Chapter 4
By Monday morning, Grace had decided she was not going to let Brooklyn occupy so much space in her thoughts.
She disliked the feeling almost as much as she disliked Brooklyn herself.
It made her feel reactive, suspicious, unlike the woman she had always believed herself to be. Grace had built a successful branding agency by listening carefully, asking thoughtful questions, and resisting the urge to jump to conclusions. Clients trusted her because she rarely overreacted.
Yet here she was, mentally replaying every conversation she'd had with a woman she'd known for little more than a week.
It had to stop.
Wedding planning would continue. Life would continue. Brooklyn would be one bridesmaid among four, and eventually everyone would stand at the altar, smile for photographs, and move on.
Grace repeated that promise to herself as she unlocked her office Monday morning. By lunchtime, she'd almost succeeded.
Then Paige called. "I need you not to freak out."
Grace smiled despite herself. "That's never a reassuring way to start a conversation."
"I'm serious."
"What happened?"
There was a pause. "I was on Instagram."
Grace frowned. "Okay..."
"And Elaine posted pictures from your dress appointment."
Grace stopped typing.
"...What?"
"I sent them to you."
Her phone buzzed almost immediately.
Grace opened Instagram.
Elaine Moretti had uploaded six photographs.
The first showed Grace standing on the bridal platform in the third gown she'd tried. She was laughing at something Paige had said. It was actually a lovely picture.
The second showed Luke's mother hugging her.
The third showed Brooklyn holding the box of champagne cupcakes with both women laughing.
The fourth...
Grace stared.
The fourth was just Brooklyn.
She stood beside one of the gowns, smiling warmly at the camera, her hand resting lightly against the satin skirt.
The caption read:
Finding the perfect dress with my girls. We can't wait to welcome Grace into the family. So grateful Brooklyn could be there to help make the day special.
Grace read it twice.
Then a third time.
She wasn't upset because Brooklyn appeared in the photos. Brooklyn had been there. That was reality.
She was upset because anyone who looked at the post would naturally assume Brooklyn had always been part of the appointment.
That she'd been invited.
That she'd belonged there.
Grace zoomed in.
The first two photographs had obviously been taken before Brooklyn arrived. The angle changed halfway through the carousel.
Someone had deliberately arranged the pictures so it looked like one continuous afternoon.
Her phone rang again.
Paige.
"Tell me I'm overreacting," Paige said the moment Grace answered.
Grace sat back in her chair. "I don't know anymore."
"She wasn't supposed to be there."
"I know."
"And now it looks like she planned the whole thing."
Grace rubbed her forehead.
"Elaine probably doesn't realize."
"You honestly believe that?"
"I..."
She didn't know. That uncertainty was becoming exhausting. "I just don't know."
Paige was quiet for a second.
"Have you looked at the comments?"
"No."
"Maybe don't."
Grace looked anyway.
Brooklyn is the sweetest!
Love that Luke and Brooklyn stayed such good friends!
She'll keep Grace calm. Every bride needs someone like that.
So glad Brooklyn could help! She knows the family so well.
Grace's stomach sank. Nobody had said anything cruel. Nobody had insulted her. If anything, people were welcoming her.
Yet somehow, the comments left her feeling smaller than she had five minutes earlier.
Her phone buzzed with a direct message.
From Brooklyn.
Elaine's post is adorable! You look absolutely stunning. I hope you don't mind that I'm in a couple of the pictures. I tried to stay out of the way.
Grace stared at the screen.
Of course.
Brooklyn had reached out before Grace could.
If Grace complained now, she'd be complaining to a woman who had already apologized for something she claimed not to have intended.
"Grace?"
"I'm here."
"What are you going to do?" Grace looked back at the comments. One in particular caught her eye.
Luke has the best women around him.
Women.
Plural.
Not fiancée.
Not future wife.
Women.
"I'm going to ignore it."
Paige sighed audibly. "I don't know if that's smart."
"I don't know what else to do."
Luke called that evening while Grace was making pasta.
"Hey."
"Hey."
He sounded distracted.
She could hear voices in the background.
"Still at work?"
"No. My parents' house."
Grace stirred the sauce.
"Oh."
"My mom wanted to talk about the guest list."
Of course she did.
"So..."
Luke hesitated. "Did you see her Instagram post?"
Grace almost laughed. "I did."
"I wanted to warn you before you stumbled across it."
"It would've been a little late."
"I figured."
She waited. "I asked her to take it down."
Grace stopped stirring. "You did?"
"Yeah."
Hope fluttered unexpectedly in her chest. "What did she say?"
Luke sighed. "She honestly didn't understand why."
Grace's hope dimmed. "She thought she was being welcoming."
"I'm sure she did."
"Grace..."
"What?"
"I believe you."
Those three words settled over her more gently than she'd expected. "You do?"
"I think Brooklyn has started assuming she's part of everything."
Grace leaned against the counter.
"Thank you."
"But..."
She closed her eyes. "There it is."
"No, listen."
She waited.
"I don't think she's doing it maliciously."
Grace smiled to herself. Of course. That was always the line. Not maliciously.
Never maliciously.
"I think," Luke continued carefully, "she genuinely believes she's helping."
Grace twirled a strand of pasta around the wooden spoon. "I know."
"You do?"
"I do."
There was genuine surprise in his voice.
"I don't think she's sitting around plotting how to ruin my wedding."
"So what do you think?"
Grace lowered the heat beneath the sauce.
"I think she's spent her entire life believing your family belongs to her."
Luke was silent.
"And now," Grace continued quietly, "you're getting married."
Luke exhaled slowly.
"But she doesn't know how to stop being the most important woman in the room to you."
The words hung between them.
Finally Luke spoke. "I've never thought about it that way."
"I know."
"My mom..." He stopped himself.
"What about her?"
"I think Mom encourages it."
Grace hadn't wanted to say that herself. Elaine wasn't cruel. She simply adored Brooklyn. To Elaine, Brooklyn was safe. Familiar. Proven.
Grace was still becoming family.
"I don't think your mother realizes she's doing it."
Luke laughed quietly. "You always give people more credit than I do."
Grace smiled. "Occupational hazard."
Luke was quiet again.
Then he said something she hadn't expected. "I asked Brooklyn not to contact vendors anymore."
Grace's head lifted. "You did?"
"I told her if she wants to help, she needs to go through you."
Her heart warmed. "What did she say?"
"She apologized." Grace wasn't surprised.
"And?"
"She sounded embarrassed."
Grace waited.
Luke chuckled. "She also said she hoped she hadn't made you uncomfortable."
Grace closed her eyes. There it was.
Not I'm sorry I overstepped.
Not I shouldn't have done that.
She hoped Grace hadn't felt uncomfortable.
As if the problem wasn't Brooklyn's behavior.
It was Grace's reaction.
Luke continued, oblivious to the distinction.
"I think she honestly felt bad."
"I'm sure she did."
"Grace..."
"Hm?"
"I know this hasn't been easy."
She smiled softly. "No."
"But we're going to figure it out."
Grace looked around her quiet kitchen.
The sauce simmered gently on the stove. A loaf of bread warmed in the oven. The dining table she'd imagined sharing with Luke every night sat waiting beneath the window.
She loved this man. She loved him enough that she could almost convince herself everything would work out.
Almost.
Then another notification appeared on her phone.
Brooklyn had tagged Grace in a story. Grace opened it. It was a repost of Elaine's dress-shopping photo.
Across the image, Brooklyn had written:
Couldn't be happier for these two. So honored to stand beside one of my oldest friends on the biggest day of his life.
Grace stared at the words. There it was again.
Not the biggest day of their lives.
Luke's. Always Luke's.
She didn't say anything.
"Grace?"
"I'm here."
"What is it?"
She looked at Brooklyn's smiling face beside her own. Then she quietly locked her phone. "Nothing."
But for the first time, Grace wondered if Brooklyn's obsession wasn't with the wedding at all.
It was with never allowing anyone to forget that Luke had belonged to her long before he belonged to Grace's.