Page 24

Three months later, and somehow, we’d made it.

The restaurant was done.

Smoke I loved every little detail, like how the napkins were bound in twigs, how the mugs were made out of wood, the little wildflower arrangements on the tables—fresh every day, and the last guests got to take them home.

The patrons seemed to love it as much as I did; the place was booked out already for three months.

It had been keeping me busy, but Evan was a gem and handled the other two as if they were his own.

I was contemplating offering him a partnership; that way, I could fully focus on Smoke & Ember .

I’d talk to him about it soon. Today, though, instead of considering my staff, pacing the dining room, or double-checking the line cooks, I was waiting for Carol to pick me up.

My wedding dress had needed a few alterations, as had her maid of honor dress, and we were headed to a final fitting session.

She showed up precisely on time, because of course she did, blasting Lizzo through her car speakers and waving a half-empty coffee like she’d just won the lottery. I slid into the passenger seat. “Hey.”

“You ready to cry over fabric?” she asked. “Because I’m emotionally prepped, and my boobs look amazing.”

I grinned. “You do look like you’re about to pose for a fantasy football bridal calendar.”

“Thanks. That’s the look I was going for. Bride adjacent with a hint of dominates the bachelorette scavenger hunt. ”

We took off down the road toward the boutique, and she launched right into talking about Ben. Ben , the new guy she’d been seeing for the past few weeks. A paramedic with a rescue dog, an irrational fear of ducks, and a body that came straight out of a fireman calendar.

“He’s funny. He listens. And he does this thing with his hands when he’s thinking where he rubs the inside of his wrist, and I swear to God, it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

I gave her a side-eye. “You are absolutely using that poor man as a shield.”

Carol blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Against Gabe.”

Her mouth snapped shut.

“I know you,” I said. “You talk about Ben like he’s great—and maybe he is—but every time someone even breathes Gabe’s name, you lock up like a raccoon caught with a glitter pen.”

“I do not,” she said, adjusting her sunglasses unnecessarily.

“You do. And now you’re dating a hot paramedic, just in time to have a plus-one at my wedding. Where Gabe will be. Looking very single. Probably in a suit.”

She muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, “This is why I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“I do. And I hate you. It’s a delicate balance.”

I smiled and leaned back in my seat. “You realize I’m putting you two at the same table, right?”

Carol groaned. “You are not .”

“Oh, but I am.”

“You’re evil.”

“And you look amazing,” I said sweetly. “Now let’s go cry over tulle and talk about how you’re going to survive sitting next to the man who calls you Tinker Bell and says your voice makes his ears bleed.”

Carol flipped me off, but her cheeks were pink, and her lips were twitching, fighting hard to hold back a smile.

I didn’t say anything right away. I just watched her out of the corner of my eye as we pulled into the boutique parking lot.

Her sunglasses were still on, but her body language had shifted.

She was tapping her fingers against her thigh, not in time to the music, but to some anxious thoughts in her head.

Which meant the Gabe comment had hit home.

I might be getting married, but I wasn’t about to let my maid of honor hide behind an emotionally safe fireman with an adorable rescue pit bull if what she really wanted was a six-foot-four emotionally constipated linebacker who called her Marshmallow and couldn’t make eye contact without insulting her height.

We walked into the boutique, and the manager greeted us like we were celebrities.

Which, to be fair, in this town we kind of were—especially now that Smoke & Ember had made the Top Ten Most Anticipated Openings list for the region and Carol’s latest book had featured a football-playing bear shifter who was definitely not inspired by my future brother-in-law.

Don’t think I didn’t notice the character was named Gavin.

Carol disappeared into her fitting room, and I stood in mine, staring at the dress that had made me cry in front of three strangers and a very concerned Carol the first time I tried it on.

It still fit like magic. Even better now that they had let the seam around my chest out enough for me to be able to breathe.

Creamy silk, lace around the bodice and arms, a deep cut on the back, and a square cut on the front.

It hugged me around my hips like a glove before it opened into a wide skirt with layers of petticoats underneath. It was a dream come true.

I stepped out onto the platform in front of the mirror, smoothing the bodice as I turned.

“Oh my God,” Carol said from behind me. I turned to see her in a sleek emerald dress that hit just above her knee with a high slit that practically screamed try me, I dare you .

“You look incredible,” I said.

“You look like a fairytale ending,” she replied, voice softer now. “You really do.”

I met her eyes in the mirror. “You okay?”

She hesitated. “Yeah.”

“You sure?”

A beat passed.

Then she sighed. “I just… I used to think it would be me up there one day. Not necessarily first, but—eventually. And now it’s you, and I’m so happy for you, but also, I’m terrified I’m going to ugly cry through your vows and choke on cake in front of someone who once called me an Encyclopain .”

I laughed. “You won’t choke. I trained you better than that.”

“And Ben’s sweet,” she added. “He really is.”

I turned to face her. “But?”

“But he doesn’t make me want to scream and stab a throw pillow and kiss someone at the same time.”

“So, Gabe.”

“So Gabe,” she admitted, finally.

We stood there for a moment. Bridesmaid and bride. Best friends and chaos magnets. After a beat, she rolled her shoulders back. “Well, at least my dress will look amazing when I inevitably storm out of the reception in emotionally confused rage.”

“Or,” I said gently, “when you don’t.”

She didn’t answer. Just adjusted her neckline, and produced a donut she must have smuggled in from the snack table the boutique had provided, bless them, and shoved it in her mouth to fill the silence. In her eyes, I read the hope that maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't have to storm off at all.