“Think about that cute little baby you’re going to have soon.” I pointed to her still flat stomach. “And just so you know, I’m going to spoil that kid silly.”

She laughed and began to relax. “Yeah, this will be one spoiled baby.” She stroked her fingers over her stomach. “You know, this wasn’t expected, and I would’ve liked to have waited a few more years, but…I’m really excited.”

“You should be,” I assured her. “You and Maddox will be the best parent’s ever. And hey,” I grinned, “think of all the cute baby clothes Maddox can knit.”

She snorted. “He was already going crazy making things for baby Liam,” she pointed towards Remy, “he’s going to be even worse now.”

“I guess this means you guys will be moving out of the guesthouse?” I raised a brow.

She wrinkled her nose and groaned. “Don’t remind me. Normally Maddox and I are on the same page, but not when it comes to what kind of house we want. It seems like neither of us will get our way now. With the baby coming, we don’t have time to build a house or remodel.”

“I’m sure you guys will figure it out.”

“Thirty minutes ladies,” Karen, Maddox’s foster mom, poked her head through the doorway.

“I’m going to be sick.” Emma paled.

“You can do this,” I assured her.

She took a deep breath. “I feel like my heart is going to beat right out of my chest.”

“That’s normal.” I assured her.

The woman finished her hair, accenting it with a few small white flowers pinned into her hair.

Before Emma could freak out too much I managed to get her in her dress and then gave her a pep talk before it was show time.

We lined up at the French doors in the kitchen that led out into the backyard. All of the windows were lined with lavender tulle and string lights, thick enough that we couldn’t see out and no one could see in.

I was acutely aware of Ezra standing in the corner. Even though I told myself not to look every few seconds my eyes flicked in his direction anyway. He was always looking at me too.

He looked amazing in the black tuxedo with his hair tamed away from his forehead. He’d shaved, so he wasn’t as scruffy as normal, but there was still a little bit of stubble dotting his cheeks and chin.

Somebody yelled for us to get lined up and he started towards me.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat, hating how my heart sped up the closer he got to me. We were to walk out last since I was Emma’s Maid of Honor and he was Maddox’s Best Man. You would’ve thought Mathias might have been pissed that his twin didn’t choose him as his Best Man, but he didn’t care. He was still too busy flying high about his epic love with Remy to care about anything else.

Ezra crooked his elbow and I slid my hand inside the space.

Someone handed me my bouquet and went over a few more instructions, but I couldn’t hear a word they said, because Ezra chose that moment to lower his head and brush his lips against my ear. “We need to talk. You can’t avoid me forever.”

“I’m not avoiding you.” I was surprised by how evenly I was able to say the words.

He made a noise in the back of his throat. “Bullshit. You need to give me a chance to explain. After the ceremony, please talk to me.”

“No,” I said firmly, “there’s nothing to say. Besides, I won’t ruin Maddox and Emma’s wedding by arguing with you.”

“Dammit, Sadie,” he growled, anger lacing his words. I’d never heard him sound so pissed and hurt in all the time I’d known him. Ezra was always even-tempered. “You will talk to me.”

I shook my head as the French doors opened.

Hayes and Arden walked out first, and then Mathias and Remy, leaving Ezra and I to take our places.

He straightened then and we both plastered on fake smiles.

I counted the steps in my head, trying not to think about how tense Ezra’s arm felt against my hand or the words he’d spoken.

As soon as I could let go of him, I did, and took my place beside the altar.

The backyard had been transformed into a magical wonderland. Small fairy lights glimmered everywhere and fake walls decorated in green foliage and flowers hid the guesthouse and surrounding homes. The pool was decorated with glowing orbs that floated on the water. I knew when the sun went down it would be even more beautiful.

I giggled when I saw what came out behind us.

Sonic, Maddox’s hedgehog, scampered down the aisle in a bow tie with the rings tied around his body.

“Come here.” Maddox crouched down when Sonic veered off the path. At the sound of his voice Sonic righted himself and scurried into Maddox’s empty hands.

Maddox untied the rings and handed them to Ezra to hold.

He sat the hedgehog on his shoulder and then turned towards the doors.

I felt, rather than heard, Maddox’s intake of breath when he saw Emma. It was like with that one single inhale he stole all of the air around us.

I glanced over at him and saw tears shimmering in his eyes, but he was trying to play it cool. Ezra clapped him on his shoulder and said something under his breath.

It must’ve done the trick, because Maddox let go, letting the tears flow freely.

Since Emma’s dad wasn’t in the picture her mom was the one that walked her down the aisle.

She placed Emma’s hand in Maddox’s and kissed each of their cheeks. “I love you,” she whispered to the two of them before taking her seat.

Emma handed me her bouquet and flashed a smile as she turned to face Maddox.

The preacher began to speak and I tried to focus on what he was saying, but it was impossible when I could feel the weight of Ezra’s eyes on me.

I heard the preacher say it was time to kiss the bride, and Maddox grabbed Emma’s face between his hands and gave her a very dramatic kiss before the two of them headed back down the aisle.

“Take these.” I shoved the two bouquets I held at Remy and took off away from the ceremony.

I hurried behind the fake walls and ran over to the guesthouse where I grabbed the spare key from underneath the mat and let myself inside.

I knew I couldn’t run away from my problems forever, but tonight I had to. I was afraid if I spoke to Ezra I’d either scream at him or throw myself at him. Neither of which was an appropriate option at the moment.

I sat down on the couch and put my head in my hands, trying to compose myself.

I hadn’t seen him since that day I walked away in the hospital and I stupidly thought that the time apart would have desensitized me to his affect. Wrong. So, very wrong. If anything it had made things worse.

The door to the guesthouse opened and I immediately jumped into a standing position, turning around sharply. I was braced for a fight, but it wasn’t Ezra.

Instead Arden stared back at me with wide eyes. “Are you okay?” She asked, stepping forward hesitantly like I was a wounded animal that might snap and bite her hand off. “You ran away so fast…I was worried.”

“I’m fine.”

She raised her brows, urging me to be honest.

“Okay, I’m not fine,” my shoulders sagged, “but I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Fair enough.” She gave me a sympathetic smile. “I know you really want to hide in here, but they need you for pictures.”

I closed my eyes and my teeth snapped together.

“Come on,” Arden urged, stepping around the couch to take my hand, “it won’t be that bad.”

“You have no idea.”

If this wedding hadn’t been planned for months in advance, I’d be convinced Emma was doing everything she could to torture me.

While we were taking an endless amount of photos the wedding organizers were busy setting up tables and chairs in the backyard.

I found my name written elegantly on a piece of parchment and looked beside my plate to see Ezra’s name written down.

Fuck my life.