I nod, my throat suddenly too clogged to talk. If I had any doubt that Jackson Harbor is my home, this moment with the people I love brings that truth front and center. I belong here. “I’d better get out there. I don’t want to miss anything.”
Molly catches me as I step out of the tent, and I stiffen even though I want to pretend she doesn’t bother me. “I wanted to apologize,” she says.
I arch a brow. “I was told you don’t have anything to apologize for.” The edges of my words are so sharp they could cut me open.
She shakes her head. “I didn’t sleep with him, but that doesn’t mean I don’t owe you an apology. I handled everything with Noah so terribly and it blew up in my face, and now . . .” She turns, but not before tears spill down her cheeks. She wipes them away. “Shit. He loved you so much. I wish I’d never told him the truth.”
I put my hand on her arm and nod toward the tent. “We can have this conversation another time. Right now, you need to be in there for Ava.”
She nods. “Thanks. I’ll call you, okay? Maybe we can get together next week.” More tears spill over, and she shakes her head. “Crap. I just hate this. I’m scared something terrible happened to him.”
I bite my lip. He’s okay. I saw him yesterday afternoon. But can I trust Molly? Colton must have good reasons for hiding, and he told me not to trust anyone but Levi. I say all I can: “I hate it too.”
She shocks me by pulling me into her arms for a quick hug. Before I can decide what to think, she releases me and ducks back into the tent.
I blink after her. She’s so genuine that it’s impossible to hate her. Damn it.
All thoughts of Molly disappear when I spot Levi walking toward me.
“There you are,” he says. Taking my hand, he pulls me around to the back of the tent so we’re tucked between the white canvas and the tree line. He cups my face in his hands and studies me. “Holy shit, I’m glad you’re here.”
Then he kisses me. It’s not long or tender. Just hard and meaningful.
“Hi,” I whisper when he pulls away.
He grins, stepping back and raking his gaze over my fitted red dress. His eyes linger on my legs before coming back up to meet mine. “Save me a dance tonight.”
“You dance?”
He holds my gaze. “Anything for an excuse to hold you close.”
“Everyone take their seats, please,” someone calls from around the front.
“We should go,” I say, totally not wanting to.
Levi kisses me hard again. “I changed my mind. Save me all your dances.” Then he walks away, and I’m left having to make my way to my seat with wobbly legs.
The ceremony is beautiful. The music is a simple flautist and violin duet that is the perfect fit for this outdoor wedding.
The bridesmaids gracefully make their way down the aisle, their skirts sweeping over the grass. The ring bearer comes next, and my heart tugs the moment I see his face. He looks so much like Colton, and it makes my heart ache. Whatever Colton’s hiding from needs to be resolved quickly. This little guy deserves to know his father.
The flower girl is adorable. Levi’s niece, Lilly, tosses rose petals on the grass and beams at everyone in a way that suggests she thinks this is her day as much as it’s Ava’s.
Then comes the bride. Levi’s oldest brother, Brayden, walks Ava down the aisle and kisses her cheek before taking his seat at the front. She looks stunning. She turns to her groom, and Jake shakes his head, wonder and love clear in his eyes. That thickness returns to my throat, and my eyes fill with happy tears.
The ceremony is short but touching. When the officiant references the family who couldn’t be there, Jake cups Ava’s face in his hands and wipes away her tears with his thumbs. They’re beautiful together, and witnessing their love as they exchange vows fills me with hope, but as much as I try to stay in the moment and focus on the joy, it also fills me with an odd surety about my feelings for Levi. Maybe I’ll never know why I took Colton’s ring, but I trust my heart, and it’s drawing me toward Levi Jackson. Maybe something changed in my chemistry the night of the assault or maybe I have a different perspective now, but I don’t need my memories to understand where I belong.
“You promised me a dance.”
At the sound of Levi’s voice, I look up from my untouched meal. “I actually think you promised me, but I’m pretty sure there are no losers here.” I take his hand and let him lead me to the dance floor. He pulls me into his arms and against his chest, like we’re every bit as much a couple as the others dancing are.
The whole afternoon has been a blur of joy and happiness: the ceremony, the receiving line, all the way to the cocktails at Jackson Brews and the bride and groom’s first dance before dinner was served.
I’ve watched Levi through it all. I’m drunk on lust and something more—a heartache that keeps pulling me back to what Levi said about Jake and Ava getting married despite all the bad happening around them. “They decided to put love first.”
“I thought Ethan would never finish his damn speech so we could get to this part. I’ve been dying to get you close.” His voice is all gruff and sexy, and it makes the butterflies in my belly do slutty dances. “You had to wear that dress, didn’t you?”
“You don’t like it?”