Page 64 of Dirty Money

“He’s a good one, baby girl,” he whispers, and I see tears in his eyes too.

I give myself a few minutes to get it together before I tell him I’m ready. He motions to the bartender who makes a call over a radio. Outside, we can hear the music starting, and she gives us a nod.

“Whenever you’re ready,” she says. I smile. I think I was ready that first day in that elevator.

I take a breath, and the door opens. My dad leads me down a stone path to a clearing, where I see chairs set up in a beautiful garden. Keaton, Evie, Julian, and Sawyer all sit together toward the front. Ella sits nearby with Tom, and she’s dabbing at her eyes. Cole stands up at the front to Brooks’s left, and I realize he’s his best man. My knees buckle a little bit beneath me, but my dad holds me up.

And then I see her. My beautiful mama, in a new lavender dress. Her hair and makeup have been done, and she looks absolutely stunning. She’s beaming with pride, tears streaming down her face. And I know that I will never forget this momentfor my whole life. How happy she looks. Her smile. The way she’s clapping her hands and waving to us. As we get to the end of the aisle, my dad stops and helps her stand. She takes me in her arms, and I hug her frail body gently. She showers me with kisses and holds my face in her hands.

“I love you, my darling girl,” she says. “Now go get fake married.”

My dad leads me to the step, and Brooks meets us halfway. My dad pulls him in for a hug, then I take Brooks’s hand as he helps me up the stair.

The night is absolutely perfect.He got a photographer and a deejay and a caterer, the whole nine yards. Even Mom dances for a few moments with Dad while she has the energy. And as he spins me around the floor, I realize that thisismy real wedding. When we do get married legally, it’ll just be a courthouse thing. Because there is no way to top this.

And as I look around the patio at the most important people in my life, I realize this is what it was about all the time. That good does outweigh bad. And when you find your person, the rest can melt away if you let it. Because at the end of the day, it’s who you can survive getting stuck in an elevator with. It’s who you can go through the storms with. It’s who you want to fake marry and real marry.

Brooks Everett and I found each other when we both needed the other the most, and we didn’t even realize it. When I’m weak, he becomes stronger for the both of us, and when he’s broken, I put us both back together. And no matter what happens when the news breaks, I know we won’t. He is the light when it’s dark.