Page 114 of Honeymoon Phase
My brows lift. “Sounds interesting.”
“Cozy is a superfan,” Trista whispers loudly.
Everly giggles and drags me down to my spot, fitting me with an apron and gloves so I’m fully prepped to stain my board. It isn’t until I get to my spot that I see that mine has a special personalization on it that no one else’s does.
“What is this?” I ask, as I pick up the board to get a closer look.
“Call it a wedding present,” Cozy replies with a smirk. “Yours is a cutting board, not a charcuterie board. They’re different, trust me. I thought you’d like a cutting board better with all your bread making.”
“We said no gifts,” I state, glancing up at her in confusion.
Cozy buzzes her lips. “It’s nothing.”
I gaze down at the beautiful board in front of me and my fingers tremble as I trace over the engraving that saysMr. & Mrs. Fletcherwith our upcoming wedding date carved below it. It’s sweet and thoughtful and so personal. I can already see it sitting on the counter in Luke’s cabin.
My cabin.
Our home.
It’s crazy how easy that is for me to consider. That Luke’s home is now my home. But somehow, my stuff just fits there so well. Even my damn KitchenAid mixer has its own cabinet. His shower already has all my toiletries in it. My wedding dress is hanging in his walk-in closet.
I’ve forgotten about all the things I left at my Boulder apartment, because somewhere along the way without even realizing it, I left my old life behind.
A droplet hits the raw wood, and I jerk my head, not even realizing tears are falling down my cheeks.
“Oh shit, I never even asked if you took Luke’s name,” Cozysays, dropping her paintbrush and looking horrified, like my tears are because of the engraving.
“She probably didn’t take his name because of the lumber business,” Dakota offers, nudging Cozy with her elbow.
“That would make total sense,” Everly chirps, putting her hand on my arm.
“I was all too happy to get rid of my last name,” Trista adds with a harrumph.
“But we can fix this, I’m sure.” Everly look to Cozy with urgency.
“Yes, I will totally make you a new board. It’s what I do. I can do hyphenated or just keep it your name straight-up. I could doAddison and Lukewith the date. But he always calls you ‘Roe’ so I wasn’t sure. I’m so sorry, but don’t worry about it. I do these engravings myself. I have a tool—”
“This is perfect,” I reply, cutting her off as I hold the board to my chest. “I don’t want anything changed.”
All the women stare at me like I’m a time bomb waiting to go off, and I guess maybe I am. I’ve been so stuck in my ways, certain I knew exactly how my life was going to turn out and now... now everything has changed.
And I fucking love every bit of it.
“It’s just hard to get used to because my whole life I only saw myself as a Monroe. I’ve been proud to be a Monroe,” I say, staring at the table. “My family is messy, and my dad is tough, but I love him, you know? He did the best he could, and he taught me our family business and I’m proud of what we provide for the community, you know? I liked passing out those awards at the lumberjack competition and signing a check to our charity. It means a lot to share the last name of my brother too. Carrying on his legacy.”
The ladies all nod, their eyes fixed on me as I work through something big in my head.
I look up and lock eyes with Johanna, my chest swelling with emotion. “But I guess I’m realizing that two things can be true at once because I would be equally as proud to be a Fletcher.”
Johanna brings her hand up, covering a soft sob that escapes her lips. I feel guilty for hitting her with the feels out of nowhere but they’re hitting me too and suddenly I’m a dam that’s finally broken free, gushing all my feelings out all over the table.
“I’m really grateful to you, Jo,” I croak, eyeing her with a pained smile. “I don’t know most of the details of this wedding and I already know it’s going to be one of the best days of my life.”
“Oh, sweetie,” she blubbers and pulls her gloves off before rushing around the table to pull me into a hug. “It was my pleasure. I would do anything for you. Anything.”
I feel myself fight back a sob into her shoulder as her words repeat in my head.I would do anything for you. Anything.
It’s a deep pain to know that my own mother couldn’t, but this mother could. Some mothers do good. I could do good.
