Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Watching in the mirror like Zach taught me, I redo my tie, going slower this time, but the knot still looks too big.
“Here, let me help,” Zach says, jumping up from the faded couch in the groom’s cabin. Sawyer and Hutch stand near the door in their tuxes, laughing about something.
“Thanks,” I sigh.
Zach’s eyes fix on the task as he unknots my disaster. “You holding up okay?”
I laugh. “I’m the one who is supposed to ask you that.”
His smile lights up his entire face. “I’ve got my brother here, my two best friends, and our Alaska family, a career I love, and I’m marrying the woman of my dreams today. I’d say I’m doing all right.”
I offer him my fist, but he grabs me in a hug.
I hug him back, emotions spinning higher inside my chest. I’m thrilled for my brother, and I love Sofie and her family, so I shouldn’t be sad.
Maybe it’s that I miss Mom and Dad. Or that I’m still scared that this new life we’re building in Finn River is temporary, and it’ll be ripped from us. It’s happened before .
“It’s a lot,” Zach says, giving me a final squeeze. “Let it all in. It’s okay.”
He says this to me sometimes, and though I know he means well, feelings can be dangerous, so I step back and flash him a smile. “Ready to get married?”
His grin explodes on his face. “Hell yes.”
“Let’s do this!” Sawyer booms, and Hutch gives a rowdy whoop before leading us out the door.
Though we practiced everything yesterday, seeing the grounds prepped for the ceremony and the guests filing down the aisle and taking their seats brings everything sharply into focus. Or maybe it’s the music filtering from near the wedding arch.
Charlotte’s music.
She and Morgan are playing a duet, their notes bright and lively. They’re out of sight on the other side of the guests filing down the aisle, but every now and then, one of their bows jumps into view.
When Sofie told me she’d begged Charlotte and Morgan to play at their wedding, it felt like a secret wish coming true.
I can still feel my hands on her waist as we kissed in my truck.
Remember the way her breaths quickened as she kissed me back.
The warmth of her lips on mine. The heat building between us.
Stopping when we did was the right thing to do, but I meant what I said.
I’m not about to forget it. Or give up on the possibility that we could be more.
If only it wasn’t so fucking complicated.
Leaving the cool shade of the trees growing next to the cabin, the four of us cross the lush grass, its fresh scent blending with the sweetness from the flower arrangements.
Squinting in the sunshine, we queue up at the back of the chairs.
I check my pocket for the hundredth time, but the velvet pillow with the rings is still there, safe.
The last of the guests take their seats, and with a cue from the wedding emcee, Hutch and Sawyer walk down the aisle and take their places, then Zach and I follow.
I’m supposed to keep my eyes straight ahead, but they drift to where Charlotte is seated.
She’s wearing a pale pink dress and her shiny brown hair is partially pulled back by a pearl-studded clip that catches the sunlight as she plays.
Morgan’s in a similar type of dress, hers a mint green, her hair in loose curls down her back.
Though they’re focused on their music, Charlotte’s gaze lifts to mine for a fraction of a second.
The sunlight makes her pretty eyes shine and the green flecks dance.
My face gets hot and I nearly trip over my feet.
When Charlotte’s attention returns to her music, I remember that there are a hundred people here watching my every move right now, and hurry to take my place.
But when I join Zach and swivel the way our emcee told us to, Charlotte is in my periphery, stealing my attention.
I should resist. After all, there are a dozen other things to focus on right now.
Our Alaska family taking up the entire front row.
Barb dabbing her eye with a handkerchief while Henry presses a soft kiss to her temple.
Jesse and Neve looking sharp in their dressy attire, and Neve rubbing her growing belly.
Hell, I should be thinking about football and the coming season, and leading the team this year as the starting QB.
If nothing else, that should be enough to snap me out of this. I owe it to my team, and to Theo, to be at my best. To stay focused on our goal of winning State.
Allowing myself to get distracted by wanting what I can’t have is a recipe for a lot of really big things to go wrong.
So when Sofie appears, her arm draped over Rowdy’s, and the guests all stand in a wave of ahhhs, I shift my attention to celebrating my brother and his big day.
And it works, at least until Barb calls all the single ladies to the dance floor for Sofie’s bouquet toss, and the crowd parts to reveal Charlotte clutching the flowers, her face lit with surprise.
Our eyes meet at the same moment I remember what catching the flowers is supposed to mean, and my stomach flips.
Zach wraps his arm around my neck and pulls me close to razz me.
I laugh and try to squirm away before anyone sees .
It's not that I believe in that stupid prediction, but I can’t shake the weird tingle in my gut.
Then the music changes and Rowdy is leading Sofie to the dance floor.
He makes it halfway before he starts tearing up, and soon half of the guests are dabbing their eyes and sniffling.
Then it’s Zach’s turn, and though our Alaska friends give obnoxious hoots and cheers, pretty much everyone is crying by the time they finish.
As Zach dips Sofie and kisses her, the crowd erupts with catcalls and whistles while the camera bulbs flash.
My chest tightens with emotion. This is Zach’s happy ending, and how lucky am I to be a part of it?
Then it’s my turn to dance with Sofie while Linnea dances with Zach.
I don’t know anything about dancing, but Sofie and I practiced a little.
Her smile is so big and her blue eyes are so full of joy it makes that fullness in my chest feel almost painful.
Knowing that she loves and cares for my brother so much, enough to welcome him and me into her life, into her family, means a lot.
“Are you going to get Charlotte out here?” Sofie asks, raising one of her eyebrows.
I scoff.
She laughs. “Girls love a boy who can dance.”
Maybe so. But they must also like a boy who can throw a football because I have yet to spend a Saturday night alone.
The song ends, and Sofie kisses my cheek. My gut churns with an influx of nerves because my final obligation of the night is next—as a way to encourage people to get out and dance, I’m supposed to find a new partner. Sofie, Zach, and Linnea will too, but that doesn’t feel reassuring.
Then my eyes lock on Charlotte’s and for a second, I can’t breathe.
Maybe it’s the warm glow from the setting sun, or the way her soft smile makes the apples of her freckled cheeks turn rosy, or seeing her all dressed up, but she’s just so fucking pretty .
Shit. I can’t dance with her, especially in front of all these people. But I can’t exactly walk away now, either.
My heart hammers into my throat as I cross the distance. Her eyes widen, but when I offer my hand, she takes it. The warmth from her touch is like being wrapped in my own personal sunbeam.
“Are you having a good time?” I ask as I try not to stomp on her toes.
“Oh my god yes. Such a beautiful ceremony,” Charlotte says.
She feels good in my arms. And she’s either danced before or she’s just naturally light on her feet. I’m secretly grateful, because I have no fucking clue what I’m doing.
“I heard about Oregon,” she says, her eyes sparkling beneath the string lights. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. It’s only a verbal offer, but yeah, I’m excited.” And terrified of fucking it up. If I get injured or choke this season or start any more fights, that offer vaporizes, and so does my future.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Fucking right, I have. “Where do you want to go?” We’re only juniors, but I have a feeling Charlotte has a plan. She always does.
“Cornish. It’s in Seattle.”
Seattle isn’t that far from Eugene. “Isn’t Juilliard the best music school?”
Her eyes flash with surprise. Does she think I’m completely clueless? “I’m not good enough for Juilliard.”
“Says who?”
She gives me one of her trademark shrugs. “Plus it’s too far away. I want to be able to come home when I need to.”
I have a feeling this is about Morgan.
“Oh. Dad’s here,” she says.
When I glance over my shoulder, Ray is standing on the far edge of the crowd, talking to another guest. I check for Morgan and find her dancing with Jesse.
“He’s picking you guys up?” I ask. Theo shared that Charlotte failed her driving test again. If she fails it a third time, they make kids take the whole class all over again.
“Morgan’s got a strict curfew,” Charlotte says.
“Because of the biker guy?” According to Theo, Morgan gave her phone number to some random biker dude she met outside the gas station. She texted him pictures before her dad found out and confiscated her phone.
She sighs. “The family counselor we’re seeing told Dad Morgan needed more structure.”
I’ve hung out with Sofie enough to have an idea what they’re likely talking about in family therapy. Managing emotions. Distress tolerance. Communication skills. All good things, but…it must be bad if they’re all going. How does Charlotte feel about it?
“I could take you home,” I say. Because Zach and Sofie and the rest of them are staying the night at Wolf Creek, I drove myself, and Zach said I could take off whenever I was ready.
She tilts her head and studies me. “Why?”
I don’t have a good answer. “We could stop for milkshakes at the Snow Bunny.” They make the best wild blackberry shakes this time of year.
My stomach rumbles. Dinner was good but that was hours ago. Thanks to Charlotte’s voracious appetite, she’s likely hungry by now too. Something I secretly love about her.
Her face lights up. “You’re on, QB.”
Ten minutes later, after she’s put her things in Ray’s car and I’ve grabbed my bag from the groom’s cabin, I’m leading Charlotte to my truck, nerves ratcheting up inside me. I shouldn’t be this excited for a fucking milkshake. Especially when it means exactly nothing.
After, I’ll go home and fuck my fist until I stop thinking about Charlotte tonight in that dress, or worse, in that skirt and cowboy boots she wore the night Boxcar Doves performed.
When I unlock her door, I notice she’s carrying her panda bear wallet.
“I’m buying,” I say .
She scoffs. “Why?”
I laugh. Otherwise I might kiss her. “For playing so pretty tonight.”
Her expression stills and her eyes search mine, like she’s expecting to find a lie. “Thanks, William.”
She sets her wallet on the seat then hitches the hem of her dress, giving me a peek of her tanned thigh, then places her hand in mine for a boost. The contact between us sends a hot buzz beneath my skin. It’s a warning—one I should fucking heed.
Because whenever I’m alone with Charlotte, the reasons keeping me from kissing her feel a million miles away.