Despite my self-proclaimed confidence, I now saw that I wanted what I hadn’t gotten from those closest to me, or those who were supposed to be close to me. I wanted more than a memoir. I longed for the acknowledgment that I had made it.
It.
A word by itself that has no meaning.
Sitting here, smiling, talking, eating, and drinking, my revelation was that the green envy Lena and I shared decades ago didn’t truly leave me until this moment. I had riches and land, businesses, and lives that depended upon me for their livelihoods. I could buy and sell, make dreams come true or be someone’s worst nightmare.
Yet I still envied.
That envy was the reason for the question that ate at me whenever my face would grace a magazine cover or my name was associated with success. It was thedid Madison see this?that even subconsciously existed.
Until now.
Julia showed me not only what I was missing, but what I truly hadn’t acknowledged was present—the guests around this table. While my life had a void that Julia now filled, I hadn’t been alone. Family wasn’t about the blood circulating through our veins. Family was this—people who would come back for a second-try wedding, those who stepped in and did their due diligence when Julia and I couldn’t, even creating the perfect wedding.
I’d go to battle for the amazing woman at my side. I had the skills. I wasn’t a knight on a white horse, but a black knight who—as Lena had said—clawed my way to the top, leaving carnage in my wake. Yet it wasn’t the companies, riches, or defeat of old adversaries that changed me. It was unconditional love. I would spend the rest of my life offering Julia the same.
As for that memoir—fuck the world.
It would never be written.
The world’s opinion didn’t define Donovan Sherman.
Lena’s hand came to my arm, pulling me back to the present. “Thank you for letting me share this.”
“We’ve shared a lot of lows. It’s time we both find more highs.”
“I’m going to head into Ashland soon. You and Julia should enjoy some time alone.”
“You don’t have to leave,” I said.
“What do you give a man who has everything?” Lena asked. Before I could answer, she replied, “The time and space he deserves.”
“You said that you’re headed to Madison” —the city, not person— “Monday?”
“I’ll leave tomorrow to get settled there. I want to be ready for the advocate and be prepared for the legal team I’ve convened. If it’s okay with you and Julia, I’d like to come by tomorrow morning. There are still a few things to discuss.”
“With Sherman and Madison?”
“Mostly, Wade.”
I took a deep breath. “Don’t fuck up my wedding day. Tell me the truth, should Julia call her parents tonight?”
Lena’s lips quirked. “I wouldn’t call my parents on my wedding day.” She shrugged. “Even if I could. Of course, I don’t have parents and have never been married.”
I looked into her soft brown eyes.
“She should wait,” Lena said. “Nothing will change in one day. Let today be about the two of you.”
“We have a wedding cake,” Mrs. Mayhand announced, quieting everyone’s discussions. “Mr. Sherman and Julia, if you could come to the kitchen and everyone follow.”
I turned to Julia.
“Did you plan all of this?” she asked.
“No, I’m as blindsided as you are.”
Her smile beamed. “I love them.”