changed for him. He deserved every bit of happiness life could offer.
I glanced around the reception. I had to give it to Sheri. It was a beautiful wedding. Swaths of tulle and multicolored paper lanterns were strung above the tables and over the portable dance floor that had been spread out in front of the band. We were outside on the lush green lawn of a resort on Smugglers Beach in Cape Cod, with the ocean’s crashing waves just beyond the high dunes that acted as a barrier.
Hurricane lanterns surrounded by bits of driftwood, sea glass, and seashells were the centerpieces illuminating the tables. The wedding service, performed on the beach at sunset, had been short and sweet, and once the vows had been spoken, the bride and groom had led the guests back up to the resort for the reception.
Jason pulled out my chair for me, and I sat. Other guests were settling into their seats, so I took a moment to talk shop with him. Thankfully, when we’d returned to Boston, Aidan had lobbied hard for the company policy about no dating to be changed. During Aidan’s absence, Jason and I had been made co–general managers of the department. While our work styles didn’t completely mesh—pioneer versus guardian—we were having a lot of fun figuring it out as we went along.
“Robbie Severin left me a voice mail this morning,” I said.
“Did he?”
“He wants to start the rollout of the campaign by the end of summer.”
Jason made a fist pump. “Did you tell Aidan?”
“I did,” I said. “Even without hair, he was pretty stoked.”
I was quiet, and Jason, so in tune to me and all that I was, said, “He’s going to be okay, darling.”
“I know,” I said. “The prognosis is really good, but still . . .”
“Yeah,” he said. He pressed his forehead to mine, and we both took a moment to remember the ones we’d lost. It was who we were and what we did. He leaned back and brushed my cheek tenderly with his thumb. “Jess would have loved you.”
I grinned, because I knew this was the highest praise he could possibly give me, and I said, “And my mother would have adored you.”
His smile deepened. We got lost in each other for a moment, as we sometimes did. Our love was so shiny and bright and new, it distracted. It wasn’t until Annabelle reached over and tugged on my arm that I glanced away from my man.
“What?” I asked my sister. I tried not to grimace at the thought of what the two of us must look like in our pink—thankfully revised to a tasteful shell pink—dresses. I was still going to burn all the pictures of me in this dress, for sure, which was fine because knowing Annabelle, there’d be a life-size cutout made of us for my birthday. Because that was how she rolled.
“While I adore seeing you on cloud nine,” Annabelle said with a grin, “it looks like something is about to happen.” She pointed, and I glanced in the direction of the stage.
Standing in front of the band was Sheri Armstrong—excuse me, Sheri Martin. She had decided to take Dad’s name. She was in a cream-colored dress with a delicate lace bodice and an organza skirt with a matching lace trim. She looked lovely, and my father hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her all evening.
Even though it had caused me a pang or two, I knew I wouldn’t have it any other way. I was happy for him—truly, I was. I’d made an effort to spend some time with Sheri over the past few weeks. I didn’t know if we’d ever be super close, because I still struggled with her replacing my mom, even though I knew that was my issue and not hers. But I thought we could probably become friends, good friends, in time. At least, I was going to try.
“Ahem.” Sheri cleared her throat. Her dark hair was up in an artful twist and held in place with pearl hair clips. “Can you hear me?”
Her voice boomed across the reception, making her start and then laugh at herself for jumping. She smiled at her new husband, and he grinned back.
“First, I want to thank you for attending our wedding,” she said. Her voice was soft with genuine gratitude. “I am so pleased that you all could come.” I wasn’t sure, but I thought Sheri’s gaze lingered on me for a moment. When I felt Jason’s