Chapter 41
Chapter forty-one
Paisley
Trying on my wedding dress had my emotions all over the place.
I was convinced it was the only piece of clothing with superpowers—the things it did to a woman.
As hard as I tried, I couldn’t remember my wedding with Greyson, which left a tangled knot in the pit of my stomach.
I wanted to remember that moment. Greyson had mentioned a second wedding, but he might have been joking.
For now, it was Stephanie’s turn.
Greyson, Myles, Juliet, and I drove up to Spokane a few days before the wedding to help with prep. Mama D, Pops, Cal, and Khia would be joining us in a day or two.
The venue Nash and Stephanie had chosen fit them perfectly with its elegant simplicity—perfect for the intimate group of attendees.
A cream brick and ironwork mansion with expansive balconies and a back patio overlooking the river, orchards, and distant rolling hills of north Spokane.
The white linens, greenery, and sage and gold accents breathed sophistication into the indoor ballroom/reception hall, which was patterned with beige damask.
Venue in order, we moved Nash’s boxes and furniture from the apartment to Stephanie’s bungalow. He’d bought the place from the owner as a wedding gift, and with the renos finished, everything was ready.
Leaving the guys to their bachelor party, the girls and I headed to Liz’s house where she, Danielle, and Kelsi—Nash’s best friends’ wives—had outdone themselves with the bachelorette party planning.
It was an intimate party of close friends and family, an evening of laughter, telling our favourite stories about Stephanie, drinking copious amounts of coffee (or tea for some of us), and gifts.
“You’re up next, honey.” Liz patted my shoulder as she dropped down onto the couch beside me after telling her favourite Stephanie story—which involved a Jonas Brothers poster, whipping cream, and hair dye.
“Oh.” My brain glitched. Talk. In front of people. But these were my people.
“It’s only us.” Ivy smiled encouragingly.
Swallowing hard, I stood and moved to the front of the living room. Stephanie’s hazel eyes shone with happiness, and the bride-to-be sash draped over her petite frame. I could do this for her.
“My favourite Stephanie memory . . . Well, of the ones I can remember”—I chuckled self-deprecatingly—“is from our freshman Christmas when she drove our getaway truck.”
Juliet groaned, Liz cackled, and Stephanie grinned.
“Getaway truck!” Hailey cried, whirling towards her cousin. “Have you been holding out on me?”
“They were stealing a Christmas tree,” Liz supplied.
Juliet lifted her finger. “It’s not stealing when it comes from beside the dumpster.”
“That’s not what you said at the time,” I teased.
Kelsi leaned back in her chair with interest. “Now this I have to hear.”
“It was the week before finals, and I needed shampoo. Juliet and Stephanie accompanied me to CVS while Liz was on a date.”
“A terrible date,” Liz cut in. “I so wish I’d bailed and gone with you instead.”
“There was this artificial Christmas tree next to the dumpster, and I thought it was cute, so I persuaded the girls to help me load it into Cal’s truck, since we were borrowing it for some reason. Juliet and I did the lifting, and Stephanie was our lead foot to get us out of dodge.”
Juliet scoffed. “You mean she did a respectable twenty miles an hour and didn’t even spill the open mug of coffee she was drinking.”
“Hey, we didn’t get caught!” Stephanie chuckled. “We did decorate it pretty cute, though.”
“Don’t knock it. It’s been ten years, and it’s still going strong,” Juliet added, nodding at me. “Pais and Grey use it.”
I melted. “Aww, we kept it?” It had looked so lonely back then, just abandoned out in the cold drizzle of a Seattle night.
Liz snorted. “You arm wrestled Jules for it like it was a custody battle.”
Juliet lifted a shoulder, eyes shining. “Myles has a thing for real trees anyway.”
Hailey shook her head. “All this time you’ve had a wild side.” She tsked at Stephanie.
Kelsi laughed, fumbling for her phone. “Oh, I need to write this down for future book material.”
“Ever the writer,” Danielle teased, sipping her tea.
“Did you ever tell Gabe about that night?” Ivy asked, mouth twitching.
Stephanie scowled. “Don’t you dare. He would have freaked out.”
I tapped my glass, regaining everyone’s attention.
“That story is my favourite because . . . Well, it shows what Steph’s always been.
Supportive. She thought I was crazy at the time, though she was too nice to say it.
But that’s who Steph is. She answers the phone at six in the morning when you call her in a panic, even if she’s not a morning person.
She gives the best advice.” Tears pricked my eyes as I remembered her words from when I’d been hiding in the bathroom at the hotel.
“She reminds you of the truth when you have trouble remembering it. And . . .” I swallowed hard, the words dropping out of me faster.
“She has a way of seeing people, especially the invisible ones who no one’s bothered to see before. ”
Stephanie popped up from the couch and threw her arms around me. “I need to invest in better waterproof mascara.” She choked on a half sob, half laugh.
My skin itched self-consciously at the flurry of white tissues waving around the room. I didn’t usually make grand, moving speeches. I left those for book characters like Samwise Gamgee and Anne Shirley. But the words had poured out of me, and there was no damming the flow.
If losing my memories had taught me anything, it was how important it was to hold the ones you loved best close. To tell them often how much they meant to you. So that even if some of the chapters got lost along the way, the roots were still there.
Hailey dropped her head on Ivy’s shoulder, sniffling. “Pais, that was beautiful.”
I took my seat, leaving Juliet to take her turn.
Nana leaned over and squeezed my hand. “You did good, baby. My girl’s lucky to have friends like you. I knew it then, and I know it even better now.”
Her words warmed my heart, and like the Grinch, it grew three sizes. I’d always thought I was the weakest link in our quartet. I was always the one in need of rescuing. But maybe—just maybe—my friends needed me every bit as much as I needed them.
The air turned livelier when we moved onto gifts after the touching, more somber notes of the speeches.
Most of the gifts had already been given at the bridal shower last month, but tonight’s were smaller and more personal. Except for the maple coffee table Greyson had made for the happy couple and delivered to the bungalow earlier.
Danielle handed Stephanie a large square gift-wrapped item. The exact shape of a canvas.
Stephanie gasped at the artwork inside and held it up to show us.
“You got your hands on a Tamsyn Cole?” I shrieked, staring at Danielle, mouth agape. Cole’s vivid yet soft style for capturing landscapes was unmistakable.
Danielle chuckled. “A print. I still have friends in the art world.”
“It’s beautiful,” Hailey breathed. “But why is this Tamsyn Cole a big deal?”
“She’s only the modern world’s most reclusive artist. No one knows who she is or where she’s from,” I explained, then glanced at Danielle. “Unless someone came forward with information I can’t remember?”
Danielle smiled gently. “Nope, still a mystery.”
“You spoil me. It reminds me of the Tetons outside Jackson.” Stephanie sighed, drinking in the watercoloured mountain range landscape. “Thank you.”
“I thought it was fitting given how you and Nash got together.” Danielle winked.
“Open mine next,” Nana said grinning.
“Nana,” Stephanie warned, arching an eyebrow.
“What?” Nana tried to be innocent, but the mischief was too deep.
Stephanie took the small gift bag and rummaged around in the tissue paper without removing it. Her face crimsoned, and she shot daggers at her grandmother, who only cackled.
“I told you nothing . . . like this,” Stephanie said, words muffled by the hands covering her face.
“What is it?” Liz reached for the bag, but Stephanie slapped her away. “We’re literally all married, Steph.”
“Hailey’s not. Do not corrupt her before her time.” Stephanie tucked the bag under her seat and fanned her tomato cheeks. “You’re the worst,” she told her grandmother.
“It’s tasteful, baby girl.” Nana winked. “You can thank me later.”
“I will be doing no such thing. I’m going to try and forget this ever happened.”
Ivy proffered her a silver gift bag. “Here. Nothing scandalous, I promise.”
“This is why you’re my favourite,” Stephanie grumbled. But she smiled when the tissue paper revealed a hand-carved wooden sign: “I have found the one my soul loves.”
“It’s beautiful,” Stephanie breathed, tracing a finger over the raised lettering. “Thanks, Ives.”
Ivy smiled. “Your brother suggested the quotation.”
“Such a softy.” Stephanie grinned at her. “If I didn’t love it so much, I’d probably tease him about it.”
Hailey snorted. “Like that’s gonna stop you.”
More gift bags and tissue paper littered the floor around us. But my mind was stuck on the words I have found the one my soul loves. Love could be a scary thing, but it was also beautiful. A vow and a promise. A partnership.
Something worth the risk.
Greyson’s wry smile and blue eyes flashed through my mind. He loved me. He’d proven it every day since the accident. Healing a heart he hadn’t broken.
And I . . . I think I loved him, too.
“So . . .” Hailey drew out the word. “Do you know where you’re going on your honeymoon?” She waggled her eyebrows before scooping a chipful of guac into her mouth.