning,” I said.

It had taken a hot second to get Mrs. Gallant on board with the new plan for Katie and Austin’s rehearsal dinner.

But Mr. Gallant, who’d deemed this the best idea ever, had dropped Katie and his wife off at a spa for the morning.

“This is your show,” he’d told my family.

“Stacy and I want to help, but I don’t think she needs to necessarily be on the premises…”

Once the office was all cleared out, Amanda and Nana hung Mrs. Gallant’s handmade wreaths on the warm wood-paneled walls.

Fresh pine and boxwood were mixed with magnolia leaves and cypress, and Mrs. Gallant had adorned each wreath with perfect bows in blue, amber, and gold.

Dad and Nana strung green garlands and fairy lights around the barn’s wood beams.

Then came the rugs.

Mr. Gallant and Da hauled in Persian rugs, which we unrolled to create a patchwork quilt across the floor.

“The guys are here!” Austin announced when the groomsmen arrived that afternoon, and we immediately put them to work, arranging the round teak farmhouse tables and chairs.

Carina álvarez brought over the sound system while Rose álvarez and her crew marched into the barn’s kitchen, because who else was catering tonight?

Ember Meredith’s was a luxurious turquoise, while Reese’s was a warm amber and mine a deep purple.

All silk, the dresses wouldn’t withstand the December chill, so we gasped when Katie gave us cable knit sweaters to wear on top.

They were cream and cropped.

“I’m obsessed,” I said, the others agreeing.

“I’m obsessed , Katie!”

“Thank you!” she said.

“I know it’s unconventional, but I hoped you might wear them tonight. My dress is white, and I have a gold sweater to go with it.”

“Do we owe you anything?” Paige asked, and it was then that I realized I hadn’t been the only one who’d thought the bridesmaid life wasn’t cheap.

Katie shook her head.

“You’ve all given me so many gifts, so this is my gift to you.”

We changed into our dresses—Amanda insisted my boot tied the whole look together—before starting on hair and makeup.

“So, Mads,” Reese said as I weaved Katie’s long blond hair into a braid crown.

“Who would you give your First Impression Rose to?”

I sighed as the others laughed.

In the mirror, Katie smiled slyly at me.

Of course we would come full circle with my Bachelorette spin-off.

“Easy,” I said. “First Impression Rose goes to Davis, especially since he’s now a really great friend.”

“Front-runner?” Yasmin asked.

I grinned. “Connor.”

I loved Connor McCallister with everything I had.

It just wasn’t wonderstruck love.

“Yes!” the group cheered before the subject switched.

No one wanted to talk about “Here for the Wrong Reasons.”

“Okay, Amanda,” Paige said.

“Smoky eye: yes or no?”

Katie coughed.

“Excuse me, ladies, but you didn’t ask Mads about her Final Rose.”

The bridesmaids all cocked their heads.

It had been a little over a month, but I still hadn’t mentioned Marco.

“Hold on!” Meredith suddenly started bouncing on her tiptoes.

“Hold the hell on—is it your ridiculously handsome Princeton friend? Whose family has a monopoly on all the best restaurants in town? Marco something?”

I glanced away to grin.

“Katie!” Meredith exclaimed after I coyly suggested they check out his boutonniere tomorrow.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

Katie shrugged.

“It wasn’t my news to tell.”

“I only knew because they kept staring starry-eyed at each other during setup earlier,” Amanda said.

“It’ll be so obvious once you see them together.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” I smirked after the squealing stopped.

“It seems I’ve ended up with a promising plus-one, after all…”

***

Mrs. Gallant started crying the second she walked into the barn after our successful ceremony rehearsal.

Luckily, we had plenty of tissues on hand.

“I don’t know what to say,” she told my parents.

“Thank you so much.” She shook her head.

“This is absolutely enchanting.”

“It took a village!” I smiled, feeling Da squeeze my shoulders at the same time Dad said, “It was all Mads.”

I couldn’t help but glow with pride as I asked Nana’s Man Friend, tonight’s bartender, for a flute of sparkling cider.

Afterward, I went to find my seat at the center table and smiled to myself.

Madeline , my place card read, in Katie’s neat handwriting.

No longer was I Madeleine .

Da took the mic to announce it was time to dish up dinner.

Everything was family style tonight, tables laden with Ember Grandma Pearl’s ruby ring glittered in the candlelight.

My brother had reproposed to Katie in the horse pasture several weeks ago.

They were both in heavy coats and muddy boots, but Tally-Ho had never neighed or flicked her tail so enthusiastically.

She’d started headbutting Katie as soon as Austin had gotten down on his knee.

Paris, who?

I went to the bathroom between dinner and dessert, and by that I meant I went and looked for Marco.

“I’m on my smoke break,” he explained when I found him outside on the barn’s kitchen doorstep.

He took a puff from an invisible cigarette.

“You’re such a dork,” I said, shaking my head.

“Have you ever even smoked?”

“No, but Simon has an antique pipe that I want to try at some point.” His smile rivaled the stars in the sky.

“Come here.”

Making sure not to run, I impatiently walked into his arms and burrowed my face into his chest when he hugged me close.

“You smell delicious,” I murmured.

I felt his lungs expand and contract as he laughed.

“Well, I did just finish prepping the peanut butter pie…”

“Mmm,” I hummed before tilting my head back to smirk at him.

“Like I said, you are delicious.”

Marco smirked back before pulling me back in to kiss my neck.

Light and little kisses that made the backs of my knees go numb.

All too soon, we were making out against the back of the barn.

Marco had slipped his hands under my sweater, and I could feel them burning through my thin silk dress.

When I took it off later, I swore I would see his handprints tattooed on either side of my rib cage.

“I don’t want to say goodbye,” I said after an aching kiss.

My heart wanted to beat its way out of my chest, pulled toward Marco like a magnet.

“But I need to get back.” I ran my fingers through his hair.

“I can’t miss the speeches.”

“Then don’t say goodbye,” Marco told me.

“I’m not leaving anytime soon.”

“Okay,” I said, then kissed him deeply enough to fog up his glasses.

“ My god! ” he breathed.

“ You’re fun to kiss! ”

I laughed, recognizing the Tender Is the Night quote.

Simon and F. Scott had me hooked.

“I’ll see you later,” I said.

***

Da gave an eloquent and heartfelt welcome speech, and then Wit rose from his chair, removing a folded piece of paper from his black velvet jacket’s breast pocket.

Meredith stood up, too.

“Hello, everyone,” he said.

“I’m Wit, and you all know my beguiling wife, Meredith.” He grinned crookedly at her.

“We’ve known Katie and Austin for far, far too long now, so we’ve decided to spare you all the tiny details and instead paint you the big picture in a poem…”

After Wit and Meredith brought the barn down in belly laughs, Reese took the mic and talked about her two-decade friendship with Katie, which spanned from their childhood to adulthood.

Katie was the one person who knew Reese through and through, who knew her even better than Reese’s therapist. “It’s true,” Katie told our table.

“So naturally, I don’t agree with her therapist!”

I’d requested to give my speech at tomorrow’s reception, so I sat back and listened as the evening proceeded.

Groomsmen spoke; more bridesmaids spoke; family members fought over the mic.

The love in the room was palpable, the warm hug Katie and Austin so deserved.

I swore my brother’s smile was stuck on his face, and Katie’s eyes sparkled with tears.

“I wish we could do it,” I heard her whisper after Meredith’s solo speech received a standing ovation.

“Tonight is perfect, everything is perfect. I wish we could get married now.”

Something zipped through me.

I wish we could get married now.

“Me too, Kates,” Austin whispered back.

“But we have St. Paul’s and Bedens Brook tomorrow.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Katie said, excitedly shaking her head.

“We can get married twice. Tomorrow, with everyone, and tonight, with the people who love us most. We can do it, Austin. Let’s do it.”

“You don’t have anyone to officiate,” I said, forgetting that I was an eavesdropper and not a participant in this conversation.

“Who is going to marry you guys?”

Austin sighed.

“We should’ve invited Father Powell.”

Katie didn’t say anything; instead, I watched her try to flip her hair before she remembered she had an updo tonight.

She flips her hair when she’s deep in thought , I realized after years of thinking otherwise.

Not when she’s unimpressed.

Austin and I shared a sudden look.

We knew someone ordained.

“Dad!” we said at the exact same time.

Katie’s brow crinkled.

“Harry?”

“Yes,” Austin said, laughing and smiling.

“He’s ordained. He married two friends like a decade ago.”

“And this is his place of worship.” I gestured around the barn.

Austin quickly kissed Katie.

“Let’s ask.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

She touched Austin’s cheek.

“I want to do it myself.”

And then she pushed back her chair, smoothed her dress, and approached the bar, where Dad and Da were both waiting for more champagne.

“Do you think he’ll say yes?” I asked as we stared at them.

Their backs were turned, so there were zero indicators beyond body language.

Katie’s hands were clasped, nervous.

“Mads, what kind of question is that?” Austin said.

“ Of course he’ll say yes.”

After a couple minutes, our parents both hugged Austin’s fiancée fiercely.

I grinned as they walked together toward our table.

Dad looked poised and professional, but Katie looked like she was floating on air.

“Austin, would you mind joining Katie and me upstairs for a moment?” he asked.

“I think it’s truly important to get a sense of the couple so I can perform their marriage ceremony accordingly.”

A shit-eating grin spread across my brother’s face.

“You mean you don’t want to just wing it?”

Dad laughed.

“No thanks. This is an incredible night, but now we’re going to make it an even better one, which is going to take at least two minutes of preparation.” He put an arm around Katie.

“You and my soon-to-be daughter-in-law deserve to be timeless.”

***

The rehearsal dinner turned into a wedding, and after that, a reception.

Tables were quickly rearranged so Mr. and Mrs. Austin Fisher-Michaels could have their first dance as husband and wife with the help of Spotify.

I cheered louder than anyone else when they kissed.

Field hockey games had given my lungs plenty of practice.

Then Dad got ahold of the aux cord to put on one of his throwback playlists.

Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” came through the speakers, and the bridesmaids screamed when “Dancing Queen” followed.

I rolled my eyes, but it was nice to know my performance at the Finger Lakes had not been lost on them—or on Marco, who Katie was pushing toward me.

I burst into a smile when he offered me his hand.

I took it, and he immediately twirled me.

“Be careful,” I told him.

“I’m in a boot, remember?”

“Oh, trust me, I remember,” he said.

“You’ve stepped on my foot enough times that I doubt I’ll ever forget!”

Our dancing was careful and controlled for the classics, and then we swayed together to the slow songs.

The barn was so full of laughter, love, and life that I found it easy to slip out of sight when Marco and I made eye contact and both thought, Let’s run away now .

We kissed outside, immediately breathless in the December night air.

“Are you sure?” Marco asked.

“About what?” I deadpanned.

He laughed. “You know what I mean.”

I did.

I’d already taken his hand and was leading him toward the farmhouse.

“Yes,” I told him, desperately wanting to break into a sprint.

“I’m sure.”

“Alright.” Marco squeezed my hand.

I could feel his pulse pounding in his palm, and he stayed quiet until we were inside and climbing the tight staircase to the attic guest room.

My room was technically still the bridal suite.

“It’s probably going to hurt,” he said, voice gravelly.

“I’m sorry. You might not like it at first.”

I stopped on the staircase and turned to look at him with an arched eyebrow.

“Are you seriously mansplaining a woman losing her virginity to me right now?”

“No!” Marco flushed.

“I mean, yes—that’s what it sounds like, but I don’t mean it that way. I’m just…”

“Nervous?” I asked.

He flushed harder.

“Why? You’ve had sex before.”

“Yes,” he said.

“But never with you.”

“You mean with a virgin?”

Because I knew that couldn’t be true.

Marco shook his head and took a couple steps up, so that we were now only one stair away from each other.

I felt the back of my neck heat.

“No,” he murmured. “I meant I’ve never had sex with my favorite person before.”

Favorite person.

The words felt as precious and rare as the shimmer of a shooting star.

“Well…” I ventured. “If we ever get to the Fantasy Suite, I’d really love for you to experience what that’s like.” I swung our entwined hands and kissed his fingers.

“Even if it means I have to endure excruciating pain.”

Marco tipped back his head and groaned.

“Mads!”

I giggled and tugged him upstairs and into the bedroom.

He spun me into his arms after I’d locked the door, and I let him hold me for a moment before I hooked my fingers into his belt loops and kissed him.

“Don’t ask if I’m sure again,” I said once our clothes and a foil wrapper were on the floor.

My boot, too. “I’m sure, okay?”

“Okay.” Marco lowered himself on top of me and began a trail of sweet kisses up my neck.

His skin hummed against mine, heat radiating between us.

“But how are you sure you’re sure?” he asked as I ran my hands over his shoulders.

“Because I trust you,” I whispered back.

“I trust you, Marco, and I love you.”

“I trust you too,” he told me as our hips started to move together.

Slow—slowly, so we could find a rhythm.

Marco kissed me. “Mads, I love you so much.”

“And because you are my favorite person,” I told him later, after it had hurt like hell.

We were tangled together under the covers.

“You will always be my favorite person.”

Marco smiled.

“This feels like a dream.”

I smiled back.

“It’s not.”

***

The final thing I did that night, after kissing Marco for the millionth time and saying goodbye to guests, was button up my wool coat and head out to the horse pasture with a lantern and some carrots.

The frozen ground crunched under my boots, and I heard voices still drifting out from the barn.

“Tally-Ho!” I called as I weaved through pine trees.

“Tally, I have treats!”

I stopped in my tracks when I saw someone already at the split-rail fence, feeding our chestnut mare an apple.

“Katie,” I breathed.

“Hey.”

She turned and smiled at me.

“Hi.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Back in the barn, it sounded like your mom was going over tomorrow’s marching orders.”

“She is,” Katie said.

“But I wanted some peace and quiet for a minute.” She sighed contentedly.

“It’s been such a big night.”

I smiled.

“You mean an unforgettable night.”

“Yes.” She nodded as I joined her at the fence.

“Or more like an unforgettable year .”

An unforgettable year.

My breath caught, the past twelve months suddenly playing like a movie in my mind.

Austin’s Paris proposal, my meltdown over Katie asking me to be a bridesmaid, all the Ready-Set-Date drama, unexpectedly making new friends, and getting into my dream college—and falling in love.

There had been bumps along the way, but I realized now that I wouldn’t change any of it (except breaking my ankle).

You might not have Marco , I thought, my heart igniting.

If you’d done anything differently, you might not have Marco, and you might not have…

“Katie,” I said.

“Yeah?” She turned from nuzzling Tally.

I swallowed and said, “I’m so happy you’re my sister.”

Her lips spread into a smile.

“I’m so happy you’re my sister too,” she whispered after wrapping me in a hug.

“Because Amanda can be so annoying sometimes.”

“Right?” I joked.

“Lucky for you, I’m never annoying.”

We both laughed, the sound echoing into the starry night.