Chapter 34
Noah
The backyard was already half set up for a wedding that might not happen.
In fact, chances were, the wedding wasn’t going to happen. I was just in denial.
Streamers fluttered in the warm breeze, catching the wind like they didn’t know any better.
Folding chairs stood in neat, hopeful rows facing the empty space beneath the old oak tree—where a white wooden arch leaned awkwardly to one side, half-assembled, half-abandoned.
Like it was waiting for someone to decide if it deserved to be staked into the grass or hauled back into the garage.
And I stood in the middle of it all, feeling like an idiot.
My shirt clung to my back with sweat. My hands were stained with dirt and sap from dragging tables across the grass. And every five minutes, I looked toward the front gate like Rosa might come walking through it.
It had been 12 hours since I’d heard anything. No calls. No texts. Just silence. Which was somehow louder than anything else.
She could’ve left town. I wouldn’t blame her if she had.
Hell, I half-expected it. That blind item had hit harder than I thought it would, dragging her into the brutal, messy industry I lived every minute of every day in with its claws and teeth.
It was exactly what she didn’t want. Exactly what she had been avoiding ever since she left home at eighteen and never wanted that limelight again.
Her name hadn’t even been in it, and still, the gossip sites were circling like vultures.
That kind of storm didn’t just blow over.
And I could understand how it didn’t feel survivable for someone like Rosa, who built her entire adult life on privacy, reputation, and control.
But I knew we could survive this. Together. I could help her through it. Be her life preserver in the storm. If only she’d let me.
How could I convince her to let me?
The lump lodged deeper in my throat. Because the damn truth was, I brought her into this mess. I brought Morgan into her life. I wouldn’t blame her if she left and didn’t give me the chance.
But I still kept looking at the damn gate.
Just in case.
Birdie sprawled on his back in a patch of shade beside me, blissfully unaware that his humans might not make it to “happily ever after.” He’d found a pinecone and was mauling it like it had personally insulted him.
I dropped to one knee beside the folding table and tightened a bolt that didn’t really need tightening. Just something to keep my hands busy. Keep the hope from creeping too far in.
The annulment papers were still in my back pocket. Creased. Sweaty. And unsigned.
I should’ve signed them already. It would’ve made things easier for everyone.
But I didn’t want easy.
I wanted Rosa.
And if there was any shot in hell at getting her back, I was willing to take it. I just… didn’t know what that shot was.
A grand gesture?
I’d thought about it. I’d run through every stupid rom-com move I could think of since the sun came up. A love letter? A flash mob? Showing up with ten more rescue dogs like Birdie and a boombox over my shoulder?
Too cheesy. Too loud. Too not us .
What did Rosa need? What would make her believe I was worth staying for?
The truth, maybe.
And something that proved I saw her—not the version of her the media painted, not the fantasy. Her. The anxious, brilliant, whip-smart woman who thought loving someone famous would burn her to the ground.
Hell, it almost did.
But I needed to remind her she could survive the fire.
The slam of a folding chair snapped me out of my thoughts.
Cam lifted a hay bale from next to the fire pit with a grunt and straightened, walking it over to the aisle as he looked at me like I was a ticking time bomb.
Callie stood nearby holding a tangled mess of fairy lights like she was imagining all the ways she could use them to strangle someone. Probably Rosa. Even though she had known the truth from the beginning, she was still my twin. And anyone who walked out on her brother was the enemy.
Lex was circling the four tiered wedding cake he had finished decorating today, trying to look like he wasn’t eavesdropping on the slow-motion train wreck that was my personal life.
“Can we talk about the damn elephant in the room?” Cam asked, dropping onto the hay bale like it had personally offended him.
“Cam, don’t,” Lydia cautioned him from where she straightened the chairs. I glanced over at my sister-in-law to be, for once grateful that she was here. Even if I never fully forgave her for what she did years ago, writing that horrible article about me.
She met my eyes briefly and gave me a small smile.
We’ve walked on eggshells around each other for years. Maybe it was time to bury the hatchet. If I wanted Rosa to forgive me and give me a second chance… didn’t I owe that same courtesy to Lydia?
“Don’t what?” Cam grunted and paused briefly only to wipe sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “Don’t try to understand why we’re setting up for a wedding that probably won’t happen?”
Steve nodded in agreement. “And even if it does happen, none of us exactly approve of you marrying a woman who walked out on you just a few hours ago.”
I sighed and rubbed my hands across my brow.
I had already explained this to them at least four times in the last two hours.
But the Tripps were nothing if not loyal to each other.
Maybe a product of them not always having my back means they were overcompensating now?
Either way, it wasn’t exactly helpful today of all days.
“We’ve been over this. She had good reason to leave,” I grunted and slid a look at my brother.
“Then explain it again,” Cam said. “Because the way I see it, she used you to build her practice. Walked out on you at your rehearsal dinner. Broke your heart. And potentially tanked your career again.”
“First of all,” I said, “we were using each other … or at least we were . At first. We agreed to stay married because it was mutually beneficial. It wasn’t just her using me. She was merely the one who got caught and called out for it.”
Cam scoffed and I wasn’t sure if it was because he was annoyed at my part in the scandal or if he was still pissed at Rosa for “using” me. “And you’re planning on doing what now? Chasing her down with a bouquet of roses and a hand painted sign like this is some kind of Hallmark movie?”
“I’m thinking about it,” I muttered.
Callie scoffed, yanking a strand of lights free with unnecessary force. “You’re not serious?”
I stood up, brushing off my hands. “Not about the sign, that’s lame. But yeah. I am serious about winning Rosa back.”
Lex walked over, clipboard with today’s to-do list pressed to his chest like a shield. “Noah, maybe just… take a breath. You’re allowed to be upset. But you don’t have to fix this in the middle of Mom’s backyard.”
“I’m not trying to fix it,” I said, even though I was—because I broke it. I broke her. And now I couldn’t stand the thought of walking away without trying to make it right. “I’m just not ready to give up. Not yet.”
Cam crossed his arms. “Is it really worth risking your career again? The network already had a field day with your last scandal. This one? They’ll turn you into a punchline.”
Callie shook her head. “She left, Noah. She’s not answering your calls. Doesn’t that tell you everything you need to know?”
That one stung more than it should’ve. Because part of me agreed with her. Part of me wanted to be angry. To be done.
But a bigger part of me—stupid, stubborn, still in love—couldn’t stop thinking about the way Rosa looked at me when she thought I wasn’t watching. Or the way she laughed when Birdie rolled over for belly rubs. Or the way she kissed me like I was her home.
“She didn’t leave because she doesn’t care,” I said, voice low. “She left because she’s scared. Because people like us… we break things.”
Before anyone could respond, Lydia’s voice cut through the air.
“You’re all wrong.”
We turned.
Lydia stood at the edge of the deck, arms crossed, hair pulled into a messy bun, her expression unreadable.
She walked slowly toward me. “As someone who’s messed up a lot—both in my relationship with Cam and with you, Noah, as a reporter—I know what it feels like to let people down. I know what it feels like to screw up over and over again and wonder if you’ll ever be allowed to fix it.”
She looked straight at me. “Rosa didn’t leave because she was afraid. Or because she didn’t love you. She left because she does love you. She left because she was trying to protect you.”
Silence rippled across the backyard. Even Birdie stopped chewing. “What makes you say that?” I asked.
The muscle in Lydia’s jaw twitched before she answered, “Because as misguided as it is, it’s what I would have done in her situation.”
Callie looked away. Cam rubbed the back of his neck. Lex lowered his clipboard.
“Give us a minute?” I asked.
They all nodded and drifted off—Callie back inside, Lex toward the food table, Cam muttering something about checking the generator. Birdie followed Cam, limping and tail wagging like he’d just won a prize.
Lydia and I were alone.
She stepped closer, hands in the pockets of her hoodie. “I know I’ve apologized to you before, but it just never feels like you’ve… like we’ve…”
“I know,” I said, cutting her off. “I don’t know why I’ve held onto this grudge for so long—” Emotion broke my voice.