Page 69 of The Magic of Sea Glass
“Stephanie, if I try to go through with it, I might ruin your wedding day and I couldn’t live with myself if I did.”
Stephanie leaned forward, locking eyes with her. “You can do this.”
“That’s what everyone is telling me, but I’m almost certain that I can’t. You saw me at the bridal shop. If I can’t handle that, how will I manage when you’re actually standing at the altar?”
Stephanie softened. “I know how.”
Lauren frowned, confused. “How?”
“You’ll handle it just fine because I’ll help you through it. And Brody will be by your side. I know he’ll support you. He’s crazy about you. And Joe. And Mary. We’ll all be there.”
“But this shouldn’t be about me. It’s your day.”
“Iwantyou there. It wouldn’t be the same without you.”
Dave pounded on the door again. “You almost done?”
They both ignored him.
Stephanie stood up. “Please. Do this for me. And cry if you want to! Blubber like crazy! I’ll tell everyone you’re emotional at weddings—they’ll all believe it,” she teased, making Lauren smile.
“I’ve already seen you in the dress. There’s nothing more to fear, right?” Lauren said, feeling a little stronger with Stephanie’s support. And she needed to be resilient for her new friend. No matter what Stephanie said, this was her new friend’s day and Lauren needed to make it great.
“You’ve got this.”
Lauren broke into a smile. “I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”
* * *
After Stephanie left, Lauren tried to continue working. But despite the fact that she kept telling herself that she was okay, she still carried the weight of her thoughts while considering the final details for tomorrow’s big event. Grief wasn’t that easy; it couldn’t be fixed with a single pep talk. There was still the fear that, while today she felt strong, tomorrow she might make a spectacle of herself. Could Brody save her from that? Should he have to? She propped her elbows on the desk and leaned her forehead on her fingers.
Brody floated through her mind more than once. The wave of unease used to come because she missed Mason too much to move forward. Then it arrived in the form of remorse whenever she considered moving on, but now it was the shame and fear that she was making a decision that Mason wouldn’t agree with. Would she ever get loose from the web of sorrow, or would she overcome one obstacle of thought, only to be faced with a new one?
Brody was so different from Mason. He worked with his hands, whereas Mason was analytical, more introspective. Brody was tender in his affection while Mason was more playful. Would Mason approve of Brody? Even more important: would Mason feel slighted by her moving on?
“Lauren?” a deep voice called to her.
She looked up to find Brody, her face flaming at the fact that she’d just been thinking about him. “Hi.”
“I’m going to pick up Joe from the hospital. Wanna take a break and come with me?”
“I have so much to figure out,” she said, not feeling herself today.
Brody took a step into the office. “Joe lit up when he saw you. I’m sure he’d love to have a diversion right now.”
“You still have no shirt for tomorrow. I have to at least figure that out for Stephanie and Mitchell,” she reminded him.
“I promise, we’ll come up with an answer.”
She deliberated. While she’d love to see if she could find out more about the person Joe had thought she was when he’d first met her, she worried about spending too much time with Brody. She didn’t trust herself with him, and she wanted to be sure that she was making the right decision. It might be better to allow things to cool off with him, let him take his cross-country trip, and then see where she was in a year or so.
“Plus, Mary was going to drive, but she’s caught up in the lunch crowd. The truck might be tough for Joe to climb up in, so I was hoping I could use your car.”
She looked at her computer to avoid his blue eyes.
“And I know you’d jump at the chance to escape the TV crew.”
He got her.
