“Yes!” Emergency twin birth forgotten, Jess claps her hands and turns to perch on the end of her bed.
Her dress rides up just a little as she sits, which shows off a pair of heels much higher than mine, and the perfect pedicure that I doubt she can even see. She grunts when Laine sits beside her and holds her hand, but her eyes light up when I pull the lid off and present the bouquet I spent half the day creating.
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” She fans her face, and tries to stop the way her lips quiver. “I love them so much. They’re a freakin’ masterpiece, Abby! It’s like art.”
I smile, because sometimes I think of my work as art, too.
I cover the few feet separating us, and gently pass her the arrangement. Just as predicted, the second she has them, she buries her nose in the bunch and cries.
Laine holds her sister close and rests her head on Jess’ shoulder. When their brother sits down on Jess’ other side, I grab my phone and snap a picture.
Because the creation of human doesn’t get much better than this.
They’re all such beautiful people, the kind we see in the movies and magazines and swear can’t possibly exist. Twin girls, and their male counterpart. Icy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and one of them is carrying her own set of twins, just to do her part and provide the world with more beautiful people.
Luc whispers things into Jess’ ear that remind me of my brothers. Always so protective, so loving. His little sister’s tears are not from sadness, but he still comforts her. He still does his duty and makes it so she doesn’t cry anymore.
I take picture after picture like a total paparazzi stalker, then I hit ‘forward,’ and send the whole bunch to the email address Jess provided me with months ago. They’re for her, and once she walks down the aisle and I won’t run the risk of spoiling Kane’s first chance of seeing her, I’ll send them to him, too.
If I ever meet a man that looks at me the way Kane looks at Jess, and if I ever have the chance to look as beautiful as Jess does right now, I would hope somebody was around to take the picture. And then I would hope that somebody sent the picture to my prince.
“Kane picked the peony for our flower,” Jess murmurs. Her tear-filled eyes come up and meet mine. “I gave him the choice, and that’s what he chose.”
“He chose well. Peonies are good luck for a couple.”
Her lips quiver as her eyes stray back to the bouquet. “I think we’re going to have a happy life together.”
“But not this year,” Laine jests. “Two babies are going to keep you awake soon. You’ll hate each other before the end of the month.”
Jess snickers and carefully wipes a hand under her nose. “I could never hate him. I dislike him a lot of the time. I want to hit him almost always. But my heart beats for him, guys. He’s perfect for me.”
“Alright, I’m done with this.” Luc bounds up from the bed and fixes his fancy suit jacket. “He’s a dude, and you’re my sister. I love you guys, but I don’t want the details.”
“She’s already pregnant.” I’m probably the shyest person I know, and my blush furiously burns my cheeks when Luc’s scandalized eyes come up to me. “I mean, we already knowsomeof the details, right?”
“Abby!” Jess’ chest bounces with laughter, but then her laughter turns to grunts as she leverages her way back to her feet. “Let’s go, guys. I’m dressed, I’m ready, and I’ve peed, which means I have twenty minutes before I have to do it again. This dress was a terrible choice, by the way.”
“But it’s so beautiful,” I whisper. “I have never looked the way you look right now.”
Jess cups her chest. “Pregnancy boobs are a thing, Abby.” Then she cups her cheeks. “And the glow is real, too. The rest…” She shrugs. “Makeup and special effects. The dress was tailored to look amazing, the shoes make me look taller than I am, my hips are bigger because of Bishop.”
Luc’s skin turns a gentle shade of green. “Gross.”
“Besides, you look stunning, too.” She steps forward. “We’re all different pages in a book. We can’t all look the same, because that would be a boring-ass book. But we can all be beautiful in our own way. We can all tell our own story.”
“Jesus,” Luc groans. “Jessie’s getting all philosophical today. Let’s go.” He loops his arm in Jess’, but stops with a grin for me. “Did you bring Mitch?”
“No.” I laugh. “He doesn’t socialize. Like… ever.”
“You’re coming alone?” Laine asks.
I know her question is purely out of curiosity, but it makes me feel silly anyway. It’s prom all over again, but worse. Because my brother isn’t with me.
“Yup, but I’ll be working, remember? I’m just the help.”
“You are not,” Jess scowls. “I’ve already done the seating chart. You’re at table one. Don’t stress, you’ll be right by us.”
* * *