36. Luca
THIRTY-SIX
Luca
A year and a half later…
“If this whole music thing doesn’t work out, we could always turn the house into a wedding venue,” McKenzie joked as she helped me with my tie. Earl Grey and Binx watched with a mixture of amusement and annoyance from the bed. They were unenthusiastic about the amount of people running around their home for Grace’s wedding and had decided to take cover in our bedroom.
“I’m not so sure the kids would be on board with that,” I said, gesturing toward the cats curled up on the comforter. The windows were open, beckoning the cool October breeze inside.
“Well, they have to grow up and get jobs eventually,” she joked. “We might as well make it a family business.”
“There.” She finished with my tie, straightening it one last time.
I caught her left hand in mine and brought it to my lips, ghosting a kiss over the vintage black sapphire ring on her finger. I’d found it tucked away inside one of the cases in a little antique jewelry store while I was on tour last summer and knew she had to have it. I gave it to her after I won my first Grammy earlier this year. It was rare and beautiful just like her.
“So, what do you think?” she asked, twirling so I could fully admire her in the navy bridesmaid dress she wore. McKenzie had been thrilled when Grace asked her to be in the wedding. They’d become close since I started working with Grace. There were many times when we were on the road that I got booted off phone calls with my own girlfriend so the two could chat, but I didn’t mind.
“Gorgeous,” I answered.
She smiled and turned so her back was facing me, her hair gathered to one side.
“You mind zipping me up?” she asked.
I obliged, then pressed my lips into the crook of her neck and began to slowly work my way up to her ear.
She spun on her heels and jabbed a finger into my chest. “I said to zip the dress, not make me want to take it back off.”
“So you’re saying you don’t want to take it back off?”
“I’m saying Jo is already on the warpath because the DJ was half an hour late. She won’t think too kindly if we are as well, especially since we live here,” she said. “And since she’s seventeen months pregnant, I’d really like to not piss her off.”
“How did Jo become the resident wedding planner, anyway?” I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed to slide on my socks and shoes.
“I don’t know,” she answered, slipping her feet into a pair of heels. “I know she wanted to do it for Katie, but this time, I think she’s just doing it to torture herself.”
Derek and Jo had gotten engaged late last spring and were planning for a summer wedding the following year, but when they’d discovered they were expecting, they decided to push their nuptials out another year.
“We better get out there,” she said. “It’ll be starting soon.”
But I didn’t budge, smiling as I took her in. She was so fucking beautiful. And it wasn’t just because of how stunning she looked. It was something more, something deeper. She had a glow about her these days. She was happy.
“What’s that look for?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Just enjoying the view.”
“Come on,” she said, reaching for my hands to pull me to my feet. “Let’s go.”
We exited the bedroom to a flurry of activity.
“Jonathan, Chloe,” Liv called. “No running in the house.”
Jax was at the end of the hall, waiting to intercept them as we headed toward the back door.
“Has anyone seen Cash?” Jo asked, her eyes frantic.
“Um, Jo?” Cash said from behind her with a wave. “I’m right here.”
“I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached,” Jo muttered, turning around. “Grace is ready for you.”
Cash took in a deep breath and blew it out, his eyes already misty. “I guess this is it.”
“All right.” Jo clapped her hands together. “Everyone who isn’t a part of the wedding party needs to be outside. She scurried off, her heels clicking against the floor.
“That means you better scoot,” McKenzie said, smoothing her hands over her dress. “I gotta go grab the flower girl basket for Betty.”
“I’ll see you out there,” I said, kissing McKenzie’s cheek before heading outside behind Jax and the kids.
A string quartet played over the sound of hushed voices as the autumn sun cast a soft golden veil over everything it touched. The scene was so perfect, it almost didn’t look real.
I took a seat beside Derek where he sat with his and Jo’s daughter, Addison.
“I think Jo missed her calling as an event planner,” I said to him as I took in the way she’d transformed my garden, making the already magical space feel like something plucked straight out of a fairytale.
Derek chuckled. “I’m not sure any of us would survive that.”
I laughed as I glanced around at the faces surrounding me. There were a few I didn’t recognize beyond knowing they were some of Grace’s clients and childhood friends. But then there were the ones I did know. The ones I loved.
Jax and the kids sat in the row in front of me, beside Antoni and his husband Nate, who was holding the six-month-old baby they’d adopted. Dallas and Katie were on their other side, oohing and aahing over the little boy.
Grace’s soon-to-be husband, Sam, stood beneath the archway in front of us, flanked by the officiant and his groomsmen. Sam had been around long enough to know what he was getting into, officially joining our crazy little family. But I hoped he also knew just how lucky he was.
The quartet began to play their own rendition of my song “Coming Home” as the bridal party started down the aisle. I’d been touched when Grace told me she wanted it to be a part of her big day. In the time she’d been working with me, we’d grown closer. She’d become like a little sister to me, but more than that, she was my friend.
Betty scattered her petals to a chorus of awws as she made her way toward the front, hand in hand with Ella, who was already crying. Liv followed, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a tissue.
Then came McKenzie. Her eyes locked on mine as she made her way down the aisle, and she smiled. My focus was drawn to her as the rest of the wedding party filed in. God, she took my breath away. Everything about her—every look, every laugh—made life better. I’d struggled with my share of dark moments over the last year and a half. We both had. But with the support of our friends, our family, and each other, we’d made it through.
The bridal march began to play, and we all stood as Grace and Cash emerged from the house. I clasped my hands together, my thumb grazing over the inside of my wrist where the semicolon tattoo was hidden beneath my jacket. It was something I’d done a lot since I’d gotten it. The tiny symbol reminded me of the pages in my story I’d overcome and the hard-won chapters that gave way to this amazing life I now called mine. And when things inevitably became hard again, it would be there to remind me that sometimes there is pain before beauty, and that both things can, and often do, coexist. But above all else, it was a reminder that my story deserved to be continued.