38. Chapter 38
Gina
“Why are you out here kissing random men?” she asks, motioning after Benji.
“You’re finally back.” The passenger door doesn’t open from the outside, so I slip in the way I used to—through the open window. “We need to talk.”
Lou idles down the road and parks in the shade of a tree near the lodge.
“About you making out with some guy when you’re supposed to be ‘engaged’?
” she asks, angling the mirror so she can reapply her red lipstick.
Lou is the only other person who knew it was fake from the beginning.
“Or about the man claiming Travis sold him my bar?”
“So you’ve met Clay.”
She presses her lips together. “We’ve met.”
Guess it didn’t go well. Of course, it didn’t go well.
I tell her what I know, what I’ve heard around town—which isn’t a lot—while she finishes with her lipstick and drops it back into her bag.
“He has all the paperwork to say he owns the place,” she adds when I finish.
“Is it fake?”
“Probably, but it looks as legit as mine.” Lou sighs deeply. “Could I stay with you until I figure out how to get rid of him? He’s moved into my place.”
“You could take the couch for a few days, but you know that guy I was kissing?” I can’t stop myself from smiling. “He’s my husband.”
Her brows furrow, her full red lips pursing. “Husband?”
“Remember when I went to Vegas with my mom?”
She listens in growing surprise as I tell her the short version.
“Well,” she finally says. “Congratulations. I’d get you a late wedding present, but Hayden got away, and I’m worse off than when I left. Guess I can stay with Milo now that Diana knows.”
So she didn’t have any luck tracking her ex-boyfriend down and getting her money back. That sucks. “Someone is staying in his campervan—a woman who came from Vegas with Benji and Clay—so he’s been staying in his tent.”
Her lips turn in disgust. “Pass.” That disgust turns into consideration. “But the woman in Milo’s RV. Is she—?” Pretty? Single? Into women? Her question is a combination of those three. Briar might be willing to share that bed with Lou, but there’s a problem.
“Has a cat,” I say.
“And I’m allergic.” Lou lightly hits the steering wheel of her car. “Fuck.” She glances at me as she throws the car into drive. “Well, you need a shower, and I need a drink. Your place?”
I sniff myself and nod.
We turn down the private access road to my cabin. Lou has to pull as far over to the side as she can when my truck barrels toward us, Milo behind the wheel and Benji with his arm out the window.
They don’t stop, but Milo slows so we can get around each other. Benji shouts across him, “Running an errand! Back soon!”
“He is cute,” Lou says, glancing into the mirror to watch the truck disappear behind us. Her lips tip into a tired smile. “You’d better tell me more about this husband of yours.”
By the time Milo and Benji return, I’ve already showered, and Lou has filled me in on the goose chase her ex sent her on, including the disappearance of her phone, leaving her out of contact. She wasn’t willing to buy another when she wasn’t sure she’d have enough gas money to get home.
Benji steps into the cabin, beaming at me before glancing quizzically at Lou. Clearly, Milo must not have told him about her. Or Benji hadn’t asked.
I introduce them, but Benji’s mind is clearly on something else, and Lou excuses herself to talk to Milo, who is sitting by the cold ashes of the campfire.
Benji drops beside me on the couch and takes my left hand in his. Carefully, he twists off my wedding band. I watch, puzzled, but he seems to be going somewhere with this, so I don’t ask.
He takes his band off, too, carefully placing both in his wallet. Then he slips to the floor at my feet and retakes my hand.
“You don’t remember the last time I did this,” he says, pulling something out of his pocket.
“My heart was racing, and I felt like I swallowed a million butterflies, even though technically you’d already asked me, so I knew what the answer would be.
” He smiles up at me, his soft blue-green eyes sparkling.
“Will you marry me again? Today, if you want.”
“Today?” I say, laughing and wiping at the sudden dampness in my eyes.
He grins. “Why not? We did it before. The marquee is up. Diana couldn’t bring herself to cancel the caterers after they started, so she’s planning on treating all the guests. You have a beautiful dress. My family is here, and your mom is in town. And we’re sober.”
I laugh.
“And I have a new ring. One that doesn’t belong to anyone else. One that fits you.”
His fingers unfurl, and sitting in the palm of his hand is a silver ring with a small bead of light green lake glass enclosed in a simple, elegant wire basket. He picks it up carefully, his fingers trembling as he gently slides it onto my finger. “Your mom made it,” he says softly.
“It’s beautiful.” It sits perfectly, comfortably, on my finger. Like it belongs there.
“What do you say?” Benji asks, bringing my hand up to his mouth. His lips are soft on the backs of my fingers. “Want to make some new memories? Have some more fun with me? Marry me?”
I fling my arms around his neck. “Yes.”
“Today?” he asks, “Or do you want to wait?”
“Today,” I say. My arms tighten around his neck, and my legs go around his waist as he lifts me and stands.
“In that case,” he says into my neck, “I need you to help me wash the swamp off—your mom threatened to turn the hose on me.”
“Do we have enough time?” If the wedding is back on with Benji taking Milo’s place, there’s a lot to do. Except… “We’ll make time. I could’ve lost you today. I need you inside me, and I don’t want to rush that.”
“We have all the time we want,” he agrees.
The whole of Happy Lake and much of Havenwood turn out to help. Benji’s friend Clay comes over to help him tailor Milo’s suit to fit Benji while Lou and I settle in my bedroom so she can attempt to tame my hair.
While we’re bustling about my cabin getting ready, everyone else is setting up the tables under Diana’s direction and place settings under Cheryl’s attentive eye. Milo will be stringing lights, and Briar will decorate the wedding arch with wildflowers.
“I’m here, I’m here,” my mother’s voice rings out before the screen door spring stretches. “Am I too late?” The door slams behind her.
“Not too late,” Benji says, and I can hear him make introductions between my mother and Clay.
Something in Clay’s smooth tones or my mother’s responding giggle does something to Lou. The previously gentle pull on my hair turns to a sharp tug.
“Ow,” I complain.
“Sorry,” she says, not sounding very sorry. But her grip loosens.
More giggles come from the other room—from my mom—as Clay says something I can’t distinguish.
“Is he trying to sweet talk my mom?” I ask in a whisper.
“As long as he doesn’t fuck her on my desk, I don’t care,” Lou hisses back.
“Oh, you’re trouble,” my mom says, right outside my bedroom door, before she opens it and slips in. She looks at me, and her whole face lights up. “Gina.” Her hand covers her heart, her smile deepening. “You look so beautiful.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
My mother sinks onto the foot of my bed, watching as Lou puts the finishing touches on my hair. “Your grandmother would be proud of you.”
I snort.
Her smile turns rueful. “Okay, she’d have a few things to say about what happened in Vegas and everything that happened here, and she’d blame me for all of it, but she loved you.
She’d want you to be happy. Which brings me to something I’d like to ask you.
” She takes my hand, and I squeeze hers.
“Your grandmother raised you. After she passed, you raised yourself. I wasn’t there for you the way you needed me, but I’d be honored to give you away.
I’ll understand if you’d rather give yourself away.
Or have Milo do it. Or Diana. Or literally anyone else. ”
“I’d like it to be you,” I say. Tears heat my eyes, and suddenly I’m emotional. “I haven’t always been fair to you, either. It still hurts sometimes that you weren’t there. Things will always be complicated, but you’re trying, and I want to try, too.”
She wipes delicately under her eyelashes.
“Thank you.” She reaches into her massive handbag, smiling almost shyly as she pulls a square box out.
“I don’t know if you’ll want this,” she says, her hand protective on the lid.
“I made it years ago with pieces from your grandmother’s dress.
” She removes the lid, holding the box out to me.
Gently, I lift the comb out of the box. Daisies cut from satin and lace cover the comb, framed by delicate wire leaves. Small white and blue lake glass beads rest in the center of the flowers and in clusters around them.
“It’s beautiful.” I hand it to Lou, who fusses with my hair for a few minutes before tucking it in place.
My mom pulls a hand mirror out of her bag, holding it up so I can see the back of my head in the mirror on the dresser. The comb is secured where thick, messy side braids meet in the middle, the rest of my hair cascading in curls down my back.
“It’s perfect.”
There’s a soft tap at the door, then Milo’s tentative voice. “Can I come in?”
Lou opens the door for Milo but refuses to look at him as she walks by.
My mother helps me shake out my skirt, hugs me, and leaves, closing the door behind her.
“I think Lou might be mad at you,” I say because I don’t know what else to say.
He shrugs. “I didn’t stop that guy from buying her bar. I didn’t know it was happening, but apparently it’s my fault.”
“They’ll figure it out,” I say. “I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding.”
Silence falls between us as Milo shuffles on his feet, and I try to resist the urge to twist the fabric of my dress by folding my fingers together.
He looks uncomfortable dressed in a black button-up and black pants. A few strands have escaped his man-bun. His shoulders have slumped, rolling forward. His expression is tight, his brow furrowed.
“I’m sorry,” he finally says, looking at his sock-covered toes. “I let wanting Happy Lake get in the way of being a friend.”
I believe him, but I don’t think he really understands what happened to hurt our friendship.
“We need to talk about Happy Lake,” I say.
Milo glances up at me, then back to the ground. “Yeah. I’ll understand if you want out.”
“I don’t. But your grandmother was right, in a sense. I need you to show me you can do more—”
His head snaps up.
I raise my hand, cutting him off. “I know you work hard. But if we do this, we need to find a way to work together that will work for both of us. And you need to show your grandmother who you are.”
He frowns, but after a moment, he nods. “Benji’s gone to get dressed in the RV. Everything at the lodge is ready. Dr. Adams didn’t like the sudden change of plans, so Cheryl will officiate since your marriage is already legal. Is that okay?”
“I’d rather have Cheryl.”
Milo opens the door behind him. “Lou can drive you and your mom over when you're ready. I think Benji’s getting a ride from his friend, but I’ll take him if he’s not.”
I step up to Milo and wrap him in a quick hug. “Thank you, Milo.”
His arms tighten before he releases me.
Diana makes me hide in the lodge so Benji can’t see me when he arrives, even though we’re already married, and he’s seen me in this dress.
Or maybe she wants to keep me hidden from the rest of the camp so they won’t glimpse me until it’s time to walk down the aisle.
I don’t know which it is. I wasn’t listening.
But I am perched next to a window, so I see Benji arrive.
He looks so good in the borrowed dark gray suit, white dress shirt, and dark gray vest. Someone stuck a Rudbeckia flanked by a couple of daisies on the lapel of his suit.
He looks at the lodge and grins, waving at me.
I wave back, then move to a window against the far wall so I can watch as he walks through the crowd of guests taking their seats.
He stops to talk to Pamela and Joelle, giving each a kiss on the cheek.
Shakes Wade’s hand. When he reaches his family, he stops for hugs.
I wonder if he’s told them the whole truth yet.
I don’t know how he had the time, but they took our marriage in stride, so maybe this didn’t need much explanation.
He stops to talk to Diana, and they hug.
Butterflies swirl through my stomach. They’ve been there since he put this new ring on my finger. It’s not nervousness. More like anticipation. Excitement.
“That’s our cue,” my mother says.
I’m so glad she was watching, because I wasn’t. The moment Benji reached his place by the wildflower arch, he turned, his eyes finding mine again, and the world stopped.
My mother leads me out the door, putting a bouquet of bright wildflowers in my hands. She says something to me, but I can’t take it in. I feel like a sunbeam, and I can’t stop smiling.
Benji’s face breaks into a broad grin when we round the corner of the lodge. Everything else fades away as I walk toward him. Then I’m standing in front of him, handing my mother my bouquet.
He leans in and kisses me. I’m vaguely aware of our audience, and some claps and hoots. Time dissolves, butterflies take flight, and everything is so perfect.
“Don’t make me get the Super Soaker,” Cheryl says mildly, to the amusement of the guests.
Benji’s lips break into a smile against mine, and he pulls back with a sheepish look. “Couldn’t help it,” he says, his voice soft. “My wife is too beautiful.”
“My husband is irresistible,” I say, beaming at him.
“Now that that’s out of your systems,” Cheryl laughs, “shall we begin? Are you both ready?”
“Yes,” I say. I still can’t look away from his beautiful eyes.
“I’m so ready,” Benji says, still smiling.
He takes my hands in his, and we begin.