Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
"I promise to be your best friend, your biggest supporter, and your lifelong partner. I vow to cherish every moment we share, to lift you up when you need strength, and to walk beside you in all of life’s adventures. You are my love, my joy, and my greatest gift, and I promise to love you today, tomorrow, and always."
“I love you,” Elle says. She clears her throat. “I choose you today and every day. I promise to love you, respect you, and stand beside you, no matter what life brings. You are my heart, my home, and my forever."
“Words fail me,” Ben says as he starts to lean forward to kiss her.
“Not yet!” I admonish, and everyone laughs.
With a big, happy inhale, I look at my sister and her husband. “Ben, you may now kiss my sister.”
Again, everyone laughs—except Nola. She’s not even paying attention because she’s still on her phone.
FOUR
Watching my sister and brother-in-law walk down the aisle, with their linked hands raised in the air, gives me so much joy. Beau follows them, meeting Mack at the end of the aisle. Peyton and Noah walk next, and just looking at the two of them makes me realize I want this kind of love.
I thought I had it with Nola, but as of late, I’m not so sure. We’re disconnected, and I’m not sure how to fix it.
My parents walk after Peyton and Noah, followed by Liam, Josie, Betty Paige, and then Nick. One by one, everyone makes their way toward the vineyard, and then we’ll go into the winery for dinner, some dancing, and a party I’m sure will be as epic as Elle wants it to be.
I glance over and see Nola sitting in her seat. We make eye contact; she smiles and stands. We don’t hold hands as we bring up the rear of the line, and it makes me wonder why.
“What did you think of the ceremony?”
She lifts one shoulder. “It was okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah, it was pretty simple.”
I close my eyes and pray she doesn’t say this to Elle because I think it’s rather insulting. I might be biased, but I feel like the ceremony was elegant and perfect for my sister and Ben.
“The dog thing is weird.”
“Beau is their baby.”
“He’s a dog. Not a baby.”
Yep, this isn’t going to go over very well. “People who have pets consider them their babies. It’s perfectly normal,” I tell her, slightly aggravated with her attitude. “Peyton and Noah consider Stevie Nicks their baby as well.”
Nola stops before we get inside the vineyard and crosses her arms over her chest.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing, it’s just . . .” She looks all around but never at me. “You side with them on everything.”
“I’m not taking sides, Eleanora.” I don’t know why I felt the need to call her by her given name, but I do. Maybe it’s because she’s being picky about something that’s very important to my sister, and therefore, important to me. She side-eyes me.
“Look, it’s a wedding. We’re going to go in there and have a nice dinner and do some dancing. And this gives us a chance to decide what we want for our wedding.”
Her phone vibrates in her hand, and she looks at the screen instead of acknowledging my wedding comment.
“Who keeps calling you?”
“Excuse me?” Finally, her very angry eyes meet mine.
I take her by the elbow and pull her around the side of the building where no one lingers. “Did you even see any of the wedding?”
She pulls her arm from my grip. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was sitting in the front, wasn’t I?”
“You were, but every time I looked at you, you were on your phone. Who is so damn important that you couldn’t put your phone down during my sister’s wedding?”
We stare at each other, and I swear I can see venom in her eyes. I have no idea what she sees when she looks at me, but this is not the woman I fell in love with.
She’s changed.
I think it’s fair to say I have as well, but I thought I was changing with her, for our future.
“Who was on the damn phone?”
“I think you’re being a bit too possessive right now, Quinn.”
Her words knock me back a bit. Is that what she really thinks about me? Our relationship? I look down at the ground and let her words sink in. Maybe I am, but I pay for everything for her. While I told her I don’t mind doing so, I absolutely do when whoever keeps texting her during my sister’s ceremony is somehow more important to her.
My head rises to look at her. She stands there; her posture seems dismissive. No, I’m not in the wrong here.
“That’s unfair, Nola.”
“Gah, whatever. It was my mom,” she says, throwing her hands in the air.