11. Finn
As soon as we finish eating, Raven and I manage to knock out these paper roses to finish off the decorations. It takes me a bit to get the hang of it, but as soon as we completed our first one, she led me through the process step by step, so we assembled two at a time.
“So, how did you get roped into this?” Raven asks diligently, folding the paper in front of her.
“Jax and I were hanging out at my new place when your dad called to see if he was coming to dinner. Once your dad found out where Jax was, he invited me to tag along.”
“Who knew you’d be so good at this? Is there anything you can’t do?” Jax interrupts. “Maybe Sloane and I can enlist your help with our wedding. I’m two left thumbs when it comes to crafting, and God only knows what this woman will come up with.”
“Hey now,” Raven turns to her sister and Jax, “Sloane will come up with something brilliant… But seriously, if you’re using paper roses, we’re recycling these.
I don’t even care if your favorite author isn’t Charlotte Ann.
I love you to the ends of the earth, Sloaney, but once is enough for assembling these. ”
“No kidding,” Lizzy chimes in. “Do you even have a date set, Jax? Or are you just prepping us for the free labor?”
I don’t miss the way Jax looks to Sloane for confirmation before speaking. “We don’t want to take away from Lanie and Ryan, but we’ve got something in the works.”
“This is Sloane we’re talking about,” her father breaks in. “Of course, she’s got a plan.” Pointedly, he looks to his daughter. “Care to fill us in?”
“I truly don’t want to take any light away from the two of you.
” She looks pleadingly at her sister and Ryan.
“But with Ruby Frax going back on tour later this year, we’d like to be married sooner than later.
Contrary to popular belief,” she pauses and looks around the room, “I don’t want a big wedding, and neither does Jax. ”
The reaction of her family is quite comical. Her dad stares wordlessly, and each of her sisters have a different version of their mouths hanging open in shock. Raven starts to speak, then stops herself and just stares at Sloane as if she’s grown three heads.
“Oh, close your mouths,” Mable admonishes. “Sloane knows what she wants and hopefully, she’ll fill us in on it as soon as she’s ready to let us know.”
“Who are you and what have you done with Aunt Mable?” Raven asks. I have no idea if she’s joking or not, but she’s got the room’s attention now.
“Thanks, Mable,” Sloane says, holding onto Jax tighter. Looking to Lanie, she says, “We really don’t want to disappoint you. Honest. We have no intention of taking attention away from your big day. But I won’t to lie about it to you either.”
I feel Raven tense beside me, and the sudden tension can be cut with a knife as Sloane takes a long look at each of her other sisters, then her dad, before returning to Lanie.
“Jax and I have been talking about this a lot… and with everyone already in town… and Jax’s family living here…
we’ve thought about a small beach ceremony with only immediate family and close friends.
Please don’t get me wrong… I’ve absolutely loved helping you plan your wedding, but all I need at mine is Jax and our family.
The paparazzi’s attention is already insane with Jax and his new band.
So… if we were to plan anything, it could turn into utter chaos. ”
Jax stuns us all when he says, “We don’t want a big ceremony or to interfere with anything.
In fact, we’d prefer none of this even gets out publicly until after it’s over.
So, to answer your question, we’d like to get married a few days after yours before you leave for your honeymoon.
” Pointing to the ocean behind us, he adds, “We just want a simple ceremony out there on the beach.”
Looking to Lanie, Sloane pleads with tears in her eyes. “Are you mad at me?”
Slowly, she shakes her head. “Why would I be mad? We all love Jax, and you’re getting married. This is a big day for you.” Then her eyes narrow as she asks, “If we hadn’t directly confronted you, would you have even told us before our wedding?”
Sloane just stares at her sister, as Jax clears his throat. “The plan was to tell you all after your ceremony. We have no intentions of interrupting your big day.”
“You haven’t,” Lanie assures her as she reaches across the table and squeezes Sloane’s hand.
“Leave it to Sloane… planning something like this,” their dad grumbles, effortlessly breaking the tension in the room, causing us all to laugh. “It’s a good thing I took a few weeks off for leave. Now I’ve got two girls getting married this week.”
“Oh, she’s got things planned.” Jax chuckles. “Trust me.”
Conversations around the room continue, but my attention is drawn to Raven and her sister when I notice Raven tilt her head at Sloane and stare expectantly.
I swear an unspoken conversation passes between them, and I’d give anything to know what’s being said.
The moment passes quickly when Sloane breaks the silence as she looks between her sisters.
“I’d really like the three of you to be in the wedding party, like we’ve planned forever. Raven, you’ll still be my maid of honor, right?”
Each sister agrees in their own way, but my attention stays on Raven, whose eyes shimmer with unshed tears. Reaching under the table, I squeeze her hand to let her know I’m here for her.
“Of course, I will, Sloaney. You know I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Do you have a dress picked out?” Mable interrupts, drawing my attention to her. “Or do we need to see if Stella can rush you something?”
Sloane shrugs almost impishly. “Yeah. I found one… and I may have picked out some for each of you as well… I’ll show you all tomorrow once Mom arrives.”
“Hopefully, her flight won’t be delayed. I know she’s got to be beside herself for missing Lanie’s fitting today,” Mable adds as she walks to the island to dish up cobbler. “Anyone want ice cream with their dessert?”
“Here, let me help you with that,” Mr. Lancaster says to Mable as he joins her in the kitchen.
Conversations start around the room as dessert is passed out. Most are digging in, but Raven’s just staring at her bowl, pushing the fruit around. She hasn’t joined any of the conversations around her and is clearly stuck in her head.
This isn’t like her. Something’s definitely off.
Maybe she needs a break?
Not wanting to call her out on it publicly, I whisper so only she can hear, “Hey, wanna take this outside?”
Startled, she looks from her dessert to me and shrugs. “Come on,” I say, standing, then taking her bowl in my hand. “I could use some fresh air. Mind if we finish this on the deck?”
I don’t look around the room. Instead, I focus on balancing her bowl on my forearm so I can still hold mine and reach for her with my free hand. Thankfully, she takes it and follows me out the sliding glass doors with ease.
Once we’re alone and sitting on the rocking swing that faces the ocean, I hand her back her dessert. She whispers, “Thanks.”
Never being one to avoid a problem, I look her over with care and ask, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” She blinks a few times. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I don’t know. You tell me. You’ve been stuck in your head since your sister dropped that bomb in there.”
She lets out a sound like a cross between a snort and a harumph. “Just trying to take it all in. It’s a lot to process. I couldn’t be happier for Sloane and Jax, but I never expected she’d want to get married so soon.”
“It’s a rather short engagement, but I get why they’re doing it.”
Raven’s brows scrunch together adorably, as she asks, “You do?”
“I was with them in close quarters while on tour. They’re madly in love and when we go back on tour later this year, I’m sure their life will only get crazier. If they want to take a moment for themselves and share it with your family while they’re home, I don’t blame them.”
Sighing heavily, Raven smiles weakly. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m so happy for them. I love my sister, and Jax is the best. It’s just a lot of… change.”
Wrapping an arm around her, I pull her into my side.
On her next heavy breath, she sinks into my chest, and I feel her relax into me.
Neither of us says anything as she takes a few bites of her dessert, and we stare out into the waves in the distance.
Eventually, she breaks the silence by tilting her head so she can look me directly in the eye and ask, “How did you know I needed this break?”
There are so many ways I can answer this question. Knowing she’s strong-willed, stubborn, and could read a lot into each answer, I go with the most direct response. “It’s simple. I paid attention.”
Before she can think too much about that, I do the one thing I’ve been dying to do since arriving at the house. I lean in and kiss her gently.
The moment she melts into me, it’s as if everything suddenly feels right again.