Page 149 of Save Your Breath

It was only November, but it felt like Christmas. It felt like a snowy morning in Berne with Annaliese and my foster siblings. It felt the way she always made it feel no matter what it took her to do so — special and warm.

My heart ached at the absence of her. I longed for a different reality, one where she could be in that front row next to Holly. My hand floated to my chest, pressing hard enough into my suit so I could feel the chain necklace she gave me beneath it.

She was always with me, even if I couldn’t see her.

When they reached the altar, Charlie turned to Mia, cupping her face with one hand. His lips brushed her cheek, and though his words were soft, I caught them anyway. “You’ll always be my little girl,” he murmured.

Tears blurred my vision, and by the time he placed her hand in mine, they were spilling over.

I knew it was useless to try not to cry, butfuck, I didn’t even make it to saying our vows.

“You weren’t kidding, huh,” Mia teased, her voice low and warm as she stepped closer. “You’re really going to lose it before the ceremony even starts?”

“I told you I would,” I replied, a smile breaking through my tears. “And no one’s going to think this is fake after they see me like this.”

Mia shook her head, her own eyes glistening now. She pressed her free hand to my chest, her thumb brushing against the fabric of my suit, against the chain beneath it like she’dcaught me just moments before and wanted me to know she understood.

“I don’t care what anyone else thinks,” she whispered. “I only care about you. About this moment right here, right now. About us.”

My heart clenched at her words, and before I could stop myself, I dipped my head and kissed her.

The room erupted into murmurs and soft laughter, Carter yelling out a deep, “Atta boy!”. To my right, Will groaned dramatically.

“In case you forgot, you’re supposed to wait for me to say you can do that,” he grumbled.

The crowd chuckled, but I didn’t pull away immediately. I pressed my forehead to Mia’s, my lips curving into a grin against hers.

“Sorry,” I murmured, though I wasn’t.

“Not sorry,” Mia whispered back, her hand tightening around mine.

I straightened and turned to Daddy P, who was glaring at me — but it was a loving glare.

“Well,” he mumbled, adjusting his notes with a dramatic sigh. “Let’s get this over with before you two start making out again.”

Zamboni barked from the audience like his puppy senses were telling him we’d fail that test.

And I winked at him, knowing we would.

Edible Arrangement

Mia

“Okay, I know today is all about you and Aleks and this beautiful wedding, but can I just gloat for a second because… Garrett is getting absolutelyroastedonline right now.”

Isabella did a little happy dance with that announcement, shimmying her shoulder as one hand scrolled though her phone and the other plucked the olive from her martini and popped it into her mouth. Her bright pink hair was pulled into an elegant bun at the nape of her neck, the top of it slicked back, and her eyes were dramatic and emphasized with a dark cat-eye line. Her piercings glimmered in the light, tattoos standing out against the black spaghetti strap dress she wore.

“Everyone is saying he’s unreliable and that he’s become a resentful old man with some weird fetish with trying to take you down,” she continued, her eyes alight with glee as she shook her head and kept scrolling. “Some are even saying it’s Austin still trying to control you after your breakup, that Garrett is his little puppet.”

I listened with a soft smile on my lips, heart full as I looked around the house at all our family and friends gathered together. Warmth spread through me like a cup of hot tea, the snow outside making the scene inside feel even cozier, somehow.

My eyes caught on where Aleks was across the room. He stood with Will Perry and Vince Tanev, the three of themchatting animatedly while they sipped an old expensive scotch my father had broken out for the occasion. When my husband’s eyes found me, the corner of his lips tilted, and heat spread through me again at the way his gaze dragged from my head all the way down to my satin Gianvito Rossi heels.

Husband.

The word curled around my heart, snug and warm, like an animal burrowing into its forever home.

“God, this makes me so happy. Look! People are making the best fucking memes.” Isabella shoved her phone in my face, and I snort-laughed at the image of Garrett with an orange face and little devil horns, his expression enraged as he watched an image of me covering my mouth as tears flooded my eyes the first night at MSG when the audience screamed for an encore.