Page 54 of Close to My Heart

I shifted in my seat. “Who said I love her?”

“I’ve been watching you two dance around each other for years. If you don’t love and admire each other, then I don’t know what’s going on. It’s clear as day to me. Now, if you don’t have chemistry or don’t see eye-to-eye on the important stuff, then fine. She wants kids. You don’t. You can’t fix that stuff. But everything else can be figured out.” Everyone fell silent, listening to Dad who so rarely doled out life advice. “Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.”

I swallowed hard, not sure what to say. I wasn’t ready to tell my family my plans. If anyone was going to know I loved Sutton, it would be her.

Jameson leaned forward, a smirk on his face. “He’s marrying her. I don’t think he’s letting the opportunity pass him by. It’s actually the opposite.”

My jaw tightened. “Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing.”

Thankfully, the conversation moved away from me. Later, we got up and started grilling in my outdoor kitchen. It was nice to have company at my house.

Dinner was already on the table when the girls walked in with a flurry of shopping bags, talking and laughing.

When Sutton saw me, she smiled, making her way toward me as if no one else was in the room. She put her arms around me and hugged me tight. Looking up at me, she said, “Thanks for the spa treatments. It was so nice after a morning of shopping.”

“I wanted you to have a good time.” She did everything that was expected of her, but she rarely slowed down to take time for herself.

“I did. Thank you.” When she realized my brothers and my dad were watching our interaction with interest, she stepped away.

“We’re eating dinner. Are you hungry?”

She smiled. “Starved.”

I took her bags and placed them in the living room, not bothering to look inside. If it was related to the wedding, she probably wanted to keep it a secret.

Daphne, Izzy, and Fiona said their goodbyes and headed home.

As much as I enjoyed when all of us were in the same room, sometimes it was nice when it was just the brothers. We had our own bond, separate from our sisters.

Dinner was loud. Everyone was happy that Ryder and Faith were here, and I was hopeful that he’d move here permanently with Faith. Even if it was only for six months, it would be better than not seeing him.

“How was dress shopping?” I asked Sutton when everyone else was discussing their vacations.

“It almost felt like it wasn’t me trying on those dresses. It felt surreal.”

“You never wanted to get married.” Even when we were kids, she was adamant about that. She sensed that there wasn’t much love between her parents, and she saw the difference with mine.

“And now that I am, it’s weird.”

She knew it wasn’t real, and that was giving her conflicting emotions. She didn’t necessarily believe in love, and here she was getting married.

I couldn’t handle it if she was marrying one of those guys she dated. Even if this was the craziest thing we’d ever done, it was the only solution.

14

SUTTON

Istood in front of the mirror getting ready for my wedding. Fiona placed the veil on my hair, careful not to mess up the updo the stylist had worked so hard on.

“What do you think?” Fiona asked with a smile, and it was hard to remember that none of this was real.

“It’s perfect.” The veil made me feel like a bride in a way the dress and the shoes hadn’t.

Daphne squealed. “You look like a bride now.”

“The white dress wasn’t doing it?” Fiona asked dryly.

“There’s just something about a veil. It makes everything official,” Daphne added.

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