Page 97 of Clean Out of Luck

“You know I was happy to help.” She hugs me back. “It was a great excuse to get out of the house this last month. You and Lilly are my best friends; I would do anything for you.”

We shift to where we’re looking back at the crowd in the yard, still with our arms around each other.

“You know the best part of all this?” I ask in a sly voice.

“The best part of the wedding, or the best part of marrying Wade?” she asks with a laugh.

“Marrying Wade. It’s that you and I are now officially sisters-in-law.” I grin at her, and she smiles back.

“You’re so right! You’re my kids’ aunt. How fun is that?”

I tilt my head to where Phoenix is leading Lilly toward the gazebo. “And if I don’t miss my guess, Lilly might end up being my sister-in-law as well.”

We both grin as we watch Phoenix sneak a kiss because he thinks no one is watching.

“Do you remember our girls’ night in your apartment?” Ashlyn asks in a hushed tone.

“You mean the one where the milk got spilled?” My eyes find Wade talking with my grandma by the dessert table that’s an array of cookies. It’s as if he senses me watching him and turns to meet my gaze.

“Yes, that night.” Ashlyn clears her throat. “Is there any chance that mop was actually magical?”

The question catches me off guard—the mop and our theory that it granted wishes.

“To be honest, after getting together with Wade, I hadn’t thought of it again.”

Ashlyn tips her head toward Lilly and Phoenix. “Lilly wished that she would end up with Phoenix. The baby started sleeping through the night that very night, and it made me actually like my husband again. It’s amazing how much sleep deprivation starts affecting your relationships. I thought I should just divorce him, but it turned out we both just needed a good night’s sleep.”

I’m unable to fight the laugh off.

“What about your wish that night? Or anything else you wished?”

“Wade and I are married, aren’t we?” I whisper conspiratorially.

“Do you suppose all the rumors are true and that The Serendipity actuallydoesmake magic?”

“I’m not caught up on all my magic lore, so I don’t know what would make things magical,” I say with a shaky laugh. I can’t believe I’m actually verbalizing something I’ve been thinking for so long. “But…there have been…instances, and people falling in love. Look at Wade and me. Look over there.” I physically turn her to look at Phoebe, who moved into 3E on the third floor not too long after Wade and I started dating. She’s the museum director in town and is now happily with Jay. That only happened after she moved into the building. “That’s Phoebe and she’s now in a happy relationship with Jay—after living in The Serendipity.”

Ashlyn’s eyes go wide. “Because of the building or the mop?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that people seem to find their person when they live at The Serendipity. Maybe it’s the charm of the old building? Maybe magic is real. I don’t know.I don’t think it’s something that can ever truly be answered. All I know, is I couldn’t be happier with Wade.”

“Obviously.” Ashlyn snorts. “I’m just wondering if that mop would continue to grant wishes. Because, if it does…I’ll be over to mop your house every day.”

We both crack up at that.

“What are you two giggling about over here?”

I jump at the sound of Wade’s deep voice behind me. I feel like I just got caught with my hand in the cookie jar. How do I explain that we were talking about the possibility of my mop being magical?

Yeah, that would just sound like the stress of planning a wedding finally got to me.

“On that note, I see that Carson is waiting for me on the dance floor,” Ashlyn says as he hurries away to the patio, where Carson is waving for her to join him.

I lift the skirt of my wedding dress and turn to face Wade.

“Well, hello there, Mrs. Hendrix,” Wade murmurs as he slides his hands to my waist. He looks positively delicious in his tux.

Maybe he’ll lean in and kiss me.

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