Page 1 of Set It Right
Chapter One
Zara
Three Years Ago
Attwenty-threeyearsold,it was hard to believe I’d just snuck out of my parents’ house for the first time. Back in high school, I’d never even thought about doing it. Then again, my house had been the hangout spot. If anyone had snuck out, it would have been my friends to come over.
That felt like centuries ago.
I wasn’t superstitious, not like my dad, but I had planned to abide by the old-fashioned wisdom of not seeing my groom before the ceremony.
Except…
It was nearing midnight, and I was having doubts about the whole thing. The air was warm and heavy, the kind of Oregon summer night that hummed with crickets and distant traffic, and my skin felt restless. I just needed—
A hug would have been nice. Jackson holding me, telling me he loved me and everything would be perfect, assuring we were doing the right thing.
He’d give that to me. He’d been revving to get married since we’d met in college, and I’d been swept up with him in his excitement.
It was hard not to be flattered when a man was genuinely obsessed with you—when he wanted to be around you, always, and filled your days with compliments—when he planned an elaborate proposal and over-the-top wedding.
Until tonight, I hadn’t had time to stop to think for even a minute. Lying in my childhood bed, staring at the ceiling, ruminating over conversations from our rehearsal dinner, questions about our plans for the future, it struck me this was going to be my life. From here forward, everything I did would have to be discussed with Jackson.
Dreams I had growing up would never happen. I was on a path I had never seen for myself. A future I’d never daydreamed even once.
Sure, I loved Jackson. We wereinlove. But I’d always thought I’d have a marriage like my parents. My father barely let my mother’s feet touch the floor, and she was his soft place to land, always.
Jackson urged me to be independent. Which was…great. Really great. Independence was fantastic.
But sometimes, a girl wanted to tuck herself into her man’s lap and have him feed her dinner.
At least, I thought I wanted that. If I tried with Jackson, he’d laugh me right out of the room. That wasn’t to say he didn’t take care of me, just not in that way.
Still, we loved each other a lot, and that counted for something. Plus, family was as important to him as it was to me, even ifhisfamily always seemed to take precedence over mineand my dad hadn’t stopped giving him the side-eye even after all our years together…
My flip-flops slapped against the soles of my feet as I half-walked, half-jogged the two miles to the house Jackson had rented for the weekend. The pavement was damp from earlier rain, and the air smelled faintly of grass and ozone. Being out alone after midnight in only my pajamas wasn’t the smartest decision I’d ever made, but I had to do this.
There was no way I could walk down the aisle tomorrow without having one more conversation with Jackson.
I needed him to promise me I wouldn’t lose myself in him. I had to hear him say he understood I wouldn’t be ready for kids for several years. I really hoped he grasped my need for adventure and exploring nature and would help me nurture that, even if he didn’t have the same need.
We’d talked about all this plenty, but when I thought back to those discussions, I couldn’t remember Jackson ever giving a straight yes or no. He was good at dancing around answers until I forgot I’d asked for something in the first place.
I knew he loved me. He told me multiple times a day. And if I didn’t go through with this marriage…well, I couldn’t bear to think how he’d react.
My feet hit the ground harder as I sped up, the puddles on the sidewalk splashing my bare legs. I just needed to see him, then I’d know.
The screened-in front porch glowed, warm-yellow light spilling out into the night. Voices and laughter broke through the otherwise stillness. Jackson’s brothers were with him, so I shouldn’t have been surprised, but their presence made my plan of sneaking in and out more daunting.
I inched across the wet lawn, sticking to the shadows. I really didn’t know what I was doing, lurking around like a thief in the night. Was this what I’d come to? It couldn’t have been a goodsign. Surely, my mother hadn’t done anything like this the night before her wedding.
A burst of laughter stopped me in my tracks, but I could see Jackson, Owen, and Randall clearly enough from where I stood.
The fourth man made my stomach lurch.
What was Cormac Kelly doing here?
He sat with the boys like they were all old friends, easy and familiar. While it was true he and Jackson had been roommates in college, they weren’t close anymore. I hadn’t thought so anyway. I hadn’t even known Cormac was in town.
