Chapter 6
For the first time since they became engaged, Luke began noticing Brooklyn before Grace pointed her out.
It wasn't one dramatic revelation. There was no single moment that made him slap his forehead and realize Grace had been right all along.
Instead, it was the accumulation of small things.
On Tuesday morning, Brooklyn sent him a link to tuxedo styles.
He almost answered out of habit. Then he remembered Grace. Instead, he forwarded the message to her with a note.
Brooklyn sent this. I haven't replied. I figured if you want to look at tuxes together, we can.
Grace smiled when she read it. Not because of the tuxedos. Because Luke hadn't instinctively engaged with Brooklyn first. It was a tiny shift.
Friday evening, Luke came over carrying paint samples. "I thought we could finally decide on the guest room."
Grace laughed. "We're planning a wedding."
"We're also planning a marriage." She loved that about him.
Whenever wedding planning threatened to become all-consuming, Luke quietly redirected their attention toward the life that came afterward.
The guest room.
Their honeymoon.
Whether they wanted a dog before children or children before a dog.
The little house they'd eventually buy together.
It reminded Grace why she had said yes.
They ordered pizza, spread paint swatches across her dining room table, and argued playfully over shades of green.
"This one." Luke held up a muted sage.
"It looks like hospital walls."
"It does not."
"It absolutely does."
"It says 'Eucalyptus Mist.'"
Grace burst out laughing. "They named it after a candle."
"I think you're judging the name instead of the color."
"I'm judging both."
He grinned. “There’s the woman I proposed to."
She reached across the table and stole the sample card from his hand. "I've been here the whole time."
"I know." His smile faded slightly. "But I’ve missed her."
The words settled quietly between them.
Grace understood what he meant. Not that she'd changed into someone else. Only that wedding planning had slowly replaced the easy rhythm they'd built over three years.
Every conversation seemed to circle back to venues, relatives, budgets...
...or Brooklyn.
"I'm sorry."
Luke stood, walked around the table, and crouched beside her chair.
"No." He took her hands. "I'm sorry."
She looked at him.
"I should've protected this better."
"This?"
He gestured around the little dining room. "The fun." His thumbs brushed over her knuckles. "I don't want us spending our engagement fighting about another person."
Neither did Grace.
She leaned forward until her forehead rested against his. "We won't."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
He kissed her.
Slowly.
Unhurriedly.
The tension that had settled between them over the past weeks seemed to loosen just enough for both of them to breathe. When they finally pulled apart, Luke smiled. "Dinner tomorrow. A real date."
"I'd like that."
"No wedding talk."
Grace laughed. "No wedding talk."
The restaurant was downtown, a little Italian place where they'd celebrated Grace landing her biggest client the previous spring.
It wasn't trendy. That was one of the reasons they liked it. No influencers photographing cocktails. No reservation drama. Just good food and soft lighting.
For nearly an hour, they succeeded in keeping their promise. They talked about work.
Luke told her about a disastrous construction meeting where someone had managed to order windows two feet too short.
Grace described a branding presentation she'd spent three days perfecting only to have the client choose the very first concept she'd shown them.
By dessert, she realized she hadn't thought about Brooklyn once.
It felt wonderful.
Luke reached across the table. "I've got something for you."
Her eyebrows lifted. "You do?"
He slid a small envelope across the table. Inside was a brochure. A little lakefront bed-and-breakfast in Vermont.
"Honeymoon scouting?"
"No."
He smiled. "Pre-honeymoon."
Grace looked up.
"What?"
"The weekend after the wedding."
"I thought we were flying to Italy."
"We are."
He nodded. "But not until Tuesday."
Grace laughed.
"So..."
"So I thought maybe we could disappear for two days first."
"No phones?"
"No family."
"No wedding stress."
"Definitely no wedding stress."
Her heart swelled. "I love this."
"I love you."
Grace reached for his hand.
This.
This was the relationship she'd been trying so hard to protect.
Luke walked her to her car afterward. The summer evening had cooled pleasantly. Streetlights reflected off parked cars as they crossed the lot hand in hand.
Grace unlocked her SUV. "I had a really nice time."
"So did I."
He kissed her once more. "See you tomorrow?"
"You'll get sick of me."
"Not likely."
Her phone chimed.
She ignored it.
Luke's buzzed a second later. He sighed dramatically. "I thought we agreed no wedding tonight."
Grace smiled. "Don't look."
He pulled out his phone anyway. His expression changed.
"What?"
He turned the screen toward her. It was a group text.
Elaine: Brooklyn just reminded me we still need to schedule the cake tasting! How about next Thursday?
Below it:
Brooklyn: I checked with Sweet Crumbs, and they have a cancellation at 4:00. I hope that's okay with everyone!
Grace stared.
Luke frowned. "When did she..."
He stopped.
Grace looked at him quietly.
He typed before she could say anything.
Luke: Thanks, but Grace and I are handling vendor scheduling ourselves. We'll let everyone know once we've booked something.
He hit send.
Thirty seconds later Brooklyn replied.
Oh my gosh. Of course! I'm sorry. Elaine asked whether I'd heard back from them because I'd picked up one of their brochures at the bridal expo. I misunderstood. Ignore me.
Grace looked at Luke.
He looked back at her.
"It almost worked."
"What?"
"I almost believed she'd been asked."
Grace nodded slowly. "So did I."
Luke slipped his phone back into his pocket. "I don't think she lies."
"I don't either."
"I think..." He searched for the right words. "...she hears what she wants to hear."
Grace wasn't entirely sure that was it.
Brooklyn seemed too perceptive. Too intentional.
Still...
It was closer than he'd ever come before to seeing the truth.
The following Wednesday, Grace left work early for an appointment with the photographer. She arrived ten minutes ahead of schedule.
The photography studio occupied a renovated storefront with enormous windows filled with framed wedding portraits. As Grace stepped inside, she heard laughter coming from the consultation room.
A woman's laughter.
Familiar.
She froze.
The receptionist looked up. "Oh! Hi, Grace."
"Hi."
"They're just finishing up."
Grace frowned. "They?"
"Your bridesmaid."
"My..."
"Brooklyn." The receptionist smiled. "She wanted to see the sample albums before your meeting."
Grace didn't move. "Oh."
"I assumed you were together."
"No." The receptionist's smile faltered.
"Oh."
Before either woman could say another word, Brooklyn emerged from the consultation room carrying one of the studio's sample books.
She looked genuinely delighted to see Grace. "There you are!"
Grace couldn't decide whether to laugh.
Or scream.
Brooklyn closed the album and handed it back to the photographer.
"I was just telling Natalie how excited I am for you."
The photographer smiled warmly. "You have wonderful friends."
Grace looked at Brooklyn.
Brooklyn smiled back without the slightest trace of guilt. "Hi."
"What are you doing here?" Brooklyn blinked.
"Oh." She looked almost embarrassed.
"I was actually here for family photos." She pointed toward the studio next door. "My cousin owns the portrait studio."
Grace glanced through the window. There was, in fact, another photography business sharing the building.
"I saw the wedding sign on the door," Brooklyn continued. "I realized this was your photographer and thought I'd pop in to introduce myself."
Of course. Grace almost laughed. Every explanation made sense. Every single one.
Brooklyn looked toward the photographer. "I hope that was okay."
Natalie smiled. "Absolutely. She was just showing me some family combinations I should make sure not to miss."
Grace's stomach tightened.
Family combinations.
Brooklyn had been discussing Grace's wedding photographs.
Again.
Without Grace.
Brooklyn turned back toward her. "I promise I wasn't interfering."
Natalie looked between them. "I'll just grab your file."
The moment she disappeared into her office, Brooklyn lowered her voice. "I hope you're not upset."
Grace studied her carefully. "I'm confused."
Brooklyn nodded sympathetically. "I can understand that."
"I didn't know you were coming."
"I didn't know either." She laughed softly. "It really was a coincidence."
Grace wanted to believe coincidence explained it. She really did. Instead she found herself asking the question that had been quietly growing inside her for weeks. "Brooklyn..."
"Mm-hmm?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course." Grace held her gaze.
"Why do you keep showing up at my wedding appointments?"
For the first time since they'd met, Brooklyn's smile disappeared. Only for a heartbeat. Then sadness replaced it. "I thought..."
She swallowed. "...I thought you wanted me to be part of it."
Grace immediately felt guilty.
Brooklyn looked genuinely hurt.
"I do."
Brooklyn nodded once. "Then I'm sorry if I've gotten it wrong." She picked up her purse. "I'll leave you to your appointment."
She brushed lightly past Grace.
As she reached the door, she turned back. "I really am trying to make this easier for you." Then she smiled. A small, wounded smile. And left.
Grace stood in the reception area feeling as though she'd just kicked a puppy.
When Natalie returned a moment later, she smiled after Brooklyn. "She seems like such a sweetheart."
Grace looked toward the door that had just closed.
Then back at the photographer. "Yes, she does, doesn’t she." The words tasted strangely bitter. "Everyone says that."