Page 13 of Take Me to the Wedding

“Oh. That’s serious.”

I nodded. “But then med school got tough, and I wasn’t there for her.” Sam lifted a skeptical brow but didn’t say anything. “I know what you’re thinking. Med schoolistough. But I was always either in class or studying. Lilly was… lonely. I mean, she gave up everything that she wanted to do for me. I took her away from her family and friends and the job she loved. Her dream was to own the floral shop her family started downtown, and she did—that’s what she does now. A few years have passed, we’ve both grown up, and she recently broke up with her boyfriend, so now’s my chance to see if the magic’s still there.”

Sam went quiet. Which made me really nervous. Not that I needed her approval or anything, but I found myself asking, “Are you processing that or judging me?”

“I’m trying not to judge you. Love is love.”

“I hear a giant ‘but’ in there.”

She gave a casual shrug. “It’s not my place to say.”

“It is if I ask you.”

“Well, okay. It’s just that past relationships are tough, in my opinion, because people have to change so that the reason you broke up doesn’t repeat itself. As time passes, people tend to look back with rose-colored glasses.” She paused. “It takes hard work to understand what really happened and move forward.”

I thought about that. “Med school broke us up, and that stress certainly doesn’t exist anymore.”

“I don’t mean just external factors. I mean internal ones. You have to dig deep and figure out what made you both so unhappy during that time of extreme external stress.”

That was interesting, and I got all of it, but to me there was more. “I feel that Lilly and I didn’t get a fair shot. It’s always been an unresolved issue for me. I want a chance to see if things might be different now that we’re older and more settled.” Then something occurred to me. “Wait a minute. I thought you didn’t believe in love.” Mia had lamented this fact to our mother multiple times.Sam’s such a wonderful person, but she won’t date anyone seriously.

Also, why was I telling her everything, as if she was some kind of love expert or something?

“Not for myself. But my grandmother knew all about it.”

That made me chuckle. “Yourgrandmother?”

“Uh-huh. She was a matchmaker.”

“I thought you said she was a nurse.”

“That too. In the newborn nursery. She got over a hundred couples together—for life.” She snapped her fingers. “She could tell in an instant if they were meant to be or not.”

“You’re joking.”

She bristled. “I’m not joking.”

I had so many questions. Like, what was this woman’s batting average? Did the couples really stay together? Was this voodoo a family thing? If it was, I could ask Sam to help me out and reverse the damage with Lilly.

Sam studied me, her expression defensive. It was time to change the subject.

“Anyway,” I continued, “I want to put my best foot forward this weekend—not just with Lilly. Most people like me. I mean, besides you.” She rolled her eyes. “I hope that with the wedding you and I can be mature adults and get along—for Ani and Tyler’s sake.” I held out my hand for a potential fist bump.

She bumped it with her fist, then slapped it with both sides of her hand, like some fancy funky handshake. But I was right with her on that, and I couldn’t help chuckling.

She was interesting, that was for sure. For the first time, I was starting to see a peek of the Sam whom my sister loved. It was a relief, a little bit, but also like a red flashing danger sign. I couldn’t afford any distractions on my way to figure things out with Lilly.

ChapterFive

Samantha

At the two-hour mark, we finally pulled up to a postcard-perfect white Victorian farmhouse surrounded by rolling fields plowed into tidy rows. As we got out of the truck, even the air smelled fresher this far out in the country. The D’Angelos weren’t a perfect family, but they were close-knit. Beth and Steven always treated me like one of their own kids, and I loved spending time with them. I’d never been here without Mia though. And while Caleb might have been tolerable on the drive, I had no desire to hang out with him.

As I followed Caleb through the front door, a little wiener dog dashed out to greet

him. I reflexively recoiled, clinging to the door in case I needed to bolt.

Caleb bent down to pet the dog, who immediately rolled over for a tummy rub. “Hey, Coop, how are you, buddy? How’s my little brother doing? I missed you, buddy, yes I did.”

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