Page 54 of When Ellie Falls in Love

“Sadie,” her mother called up the stairs, “are you ready?”

“No.”

“Why?” Delaney’s voice was slightly closer, indicating she was walking up the stairs. Sadie looked around at the pile of clothes scattered around the floor as her mother came into her room. “Oh, I see you’ve decided now is the time to clean out your closet. I’ve only been asking you to do that since we moved.”

“I have nothing to wear.”

“The giant pile of clothes on the floor indicates otherwise.”

Sadie was sonotin the mood for her mother’s teasing. She watched as Delaney walked over to the closet, looked through the handful of items that hadn’t ended up on the floor yet, and plucked a light blue dress from the rod. Delaney held it up in front of her.

“Wear this. It goes great with your eyes and your hair.”

There was no time to protest. The dress would have to work. Sadie paired it with flip-flops, hoping Charlie wouldn’t lecture her on why she shouldn’t wear flip-flops for the thousandth time, and followed her mother to the car.

When they arrived at the party, Sadie stood by the car as she straightened her dress and checked her hair in the reflection on the car’s window. She could feel her mother and Charlie watching her, but she didn’t care. Well, she did, but she didn’t havetimeto care. Sadie had to make sure everything was perfect before she saw Ellie.

Delaney narrowed her eyes at Sadie. “Why are you so freaked out about how you look?”

“I’m not freaked out.” Her high-pitched voice indicated otherwise. “I just want to look nice. That’s all.”

“She’s gotta look nice forEllie,” Charlie’s singsong voice reluctantly pulled a smile from Sadie. There was no keeping the kiss a secret from them, but thankfully they’d kept their teasing and commenting to a relative minimum since then. Sadie could feel her cheeks redden. “Ah, see. She’s smiling.”

“She’s gonna seeEllie,” Delaney chimed in, earning an eye roll from Sadie.

“I’m gonna need you two to stay fifty feet away from me all night, mmmk?”

“She thinks we won’t embarrass her from fifty feet away,” Delaney smiled and waved her off.

Still smiling, Sadie started walking toward the Mackenzie’s backyard. It was elegantly decorated with a large banner congratulating Isla and Vera on their anniversary. An archway sat under the trees on one side of the yard, and Sadie knew exactly what that was for. Not only were they giving Isla and Vera the chance to renew their vows, but Mason and Chase had also decided to use the occasion to have their own surprise wedding.

Sadie thought the gesture was beyond sweet. She loved how much the Mackenzies loved each other and longed yet again to be a part of a family like that one day. However, realistically, she knew that would never happen. Her mom and Charlie didn’t want more kids, and even if they did, by the time they came around, Sadie would be old enough to be their mother.

“Hey,” Ellie seemed to appear out of nowhere as Sadie stood behind Delaney and Charlie at the guestbook table. “You look pretty.”

“Thanks,” Sadie blushed again, “so do you.”

But the truth was, Ellie looked stunning. The Mackenzie women could rock a suit, there was no doubt about it. Ellie seemed to be wearing the same one from prom, and it still looked as amazing on her as it did that night. She had her hair braided to one side, with a white flower pinned behind her ear.

“El,” Mason called from across the yard, motioning for her, “we need you.”

“I can’t walk away for a minute without Mason thinking of something else she needs me to do.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Save a dance for me,” Ellie said with a wink. “That’ll be enough.”

Sadie watched as Ellie sauntered across the yard toward Mason. Of course, she was so caught up in watching Ellie that she didn’t notice both Delaney and Charlie staring at her with bemused looks on both of their faces.

“Not a word.”

As the night went on, Sadie kept catching glimpses of Ellie across the party. Her heart fluttered each time she caught Ellie’s eyes and she smiled.That damn smile.Sadie didn’t know how it was so perfect.

After the vow renewal, Mason and Chase surprised nearly everyone by announcing they were getting married right then. Sadie didn’t know who all knew, but judging by the reactions, it wasn’t many people. The ceremony was sweet, and Sadie didn’t try to stop her eyes from finding Ellie’s multiple times during the vows.

When the DJ announced the dance floor was open, Sadie watched as her mom and Charlie headed for the dance floor along with most of the other couples at the party. Sadie looked around for Ellie but didn’t see her anywhere. So, instead, she watched Alexis and Blake slowly dance beside Sophia and Emily as Harper went back and forth between them. Mason and Chase looked so lost in each other’s gaze that Sadie felt she was intruding on an intimate moment by watching.

A tap on her shoulder pulled Sadie from her thoughts. She quickly turned around to find Ellie standing there with her hand held out to her.

---