Page 61 of The Best Man Wins

Her eyes have glazed, but there are no tears there. There’s nothing but hollowness. She turns to Braxton like a limp doll. “We’re not good people,” she announces with alarming calmness. “We don’t deserve happy endings.”

It’s chilling to watch her like this. She’s like a pumpkin scooped clean of all its innards. She and Braxton have scars. The kind that burn the inside of your mind and never fully heal.

Braxton even seems at a loss for words. He simply rubs his hand up her back, comforting, and pulls her against him so she rests her head at his shoulder. She looks so small now, so tiny, and my heart breaks for the other woman.

Enough. I clear my throat and say, “Cora…there’s something you need to know.”

She lifts her head enough to look blankly at me.

I take in a deep breath. “Braxton and I are…seeing each other. And we have been, since we got here.”

I see Braxton’s bones go stiff. Where are you going with this? his eyes read.

I wet my lips. Trust me.

“Okay,” Cora says. She still sounds resigned and numb, as though the information hasn’t quite hit her yet.

“And…over that time…he’s told me a lot. About your father…everything.” I see her fragile body tense up at that as though she’s waiting for me to give her the final blow. I press my lips together and say, “And I told him about me and…the point is…we were able to talk to each other. Open up. And that meant everything.” I’m procrastinating, drawing my words out. Cora squints at me, confused, and Braxton looks equally lost.

Get to the point, Susie. I take in a deep breath, brace myself, and then finally confess, “The point is…over the last week…I’ve grown to really care about your brother. Love him, even.” My eyes lift from the table, and I look directly at the siblings. “I love your brother.”

I look at Braxton and expect to see anger, maybe, or that cold nothingness. Instead, he looks soft. Warm. Even hopeful.

Cora looks shocked. She turns to her brother. “Is this true?”

Braxton’s eyes don’t leave me. “Yes,” he says.

“And how do you…feel about her?” There’s a tentative hopefulness in Cora’s voice.

Braxton doesn’t miss a beat. He stares directly into my eyes and says, “I love her too.”

My heat clenches in my chest, and relief spreads its fingers through my body. Braxton West loves me. I want to stay serious and strong for Cora, but I can’t help the tiny smile that breaks across my lips. This isn’t the fleeting kind of butterfly love I felt with Ace. Braxton has set his anchor in my heart, and I know, somehow, that he’s going to stay there for a very, very long time.

“Oh my God.” Cora lets out a tiny, tinkering laugh as she dabs the edges of her eyes with her napkin again. “If you can get someone to fall for you, Braxton, there’s hope for all of us, right?”

I reach across the table to take Cora’s hand again. “You’re not damaged. Ray loves you. I promise. And if you come back with us, he’ll tell you himself.” I squeeze her hand. “Everyone deserves a happy ending. Everyone. And don’t let anyone take that away from you…especially not yourself.”

“She’s right,” Braxton speaks up. “I’ll support you in whatever you decide.”

She scoffs. “You hate Ray. You’ve made that obvious.”

Braxton presses his lips together. “He loves you. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Cora blinks at him. “Do you mean that?”

“Nothing would make me happier than to give you away to him.”

Now Cora looks like she’s on the verge of crying again. These aren’t the hopeless sobs from earlier, though. These are happy tears spilling down her face, and she lets out small choked laughs in between sniffles. “Yes…yes. Okay. Let’s go back.” She rubs her hand over her face to wipe away her tears. “I have to pick up my wedding dress.”

Braxton draws his thumb over her cheeks, helping her clean up, and then reaches into his pocket and puts down some cash for the check. “Let’s go.”

Cora goes to the bathroom to collect herself before we head out, so Braxton and I wait for her by the car. The sky is a nice, crisp deep noon blue.

“The weather is going to be great for the wedding tomorrow,” I tell him.

“Yes.”

A blue jay flutters to the roof of the diner and twitters as she busies herself with her nest. I try to stay calm, but my mind is a flurry of thoughts.

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