Chapter 27
Micah Barrett
The Sterling Rose Chapel in Vegas is smaller than I expected, but it’s full of understated luxury with ivory marble columns rising to a coffered ceiling and preserved garden roses arranged in crystalline cascades along the walls.
The afternoon light filters through custom stained glass windows, casting everything in warm, golden hues that make the space feel both intimate and elegant.
I’m sitting in the second row, watching everyone file into their seats. All my family is here, along with quite a few from Claire’s side. Even some of Levi’s college friends have come. We fill the chapel pretty quickly.
Violet keeps dabbing at her eyes. Tobias is looking uncomfortable in his suit, Kiki’s smoothing down Skyler’s dress, and Noah and Savannah are whispering quietly to each other. And there’s River, with his arm draped casually around Cricket’s shoulders like it belongs there.
My throat goes dry at the sight. He’s been touching her like that all weekend. Small gestures, a casual intimacy that feels as natural as breathing. Cricket leans into him, laughing at something he whispers in her ear, and I force myself to look away.
Tobias and Kiki are sitting in front of me, her hand resting on his thigh, fingers intertwined.
There’s something so easy about the way they fit together, like they’ve figured out some secret the rest of us are still trying to crack.
Kiki catches Tobias looking at her and gives him this soft smile that makes my throat ache.
In the row across from me, Noah has his arm around Savannah, and she’s practically glowing as she watches people take their seats. They keep exchanging these knowing glances, the kind that speak of shared jokes and quiet moments and a love so solid you could build a house on it.
And then there’s Levi, standing at the altar in his perfectly tailored suit, grinning like he just won the lottery. His eyes are locked on the back of the chapel, waiting for Claire to appear, and even from here, I can see the way his hands shake slightly with nerves and excitement.
Everyone here knows what this is. All of my brothers have found their person, their other half, their happily ever after. Even all of Levi’s college friends have someone. Everyone except me.
I steal another glance at Cricket and River.
She’s wearing this soft blue dress that brings out her eyes, her hair falling in gentle waves over her shoulders.
She looks beautiful. The thought strikes me, and I inwardly gasp.
Have I always thought she was beautiful?
I didn’t realize it. But today, there’s something different.
A radiance that has nothing to do with the Vegas lighting.
River says something that makes her laugh, that bright, musical sound I’ve been listening to my whole life. But now it’s for him. Now when she lights up like that, when her face transforms with joy, it’s because of River, not me.
I’m such an idiot.
All those years, all those moments when it was just Cricket and me against the world.
When she’d comfort me through my panic attacks, when she’d stay up all night helping me with song lyrics, when I would cling to her like she was my lifeline.
I thought that was just friendship. I thought that was just me and my best friend.
I never realized I was in love with her. And by the time I figured it out, it was too late.
The music starts—the wedding march that gets everyone’s attention. Claire appears at the back of the chapel, and I have to admit, she looks stunning. Her dress is simple but elegant, her usually severe expression softened by pure happiness. But what really gets me is Levi’s reaction.
I’ve never seen my brother look like that.
Like he’s witnessing a miracle. Like every breath he’s ever taken has led to this moment.
His hands aren’t shaking anymore. They’re completely steady as Claire walks toward him.
When she reaches the altar, he takes her hands like he’s been waiting his whole life to do exactly that.
The officiant starts speaking, but I’m only half listening. My attention keeps drifting to the couples around me, to the way they all seem to have found their perfect match. And then to Cricket, who’s watching the ceremony with tears in her eyes, River’s hand resting protectively on her knee.
“Do you, Levi Barrett, take Claire Matthews to be your wife?” the officiant asks.
Levi’s grin gets impossibly wider. “I absolutely do.”
“And do you, Claire, take Levi to be your husband?”
“I do,” Claire says, and her voice is steady and sure.
“The couple has prepared their own vows. Levi?”
Levi clears his throat, but he’s still grinning.
“Claire, when I first met you, you were sitting next to me at dinner, looking like you’d rather be anywhere else in the world.
You did not appreciate my very humorous jokes or the way I flirted with you, and I thought, ‘This woman clearly has trust issues.’”
Everyone laughs, including Claire, who shakes her head at him.
“But then,” Levi continues, “you came to work with me. You so brilliantly helped me with my business, because I clearly didn’t know what I was doing, and along the way, I got to know you.
I realized that maybe there was a reason for your trust issues.
Maybe you’d been disappointed too many times by other people in your life. ”
I can see Claire’s eyes starting to well up.
“So I made it my mission to prove that I would always be there for you. Every éclair, every croissant, every single gluten-free treat I’ve made you has been my way of saying, ‘I see you, I understand you, and I will never let you down.’ You’re careful with your heart because it’s precious, and I promise to treat it like the treasure it is.
I love your lists, your spreadsheets, your need to have everything planned down to the minute.
I love that you make me want to be better, more organized, more worthy of the incredible woman who somehow decided I was worth taking a chance on. ”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box. “I know we already exchanged rings, but I couldn’t resist one more surprise.”
Claire’s eyes go wide as he opens the box to reveal what looks like a tiny éclair, except it’s clearly made of gold and diamonds.
“It’s an éclair pin,” Levi explains, and now he’s getting choked up. “Because you’re my sweet Claire, and I want you to carry a piece of my love with you everywhere you go.”
My throat tightens, and I have to blink so I don’t start crying. Even Tobias is wiping at his face.
Claire takes a shaky breath before starting her vows. “Levi, six months ago, if someone had told me I’d be standing in a Vegas chapel, marrying a man who proposed with pastry, I would have suggested they seek professional help.”
More laughter.
“I had my life planned out in five-year increments. Color-coded calendars, detailed budgets, contingency plans for my contingency plans. There was no room in my carefully organized world for a charming baker who thinks ‘spontaneous’ is a food group.”
Levi laughs, and she smiles at him with so much tenderness it makes my chest ache.
“But then you walked into my life with your terrible jokes and your incredible pastries, and you turned everything upside down in the most beautiful way possible. You taught me that the best things in life can’t be planned.
They have to be felt. You showed me that love isn’t about having all the answers.
It’s about being willing to figure them out together. ”
She pauses, her voice getting stronger. “You saw past my walls and my rules and my need to control everything, and somehow, you made me feel safe enough to let go. You make me laugh when I want to cry, you hold me when the world gets too overwhelming, and you’ve never once made me feel like I need to be anyone other than exactly who I am. ”
She reaches up and touches the éclair pin he just gave her. “So yes, I’ll be your sweet girl, but only if you promise to keep being my steady, wonderful, slightly ridiculous man who shows love through gluten-free pastries and terrible puns.”
“Deal,” Levi whispers, and they’re both crying now.
The officiant pronounces them husband and wife, and when they kiss, the whole chapel erupts in cheers and applause. I find myself clapping along, genuinely happy for them despite the hollow ache in my chest.
As everyone starts filing out for the reception, I catch sight of Cricket wiping tears from her cheeks. River leans down and says something to her, probably asking if she’s okay, and she nods and smiles up at him with such trust and affection that I have to look away.
This is what I’ll never have. This certainty, this perfect fit, this sense of finding your person and knowing without a doubt that they’re yours and you’re theirs. I had my chance with Cricket, and I was too blind, too scared, too stupid to see what was right in front of me.
Now she’s found someone who sees her the way Levi sees Claire, the way Tobias sees Kiki, the way Noah sees Savannah. Someone who makes her laugh and holds her when she cries and doesn’t take her incredible, generous heart for granted.
I should be happy for her. I am happy for her. But I’m also devastated because I know I’ll spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been if I’d just opened my eyes a little sooner.
As we head to the reception, Cricket falls into step beside me, River having been pulled aside by Skyler, who wanted to show him something.
“That was beautiful,” she says, still a little teary. “Levi’s vows were perfect.”
“Yeah,” I manage. “They’re good together.”
She looks at me sideways. “You okay? You seem quiet.”
For a second, I think about telling her everything. About how I realized too late that I love her, about how watching her with River is like slowly bleeding out, about how I would give anything to go back and do it all differently.
But then River appears at her other side, sliding his hand into hers with an ease that speaks of growing familiarity, and Cricket’s face brightens like he’s the sun.
“I’m fine,” I lie.
She squeezes my arm with her free hand, the same comforting gesture she’s made a thousand times before, but now it feels like a goodbye.
“Come on,” she says. “Let’s go celebrate your brother finding his happily ever after.”
We get into the limousine that takes us to the reception at the Golden Mirage Ballroom. The venue is decked out for Christmas, with tinsel and golden balls decorating the walls and a giant crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
The venue fills up, and I can feel my anxiety heighten. I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly like my doctor told me. I do it several times, and it actually helps a little bit. I walk to the wall, away from the people dancing.
I watch as River spins Cricket around on the dance floor. She throws back her head and laughs like she doesn’t have a care in the world. And I try to be happy that my best friend has found her fairy-tale ending, even if it means mine is over before it ever really began.