Page 68 of The One Where They Fall in Love

“Do you know what I mean?” she asks eagerly when I don’t respond right away.

“Yeah,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “I dream of that too.”

“I know I used to give you a hard time about all of yourhappily ever aftertalk, but I guess deep down, I was hiding the fact that I wanted the same thing. I was just scared that I was never going to get it. You know?”

I nod, swallowing again. “I know. I think everyone is scared when it comes to being happy.”

I’m so grateful that she doesn’t say anything else, because I don’t think I could hold my breath any longer. I make an excuse about needing the bathroom, and quietly sob on the toilet bowl. It’s the kind of cry that makes my ribs hurt—myhearthurt.

When I go back to bed, Lucy is asleep, her head tipped to one side on the pillow. I lay beside her, facing her, thinking about how jealous I am that she had someone like me to push her toward her dreams. I wish I had someone who would force happiness on me, someone who would make a grand gesture, show me how much I mean to them, and take care of me, like I take care of everyone else.

That’s my main character energy. That’s what I want.

I don’t sleep much that night, but when I do, I dream of Oliver.

*

We’re up way too early the next morning.

Lucy’s one major request for her wedding day was that she had nice hair and makeup, and a beautiful dress of course.

“I’ll sit in my room all day in the whole getup. I don’t care. As long as I get to be all done up,” she’d said.

So from the hours of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., we are pampered from head to toe. Lucy’s mom comes over and makes us breakfast. We found two girls from Catskill to come to the house and do our hair and makeup. My hair ends up in a half-up/half-down situation, with ringlets falling down my back. Lucy’s hair is up in a ponytail, her long brownhair curled behind her. My mind is so busy, thinking of everything Lucy might need before she even asks for it that before I realize, it’s time to go.

The ceremony and reception are in the same spot where the town holds literally any event. Hudson Hollow sits on a lake, lined shore-to-shore with beautiful homes. In the middle of the lake is a small peninsula with a beach, a large grassy area, and a concession stand of sorts. We’ve spent the last week making the area wedding-ready. A large tent now sits on the grass, where tables adorned in white cloth and pink roses sit underneath. The ceremony will be on the beach, where the altar and chairs are placed strategically to align with the sunset behind the mountains. Liam and his dad built the altar, which has vines of white and pink roses cascading down over the arch.

We arrive by car and park at the back of the grassy area, where the town’s boss-lady-in-charge, May, has created a triangle with three SUVs, so Lucy can get ready with no one seeing her. May called it a “truck blockade.” Sometimes I want to be May when I grow up. Unless it’s the day of a town function and she has a megaphone—I’m a little scared on those days.

“You ready for this, Luce?” I say, stepping out of the car. I look down at my dress—it’s a simple, blush pink number, with wide straps and a tufted neckline. It falls to my ankles and is actually very comfortable. Leave it to Lucy to give me full control over my bridesmaid apparel.

“Areyouready for this?” she replies, and I look at her, confused. She has an odd smile on her face. She presses her lips in a line and smiles brighter, as if she’s trying to hold in her excitement.

I follow her gaze as she nods her head behind me. When I turn around, I gasp and say “Holy shit,” way too loudly.

At the end of the reception tent stands Oliver, in a black suit, his hair pushed back off of his face, hands in his pockets, an anxious smile pulling at his lips. Next to him, Thor sits at attention, his tail wagging furiously when he sees me. He has a bandanna around his neck that falls in front of him. It has a suit design on it, complete with a bow tie.

Oh my God.

He’s here. In Hudson Hollow. At Lucy’s wedding.

My brain can’t process it. How—How did he know where I was? How did he get here? How did he manage to wrestle Thor into wearing that bow-tie?

“Let’s get a move on this, people. We have a wedding to get to,” May says behind me. I turn around and see May linking arms with Lucy, whose smile looks like it might break her face. I can’t imagine what my face looks like right now. I can feel a sob in my throat, and no one has even spoken a word yet. But it doesn’t matter.

Oliver is here.

I turn back to face Oliver, who takes a few steps towards me. My instinct is to back away, but I’m frozen in place. That is, until Thor barrels towards me. I bend down to pet him before he gets near my dress, and then he makes his way to Lucy.

I don’t take my eyes off of Oliver for a second.

I want to throw myself at him. I’ve missed him so much. I can’t believe he’s here. I think he can read my thoughts—so much is said between us in the few silent seconds it takes for him to come within a foot of me. When he is finally close enough that all I would have to do to touch him would beto reach out my arm, I let out a shaky exhale. This is real. He’s here. I can’t reassure myself of that enough.

“Hey,” he says, and his voice is enough to lodge a knot in my throat. He looks down for a moment, and I resist the urge to bend down to catch his gaze again. I’m magnetized by his eyes. He quickly looks back up and I see him swallow hard.

“So, I have recently come into possession of a romance novel,” he starts, a laugh in his voice. I inhale at the prospect of where this is going. “And from what I’ve read, and from what Lucy’s told me, this is the time for a grand moment—”

“Grandgesture,” Lucy calls from behind me. I turn around and glare at her. Thor is sitting at May’s feet, loving every second of this adventure.