Always Loving You

Truthfully, she had been more than happy to hand over all the planning to Suzy, who seemed to do it so effortlessly. Ava just wanted to get married, and a justice of the peace would have been fine to her. Now her dear friends Suzy, Emma, Claire, and Beth buzzed around her, seemingly overjoyed to be part of her special day. She missed Ella and wished that she could have been there.

A knock sounded at the door and Emma rushed to answer it. When Emma didn’t return after a few moments, Ava looked over at the door to see the other woman passionately kissing Brant, and for once, Ava didn’t want to shudder in horror from seeing her brother making out with his fiancée. Actually, she’d never been happier that both of her brothers had found their forever persons. Despite years of doubt, it seemed as if there was a happily-ever-after on the horizon for all the Stone siblings.

Brant’s face was flushed when Emma finally pulled him into the room after ensuring that everyone was decent. He stopped in his tracks, just looking at Ava for a moment. She had chosen a simple white gown with a square neckline and delicate spaghetti straps. Tiny seed pearls were sewn on the white material, giving the dress a fairy-tale look. She had known it was her dream gown the moment she saw it. Suzy had given her an enthusiastic high five that she’d found her wedding dress within an hour.

“You look beautiful,” he said as he reached her. Emma ushered everyone from the room, seeming to know that Brant wanted a moment alone with his sister. He looked at her almost shyly before pulling two boxes from his jacket pocket. “I . . . um . . . think I can help you out with two things you might need before you get married.” He set one box on the table before holding a long, thin box in front of her. “You know that most of Mom’s jewelry has been in a safe-deposit box since their death.” When she nodded, he continued, staring at the box he held. “When you told me you were getting married, I remembered this one necklace. Mom always wore it to every party that she and Dad attended. It’s the only piece of her jewelry that I can remember seeing her wear on a regular basis. I . . . well, I thought you might like to have a part of her here today. I know it’s not the same, but . . .” Without finishing his sentence, he popped open the box, showing her the platinum pearl and diamond necklace nestled within. She choked on a sob as she too remembered it adorning their mother’s neck on several occasions.

Brant removed it from the box, walking behind her to gently move her hair aside before fastening it around her neck. Her hand automatically flew up, feeling the cool weight against her skin. His eyes were bright as he moved back in front of her. “I, um . . . had someone send this to me for you. I thought this could be your something old.”

“Oh, Brant,” she cried, “I don’t know what to say. I never knew how much I needed a part of them until now. Thank you for always taking care of me.” When she went to hug him, he held her off, setting the empty box down before picking up the other, smaller one.

“Wait. There’s another one, and I don’t want you crying more than once, so try to hold it until—” As a knock sounded on the door, Brant smiled and went to open it. Ava’s mouth fell open as her other brother walked in, looking equally emotional as he looked at her.

“Sorry, guys. I . . . got tied up. Oh, sis, you look beautiful.” As Declan leaned over to kiss both her cheeks, he whispered in her ear, “Mac is one lucky bastard.” Brushing an errant tear from her cheek, he pulled back, taking the box from Brant’s hand. His eyes softened as they lit on their mother’s necklace. “Looks beautiful on you, Av. I know she would have wanted you to wear it today.” Clearing his throat, he held up the velvet box in his hand, saying, “Ella and I wanted to give you something new for your day.” Opening the box, Declan turned it for her to see a bracelet very similar in design to the necklace that she wore. As he put it on her wrist, he continued talking. “I’m sorry if I haven’t always been there when you needed me, Av, but please never doubt that I love you. There is only one man that both Brant and I would ever pass your hand along to without reservation, and you’re marrying him today. He’s always loved you, Ava, and I know that he always will.”

After that, they all exchanged emotional embraces and just enjoyed the moment of togetherness with their feelings unguarded. As the rest of the gang filed back in, Suzy shook her head while the other women ushered the men out. “I’m not even going to bother fixing your makeup until your last visitor comes in, because I know you’ll just cry again.” Then in an uncharacteristic display of emotion, Suzy gave her a side hug, saying, “And you know what, you cry as much as you need to. If we can’t fix it, then screw it. Mac will only see your beauty, not your makeup.”

When Suzy moved back, Ella stood there holding her newborn baby, Sofia Grace, and doing a mixture of laughing and crying. They all gaped at their soft-spoken friend when she covered the baby’s ears and said, “Now, would I miss the wedding of my favorite whore?” Laughter rang out in the room, and they all knew they’d never forget Ella’s multiple-personality delivery and the laughs that it would bring to them for years to come. Ava smiled, thinking that now she knew how Brant had managed to get their mother’s necklace here so quickly.

“Now I believe we’re missing the borrowed and blue items, right?” Claire asked while holding a hand behind her back. When Ava agreed, the other woman brought her hand back around, showing Ava the pearl and diamond ring there. “My mother gave this ring to me when I got married and I thought it would go perfectly with your necklace and bracelet.”

Ava wanted to protest, not sure about wearing something so special to Claire, but the other woman seemed so excited. When the ring actually fit Ava’s finger, she found herself hugging Claire while trying to hold back her tears.

Next, Suzy and Beth stepped forward, holding out a long white box. Ava looked at it suspiciously, before shaking her head. “Please tell me that isn’t the Channing Tatum that you bought.”

Beth started laughing as Suzy winced, rubbing her lower back. “Um, no, Gray buried that at the bottom of the trash can. I think he may have stabbed it a few times for good measure.”

“Then he buried something else, right?” Beth joked, holding her sides while she laughed.

Suzy, never one to be embarrassed, gave a smug grin. “Yeah, he sure did, again . . . and again. God, I love pushing that man’s buttons.” Beth finally had to nudge Suzy to shake her out of what appeared to be some vivid memories. “Oh, right, so, anyway, Beth and I took care of the something blue.” When Ava hesitated, Beth opened the box, showing her the light blue garter belt nestled inside it. Ava sighed in relief before donning the last item.