Page 171 of Love Me Reckless

“Don’t start,” Ava warns, her voice cracking. Laughing, she dabs at the corner of her eye.

“Thank you for being here today,” Sofie says, taking both of our hands. She smiles as a tear trickles down.

I snatch a tissue from the box on the counter. I press a corner of it to Sofie’s cheek. “I wouldn’t miss this day for anything.”

She hugs me, and I hold her for a long moment, gratitude for the close friendship we share like a bright flame inside me.

“Love you, girl.” I plant a soft kiss on her cheek.

“I love you too!” she says, laughing.

Ava’s next, sniffling and laughing all at once. “I love seeing you so happy.”

A knock on the door startles us from our huddle. “You girls okay in there?” Rowdy calls.

“Yes!” we call out. I make one last pass with the tissue, and then the three of us hug one last time.

“See you at the altar,” Ava says with a sassy grin.

“Yeah,” Sofie says with a wiggle of excitement, her soft blue eyes so bright.

I hand Sofie her bouquet and give her one last kiss on the cheek. “Knock ‘em dead, buttercup.”

She laughs.

Ava and I slip from the cabin. Outside in the grass, Rowdy stands in the shade of a copse of tall spruce trees, his hands in his pockets. Dressed in a dark suit with a pink rose pinned to his lapel, his tanned face so handsome, he looks every bit the proud father.

“You doing okay?” I ask him.

His smile lights up his entire face. “Yeah. Just soaking it all in.”

Ava and I continue to the meadow, where the rest of the wedding party is gathering behind the rows of seated guests. Sofie’s sister Linnea and Neve join us, Linnie looking so grown up and elegant with her hair in loose waves and her easy smile. Neve gives her babybump, now the size of a basketball, a loving caress as the guys file out of the groom’s cabin.

Sawyer’s gaze sweeps the rows of guests until he sees me. His face goes still and his eyes soften. I smile at him, my heart so full in my chest, like it could crack open.

He hurries over and pulls me into a soft embrace, his strong arms wrapping me in his warmth and his peppery fresh scent. “God, you’re beautiful.”

“How are your toes?” I gaze down at his dress shoes that I’m sure are causing him pain. By the end of ski season, both nails on his big toes had started turning blue thanks to his ski boots, which were several sizes too small.

“Can’t feel a thing. I’m walking on air right now.” He leans down to kiss me, his lips plush and soft against mine. I cradle him close and kiss him back. Heat blooms in my belly, warm and delightful.

From the other side of the chairs, the quartet begins to play.

“I love you,” he whispers in my ear.

I kiss him again, emotions thickening in my throat. “I love you back.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the rows of chairs, behind Ava and Hutch.

Sawyer leans closer. “I can’t wait to dance with you.”

“Me too,” I say with a happy sigh. “It’s going to be a beautiful night.”

Once Ava and Hutch are in place, it’s our turn. As we stroll hand in hand down the aisle, I think back to the ceremony I walked away from almost seven months ago. Though some people called it reckless, choosing myself over the wishes of others wasn’t done on a whim. It came from the culmination of a hundred little moments. I sometimes wonder if I hadn’t met Sawyer, would I have recognized them? Would I have learned to trust myself?

Sawyer gives my hand a squeeze before we have to part, and we take our places. I smile at the Huttons in the front row, Barb alreadyblotting tears from the corners of her eyes. In the second row sits my mom and Grandma Dora, both of them grinning. Grandma now lives mostly full-time in my old bungalow. She says it’s to spend more time with me, Grayson, and Sawyer, but she and my mom have become close. The two of them have been a huge help in getting my community art center up and running. They even signed up for my firstplein airpainting class next month. Things with my dad are still rocky, but my mom and Grayson are helping us find common ground.

Zach walks down the row and steps into his place beneath the arched trellis woven with flowers. The quartet pauses, and then the opening notes of the wedding march bring everyone to their feet.

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