Bruiser begins his walk down the aisle in slow, measured steps. His face is so serious I almost smile.
He reaches me without incident, then smiles with relief.
“Told you that you wouldn’t drop it,” I whisper.
He grins so big I can see all his teeth, then he steps to the side.
Finally, Harper appears at the end of the aisle, and everything else disappears.
She’s wearing a simple white dress. Nothing elaborate. Her dark hair is loose around her shoulders, the way I love it. Her feet are bare on the grass. She’s not wearing a veil, and there’s no one giving her away.
It’s just Harper, walking toward me.
She’s crying before she’s halfway down the aisle. When she finally reaches me, I’m swallowing hard to keep my shit together.
When I take her hands, they’re shaking.
“Hi,” she whispers.
“Hi.”
“I’m so nervous I might throw up.”
I laugh. “Please don’t. But there’s a great bush over there if you need to.”
“No promises.”
The officiant starts talking but I barely hear it. I’m too busy looking at the woman who’s undone me since I was a teenager.
“...if anyone has reason these two should not be joined...” the officiant says.
I hold my breath, half-expecting Z to rise from the grave. As much as I tell Harper nothing’s going to go wrong, I’m still a control freak who’s always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
But it doesn’t.
The sun shines. Everyone keeps smiling.
And my heart hammers when the officiant says, “Then we’ll move on to the vows. Caleb?”
I clear my throat. “Harper.” My voice cracks. I try again. “Harper, I used to have all these rules. Hundreds of them. Ways to control the world so nothing bad would happen.”
She’s watching me, sniffing as tears stream down her face.
“Rule number one: Don’t disappoint Mom. Rule eighty-four: Count everything to stay calm. Rule two-thirty-seven: Don’t let anyone see you break.”
I squeeze her hands.
“Rule eight-thirteen: Don’t fall for your stepsister.”
She laughs—wet and broken.
“I broke that one. Completely. And it destroyed everything I thought I knew.”
I have to stop and swallow hard.
“At the same time, breaking the rules helped build everything I actuallydidneed. You taught me that being perfect isn’t the same asliving. And that love isn’t about control—it’s about trust. It’s about showing up even when you’re terrified.”
My vision blurs.