Page 43 of One and Only

I raised an eyebrow, and she wisely dropped it.

“Mom and Dad, obviously. You,” I said to Poppy.

“What about family friends?” my sister asked. “Guys from work.”

I blew out a harsh breath. “I hadn’t thought about it, to be honest. I don’t say this to be rude, but most of them probably don’t, you know, care.”

My mom laughed. Poppy fought a smile. “They care. They’ve worked with you for years.”

In my head, I imagined Wade rolling up to the ceremony in his dirty ball cap and an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips. “I really don’t think they do.”

“Even Jax?”

She asked itsoinnocently, doodling on the edge of the notebook, eyes firmly planted on the paper.

Mom slid me a look. I rolled my lips together.

“Jax does work with us from time to time,” I said slowly. “But he’s Cameron’s friend. Not mine.”

Mom wiped down the counter. “Jax is also …” She paused, searching for the right word.

“Feral?” I added.

“He is not feral,” Poppy said. “He just doesn’t get out much.”

“Or talk,” I said. “Or … people.”

Mom chuckled.

Poppy’s crush on Cameron’s best friend was well-known within our family. Jax, however, had no freaking clue because considering the fact that he was rounding past thirty-five and Poppy had just turned twenty-two, he’d rather chop his arm off than give her the wrong impression.

“Jax will not be there,” I told her gently. “This is pretty much immediate family only.”

Poppy deflated a little but gave me a tiny nod as she kept doodling.

“What about flowers?” Mom asked. “We haven’t talked about what you want, honey.”

“Anything that’s in season is good with me,” I told her. “We can grab some bouquets from the farmers’ market the morning of. I have a white dress in my closet that will work just fine anyway. I’m keeping it pretty simple.”

My mom’s eyes tracked over my face, and my chest clenched at the questions I saw buried there.

“What?” I asked. I was incapable of not asking.

“I know you care about your wedding, Greer,” she said softly. “And if this is happening too quickly because of whatever Beckett has going on, maybe you feel like you’re not able to be as opinionated as you normally would.”

Poppy snorted. “Greer’s always opinionated. The only way she keeps her mouth shut is if someone has duct tape over it.”

I scratched my nose with my middle finger, and she simply smiled.

The front door to the house opened, Cameron stomping his boots to rid them of mud from the backyard. “Hey, Ma. Anything to eat?”

I rolled my eyes. “Is that all you guys think about?”

“That and how to survive working with you every day, yes.” He ruffled Poppy’s hair. “Still not sure on the second one, if you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t,” I muttered.

He kissed Mom on the cheek, snagging a blueberry muffin and wolfing it down in two bites. “What’s this?” he asked with a full mouth.

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