Page 79 of Their Greatest Strength

“I was just going to order something online.”

Her gasp is dramatic as fuck, which I think might fit her. It’s very Jamie-like. His mom is a perfect example of a tiny woman with an attitude meant for someone double her size.

“How will you know how you like the dress if you don’t try it on first?”

“I think they have websites now that let you upload a photo of yourself so you can virtually try it on,” Avery says, offering me a sympathetic smile.

I nod, pretending like I know all about those websites. “Exactly. It’s just easier for me that way.”

“Half the fun of planning a wedding is choosing a dress. I spent hours holding my phone in the shop for Avery’s mom on FaceTime so she could see her in every dress she was trying on. We cried on and off for days afterward,” Gracie says, her eyes watering.

Avery leans into her mother-in-law’s side for support but keeps her encouraging stare fixed on me. “If you choose to go in somewhere, we’d love to come. As long as that’s something you and your family would be okay with. I know how moms can be with this sort of thing.”

“A mom won’t be an issue. Ours doesn’t even know about the wedding and isn’t invited.”

I stiffen, Nate’s comment falling into the room with theweight of a cement block. The impact slams full force into my chest, making it hard to breathe.

In the blink of an eye, Gracie’s on high alert, her body nearly slipping off the edge of the couch as she leans as close to us as possible without standing.

The pity twisting her expression is what I was trying to avoid. What Ialwaystry to avoid. Having them learn about this so soon . . . on a first meeting?

It’s mortifying.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything,” Avery apologizes quickly, guilt dripping off the words.

Nate sets a hand on my knee in a silent apology, and I fake a smile for him, not wanting him to feel bad for what he said. It’s not his fault. I can’t blame him for being honest, even if it exposed more than I was ready to right now.

The burn of Gracie’s eyes on my face forces me to meet her stare. All signs of pity are gone, replaced with a steadying offer of support that shocks me. Maybe it shouldn’t, considering the son she raised.

“My dad didn’t come to Mom and Ollie’s wedding and doesn’t see me a lot anymore, but we still had fun without him. If your mom doesn’t come to yours and Uncle J’s, that’s okay. G-Ma andMormoralways say that sometimes we get to choose our family, and that doesn’t mean they’re less special.”

Gracie chokes on a sob, and Avery hovers a hand over her chest before rubbing the other up and down her daughter’s arm. Nova doesn’t appear upset in the slightest, and I think that’s just a kid thing. Her advice came from the desire to help me, not from a place of her own pain.

Still, I’m jealous of this child’s ability to feel so openly. When I was her age, I’d already been beat down to the point of not wanting to feel at all anymore.

Gracie expertly pushes back her overflowing emotions and reaches out with both of her hands. She hovers them palm up in the gap between our couches, waiting for me to take them. I sinkmy teeth into the inside of my cheek and fight past the shake in my hands as I press our palms together.

“Nova’s right. There will still be plenty of family there. You won’t even notice that your mother isn’t in attendance. And if you change your mind on the dress, we’d love to be there for you then as well,” she vows.

“I’ll go dress shopping,” I blurt out, hardly waiting for her to finish first. I flush from my chest to my ears. “I don’t know where to go, but yeah. I’ll do it.”

Gracie’s grin is all white teeth and pure joy. “Leave it up to me! Oh, this will be so fun. It can be just us girls. We’ll make a whole day of it!”

“Maybe we can stop by the shop and check out flower arrangements too?” Avery adds.

It’s a lot all at once. More involvement from strangers than I’ve ever allowed before. It doesn’t feel wrong to want to say yes.

Especially not when Jamie comes strolling into the room, his sight set completely on me. With every inch of space he eats between us, the more at ease I become while simultaneously hyperfixating on his closeness.

His calm eyes scroll over my face, taking in every inch of my expression before he’s lifting me off the couch and setting me on his lap. I don’t have the chance to reject the new positioning with how quickly he’s moved us, and that’s actually a good thing. I’d have told him off on instinct and missed the steady weight of his arms around me.

His thighs are comfortable as hell as I relax the full weight of my body on them, trusting that he’s strong enough to take it. That rich amber cologne hits me next as I turn to face him, our eyes clashing.

He strokes the outside of my thigh and grins up at me, an invisible tail wagging beneath him. His happiness encourages my mouth to tug up at the corner.

“Sorry to interrupt.”

“No, you’re not,” I say, calling his bluff.

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