Chapter 12
Grace was halfway through thanking one of Luke's aunts for the serving platter she'd insisted every bride needed when she noticed Brooklyn had disappeared.
It wasn't something she'd normally have registered.
The party was full of people coming and going, drifting from the patio to the kitchen to the backyard. Brooklyn could have been anywhere.
Grace wouldn't have thought about it at all if she hadn't looked for Luke at exactly the same moment.
He was gone too.
A faint uneasiness settled in her stomach.
She excused herself from the conversation and wandered toward the kitchen, smiling automatically at relatives whose names she still couldn't quite remember.
No Luke.
She checked the dining room.
Still no Luke.
The hallway.
The den.
Nothing.
She told herself not to be ridiculous.
He was probably helping his father move tables or carrying ice in from the garage.
The thought had barely crossed her mind when she heard voices coming from the sunroom at the back of the house. The door wasn't completely closed.
Grace recognized Luke's voice immediately.
"...you don't have to apologize."
Brooklyn answered, quieter.
"I do."
Grace stopped. She had no intention of eavesdropping. She should have turned around. Instead, she froze where she stood.
"I've made this harder than I meant to," Brooklyn said.
"You haven't." Luke sighed.
"I should've said something sooner."
"I honestly thought I was helping," Brooklyn continued. "I've done this with your family for years. It never occurred to me that it might make Grace feel insecure or ..."
She trailed off.
"Replaceable?" Luke supplied softly.
Grace closed her eyes.
Brooklyn was quiet for a moment. "That's a horrible word."
"It fits."
Grace opened her eyes again. She could see them now through the narrow gap between the door and the frame. Luke stood with one shoulder against the window, his hands in his pockets.
Brooklyn faced him. There was a full arm's length between them. Nothing inappropriate. Nothing intimate. Just two old friends talking.
"I never wanted her to feel that way," Brooklyn said.
"I know."
"I mean that."
"I know."
Brooklyn looked down at the floor. "I've been selfish."
Luke frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I didn't realize how much I relied on you."
Grace's breath caught.
Brooklyn gave a small, embarrassed laugh. "I know that sounds ridiculous."
"It doesn't."
"It does."
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You've always been... there."
Luke smiled faintly.
"We've known each other forever."
"I know."
Brooklyn looked up again through her lashes."And I suppose I assumed nothing would really change." It was just enough truth to sound vulnerable.
Luke nodded slowly. "It has changed."
"I know." Brooklyn smiled, though her eyes looked suspiciously bright. "And it should."
Grace watched Luke's expression soften compassionately. The same expression he'd worn when he'd told Grace about rescuing an injured dog on a job site last winter. The same expression he'd worn when he'd sat beside his grandfather in hospice. Luke hated seeing people in pain.
Brooklyn knew that.
Grace suddenly understood something that made her chest tighten. Brooklyn wasn't trying to seduce Luke.
Not yet.
She was trying to make him responsible for her feelings.
Luke stepped forward. Only a step. "I don't want to lose you."
Grace's stomach dropped.
Brooklyn smiled sadly. "You won't."
"You've been my best friend for twenty-nine years."
"I know."
"I just..."
He searched for words. "...I need things to be different."
Brooklyn nodded immediately. "They will be."
She reached out. For one terrible second Grace thought Brooklyn was going to hug him. Instead she simply touched his forearm. Lightly. Briefly. Then let go.
"I'll figure out where I fit."
Luke smiled with obvious relief. "Thank you."
Brooklyn looked toward the door.
Grace stepped back instinctively before she could be seen. A second later the door opened. Grace had just enough time to turn toward the hallway mirror and pretend to adjust an earring.
"Oh!" Brooklyn said brightly. "There you are."
Grace smiled.
"I've been looking for Luke."
"I stole him for a minute." Brooklyn laughed apologetically. "I owed him an apology."
Luke appeared behind her.
His smile was warm. "We're all good."
Grace looked from one to the other.
Brooklyn's eyes were perfectly dry. If she'd been crying, there wasn't the slightest trace of it. "I was just telling Luke that I've been a little overenthusiastic." She looked at Grace. "I'm sorry." The apology was public this time. Impossible to reject graciously.
Grace smiled. "Thank you."
Brooklyn reached over and squeezed her hand. "I really do want you to have the happiest wedding."
"I know."
Brooklyn's smile widened. "I'll do better."
She walked back toward the party. Luke slipped his hand into Grace's.
"She means it."
Grace looked at him. "You think so?"
"I do."
She nodded slowly. "I hope you're right."
And she almost believed it.
Because Brooklyn had admitted she'd overstepped. She'd apologized. She'd promised to change.
If Grace continued feeling uneasy after that...
Wouldn't that make the problem hers?
Brooklyn waited until she reached the far end of the garden before allowing the smile to leave her face. She stood beneath the maple tree where the string lights hadn't quite reached and looked back toward the house.
Through the windows she could see Luke. He'd already crossed the room to Grace.
His hand rested lightly against the small of Grace's back.
Exactly where it belonged.
Brooklyn swallowed hard. She had meant every word she'd said.
Almost.
She had relied on Luke.
She hadn't realized how much until he proposed to someone else.
And she really had decided things needed to change. She just hadn't meant the same change Luke had heard.
She took out her phone.
Her thumb hovered over Luke's contact for a long moment.
Then she locked the screen without sending anything.
Not tonight.
Tonight she'd apologized.
Tonight she'd become the reasonable one again.
There would be another opportunity.
There always was.