Chapter 40 In-Law from Heck
IN-LAW FROM HECK
ASHLEY
The rehearsal takes place on a private deck near the stern, tucked away from the main traffic of the ship. No arches. No elaborate florals. Just a handful of white chairs, a small table for the rings, and the ocean stretching endlessly behind it all.
As the sun sinks lower, the sky does most of the decorating for us—soft gold fading into pink, the water catching the light like glass. It’s quiet out here. Intimate. Almost reverent.
The rehearsal itself is simple.
Too simple, maybe.
Without the pomp and spectacle, the familiar rituals feel sharper somehow. More exposed. More real.
Max and Blakey absolutely nail their entrance.
Apparently, Noah and Beckett had been coaching them on the fine art of the dramatic wedding strut-slash-dance.
Each of them were in charge of a ring—one to Luna, one to Noah—while grooving down the aisle to Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk”, cute little finger guns and booty wiggles and totally unhinged confidence.
Was it traditional?
Not even close.
But Luna can’t stop grinning and approves whole-heartedly.
And judging by what I saw tonight?
Yeah. The boys definitely inherited Beckett’s rhythm.
God help us all.
But the part that really gets to me is when Beckett walks Luna down the aisle.
In our dad’s place.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew this moment was coming, and I knew it was going to be hard. But knowing and feeling are two very different things.
I catch Luna’s eyes as she clasps Beckett’s arm, and there’s no missing the wobble in her smile.
When Beckett and I got married, Dad was there. He was the one to walk me down the aisle.
Luna always assumed he’d be here for hers too. We both did.
Our dad wasn’t a loud man. Not the toast-giving, let-me-walk-you-through-your-entire-childhood kind of father. That had always been more of Mom’s role.
But Dad… he had presence. Quiet, steady, enduring.
The kind you didn’t realize you counted on until it was gone.
And today, we felt its absence.
All of us did.
Standing beside Luna, at the “altar”, I watch her shoulders lift in a slow inhale.
She’s keeping it together. Barely.
When I glance over at Mom, I catch her pressing her fingers beneath her eyes. A single dab, quick and discreet.
Babs touches her other hand, and I am so glad my mom isn’t here alone—that she has at least one very good friend.
Maybe this is why people do rehearsals. Not to get the timing right—but to get a preview of the emotional sucker punches heading their way.
When Rocky, the internet-approved officiant, asks, “Who gives this woman to marry this man?” Beckett doesn’t even hesitate.
“She gives herself,” he says, low but sure. “But I know she’d have her father’s blessing.”
Yeah. That’s when I have to blink up at the ceiling and pretend to examine the sprinkler system.
After a couple of practice runs, I step away to drop the boys back at the kids’ center, where they’re more than happy to get back to their dinosaur wars. By the time I’ve returned, everyone’s already moved inside for the official rehearsal dinner in the adjoining event space.
The tables are dressed beautifully, and Beckett waves me over to where he’s sitting with Tay, Rocky, Simon, and Courtney, along with Roger and Helen.
Across the room, Luna and Noah sit at the head table with the parents, Babs, and a few of Noah’s mom’s friends—ladies who all look like they play a ruthless game of bridge and throw even more ruthless charity auctions.
Tay claims the attention at our table, lifting her wine glass with a grin. “Can we take a second to acknowledge the honorable mention of today’s festivities? That contest… Men’s Best Legs… Peak. Entertainment.”
“For the record, I participated under duress,” Simon says, looking incredibly serious for the man who’d done a pirouette in front of the entire ship earlier.
“Oh, come on,” Tay says. “You loved every minute of it.”
“Not just duress,” Rocky adds. “Tequila. I blame the tequila.”
“Well, it was genius. So, cheers to our fearless party planner.” Courtney lifts her glass of water towards me.
I just shake my head. “I wish. Elise told me to have the ladies there at three. Said she had a surprise…”
“Uh-uh,” Simon says. “Elise told us it was Luna’s idea. And that she’d be seriously bummed if we bailed. Guilted us hard.”
“Well.” I grin. “I’m afraid you were duped.”
Courtney leans in, eyes twinkling. “Genius.”
“I won’t argue with that,” Tay mumbles into her glass of water. “I gotta admit, you guys did manage to pull off some impressive moves.”
Rocky raises a brow, looking at Tay. “You checking out my moves now?”
“We were the judges. It was our job,” she deadpans, sipping her drink.
Beckett is conspicuously quiet, just laughing softly.
When he shifts beside me, his knee brushes mine. Just the slightest touch. Enough to send heat rushing through me. And not from my sunburn.
It’s not fair.
I mean, I’ve only just decided to give him the benefit of the doubt—for now.
Then again, my body hasn’t exactly resisted him. If I’m going to be honest with myself, I never really wanted it to.
I exhale slowly. Take a sip of water. Will myself to chill the heck out. Put physical connection on the pros side of my list, and move on.
Tay tosses a wink at Beckett. “Gotta hand it to you, though. For a married man, you worked that pool deck like you were auditioning for Magic Mike: Cruise Edition.”
Beckett shrugs, all innocent. “I just let the music move me.”
His gaze flicks to mine, and my insides flutter.
Dang it.
I look away, taking in the flowers, the lights, the tulle draping around the tables, none of which I’d been responsible for. The arrangements for this dinner, I’m happy to say, are all thanks to Mrs. Grady.
Now, I just need to get through this dinner. And the actual wedding.
Thump. Thump.
Mrs. Grady taps the microphone—twice—and the sharp pop cuts through the chatter in the room. Chairs shift. Heads turn. Conversations fizzle out as everyone turns their attention forward.
“I have to say…” Mrs. Grady begins, beaming, “after marrying my son off once, I never expected I’d be doing it again.”
… What? I go perfectly still.
There’s a pause, and then a ripple of tentative laughter.
“But here we are.” She gestures around the room. “The first time, well… I was sure Courtney was the one. I think we all thought so, didn’t we?”
Tay’s brows shoot up. Courtney winces and slides down a little in her seat, visibly contemplating whether or not it would be worth it to just crawl under the table. Across the room, I see Luna’s spine straighten.
She looks confused.
Mrs. Grady presses a hand to her chest with dramatic flair.
“Two years ago, I fought the most difficult battle of my life. As most of you know, I was undergoing treatment for cancer. I came out of it—stronger, yes—but changed. And when I saw that Noah was still struggling after the divorce… I thought, we should do something. Together. Just the two of us.”
Noah stares straight ahead, but even from here I see the ticking in his jaw.
“I booked a bus tour for just the two of us,” she continues, pausing for effect. “A sort of post-cancer victory lap. Just me and my son, seeing the untamed land of the Southwest. I never imagined…” She trails off, gives a little shake of her head. “I never imagined he’d meet someone like Luna.”
There’s something… off about Mrs. Grady’s smile. Just a hint of what might be a grimace or a sneer pulling at her lip. Almost unnoticeable.
The crowd murmurs with polite amusement, but the temperature in the room keeps dropping.
“She was… spirited,” Mrs. Grady says. “Spontaneous. A little all over the place.”
Beckett mutters, “Oh, hell no,” and I dig my nails into his arm.
“But she sure made an impression.” Mrs. Grady sighs, as if it had been an ordeal. “At first, I thought: this is a phase. A distraction. But eventually, I saw something I hadn’t seen in my son for a long time. Joy. Light. A real smile.”
Luna is still watching her, looking a little dazed. I want to run across the room and hug her. After, of course, slugging Mrs. Grady.
“And for that,” my poor sister’s future mother-in-law says, smiling broadly, “I have to give credit where it’s due. Luna, you brought my son back to life. You helped him remember how to laugh again. And as a mother… well, that’s all I ever wanted.”
She raises her glass.
“To Noah and Luna.”
There’s a beat of silence. Then a smattering of glasses clinking.
“To Noah and Luna,” the room echoes—some more enthusiastically than others.
“And thank you all for being here tonight,” Mrs. Grady adds, beaming. “Let’s all get a good night’s rest. We’ve got a big day tomorrow!”
She sits down, utterly unaware—or maybe just pleased with the tension humming through the room.
Someone should push her overboard.
“There’s no need to go that far,” Beckett murmurs. And, oh, I hadn’t realized I said that out loud. “Besides, it’s fine. Look...”
“But—”
“Ash,” he says softly. “Look at them.”
And I do.
Noah’s standing now, taking the mic. “Well, I can’t let the night end with that.”
Mrs. Grady looks confused.
“Before I thank all of you for being here, there’s one thing I need to make perfectly clear.
” He pauses, turning to look at Luna. Only at Luna.
“You are my person. You walked into my life when I didn’t even know how much I needed you.
You challenge me. You see me. You make me want to be a better man—not just for you, but because of you. ”
His voice wavers slightly, then steadies.
Luna blinks fast. Her smile gets shaky.
“No one in this world knows me like you do. No one. And I promise—right here, right now—that you’ll never come second. Not to anything, or anyone. Not ever.”
Then he pulls her up out of her chair and kisses her.
Not some awkward rehearsal kiss. No, this is one for the damn ages.
Not a single person in the room isn’t misty-eyed.
“See?” Beckett murmurs into my ear. “She’s fine.”
I watch Luna across the room—laughing softly at something Noah says, leaning into him like she belongs there. Like she knows it.
“She’s more than fine,” I whisper back.
Later, as the dinner winds down and chairs start scraping across the floor, I cross the room before I can overthink it. Luna spots me and meets me halfway.
I wrap my arms around her, tight—too tight—and she lets me.
“Want me to throw her overboard?” I whisper, and I feel her laugh against my shoulder. “Because I will, you know.”
But then she pulls back just enough to look at me. “I think we’ve got this,” she says, and for a second, I almost don’t recognize her. There’s something so sure in her voice. No second-guessing. No looking over her shoulder for someone else to fix it.
“So…” I clear my throat. “You don’t need me to protect you anymore?”
She rolls her eyes like I’ve just asked the dumbest question in the world. “Please. I’ll always need my big sister to protect me.”
Then she pulls me in again, tighter than before. “But not because I’m afraid. Just because you’re you.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. God, I am not going to cry in front of half a banquet hall full of guests.
“Good. Because I’m not going anywhere,” I manage, pressing a kiss to her temple.
For a long second, we just stay there—arms wrapped, hearts steadying.
Not as the little sister and the fixer.
But as two women who’ve grown up together, drifted apart sometimes, but always found their way back—because we wanted to.
Finally, she lets go, sniffling, but smiling. “Go on. Before I make you ugly cry in public.”
“Too late.” I sniff, laughing as I wipe under my eyes. “That’s what waterproof mascara is for.”
She snorts, and with one last look, I let Beckett lead me away—back to our cabin.
It’s been a long day, and I’m already imagining the blissful fall-onto-the-bed moment waiting for me.
Except.
When we walk inside, we both stop short.
Because someone—someone with a twisted sense of humor and access to our room—has scattered at least a dozen of the "bachelorette prizes” across our duvet.