“You all right?”
She lifts a hand to rub a circle on her chest, like an invisible bruise lives above her heart. “I just remembered …” Her sentence trails off.
“Remembered what?”
“My mom’s choker.” She lifts her fingers to absently trace a line along her neck. “The ribbon was satin, and it had a clasp in the back. There was a sapphire in the center, right here.” She taps the hollow of her throat. “She wanted me to wear it on my wedding day. Something borrowed. Something blue.Andold.” She lets out a weak laugh. “I’ll bet it’s still sitting in her jewelry box. I can’t believe I forgot.”
I clear my throat. “You weren’t thinking of this as a real wedding,” I say, and the truth of it makes my lungs throb.
“Still, this was my only shot. A part of my mom could’ve been with me today.” Her voice drops to almost a whisper. “I kind of feel like I lost another piece of her I can’t get back. Silly as that sounds.”
I duck my head to meet her gaze. “You don’t sound silly. You sound like a woman who misses her mom.”
“I miss her so much.” Her eyes are bright with unshed tears. “I guess I just wasn’t prepared for that today.”
“Neither of us was prepared.” I clear my throat. “Or. Wait. Should it be ‘were’ prepared?”
She puffs out a laugh. “You were right the first time, but let’s take a break from grammar today.”
“Deal.”
A smile finds her lips, and the grip on my heart eases.
Then my phone buzzes in my jacket.
An epic example of bad timing.
I don’t want to take my attention away from Loren. Not while she’s feeling vulnerable.
But she nods at my pocket. “That could be Dex telling us it’s time to come in.”
“You’re right.”
I slip my phone out to check.
DEX
We’re ready for you, Groom. Sayla will be filming, so come in holding hands with your bride.
I give this a thumbs-up, and I’m about to shove my phone back in my pocket, when he texts again. I brace myself for some message that’s typically … Dex.
DEX
You’re doing great, by the way. And you’re doing right by Loren. Proud of you, man.
Whoa.
Loren peers out the window. “Do they want us to go in?”
“Yeah.” I swallow against my clogged esophagus. Without waiting for the driver, I throw open the door and unfold myself from the limo. Then I turn back to help Loren. She grabs her purse, and glances up at me, her eyes soft. And when I take her free hand, her wedding band presses into my palm.
My wife’s ring.LCA.
Electricity bolts straight to my core. Not the heat of attraction, although Loren has never looked more beautiful. This is something different.
Something like pure love.
“Loren.” My eyes bore into hers. “I need you to know, I’ll never?—”