Paige’s eyes widened. Wow, she’d never taken Tori for a sap. Over animals? Yes, for sure. But over people? Not really.
“You could all just jump on a plane and head to Vegas and elope,” Paige suggested.
“Oh, we couldn’t do that to Ellie and everyone,” Juliet said.
“Nope,” Maddie said.
“Of course not,” Tori said, wiping her eyes.
“Ellie would be that mad?” Paige asked. Her mother would be livid, so she got it.
“Oh, I don’t know if she’d be mad exactly,” Juliet said. “It’s just…we want them all to be a part of it. And the town and the docks and just everything that makes up our lives here.”
“But you’re just as married if you do it somewhere else,” Paige pointed out.
“Yeah.” Maddie nodded. “It’s not that. It’s like… honoring them. Or something. It’s like ‘hey, look what you helped create. Thank you.’”
“You feel like they helped create your wedding?” Paige asked.
“They all helped create Sawyer.” Juliet smiled. “He’s the man he is, the man I love, the man who loves me, because of these people. And I definitely thank them for that. Obviously, he’s his own person but they are a part of him. And I want to say thank you and promise them that I’ll love him and be there for him as I promise him those things.”
“Oh my God.”
They all looked at Tori. Who was now crying even harder.
“That’s so beautiful,” she blubbered. “And so true. I feel the same way. They are a part of Josh too. And they made me a part of this family immediately. And I want to celebrate this day with them. I know I’m part of the family anyway, no matter what, but this makes it official, and I want a party, with them all, to commemorate that.”
Maddie seemed taken aback by Tori’s tears, but she nodded and patted her friend’s hand. “It’s true. And I want to witness it all. I want to see Josh and Tori make those promises to each other so much. So I know Ellie feels the same way. It’s just about loving them so damn much.”
Paige just took it all in. It felt like a lot. It really did. Thinking about standing up in front of so many people making such a big promise made her throat feel tight.
But then she thought about her sister’s wedding. She remembered how Josie had looked, gazing up at Grant. And how her own heart had thumped when she’d heard Grant vow to forever love someone Paige loved so much. It felt so good to know that there was someone making Josie incredibly happy and taking care of her and making her feel like the amazing, special person she was.
Yeah, Paige understood all of this to some extent.
It was big. It was important. It mattered to a lot of people.
Which was why it wasn’t something to be done lightly or until both people were sure to their bones that it was the right choice.
“Well, if we did have just one big wedding, we’d have to move our date,” Tori said.
“Yeah, you couldn’t do that,” Juliet said.
Tori frowned. “Of course we could.”
“But you and Josh met on Mardi Gras. You have to get married on Mardi Gras.”
Tori shook her head. “I was thinking about that the other day when I was realizing that the plantation is such a bad fit.” She sighed. “We met on Mardi Gras, but when we tried to reconnect the next year, it didn’t work. What really mattered was the next day when I came down here to find him. When I put myself out there again, for the first time in years, for someone. And then when I came after him after Andrew’s wedding. Each time I made the big gesture was on the dock. The dock was the place where it really started.”
Maddie and Juliet both nodded.
“I guess that’s true,” Juliet said.
“So you’d move your date? Really?” Maddie asked.
“I would.” Tori nodded. “I love you girls so much.” Tori sniffed and gave them all a wobbly smile. “And the guys would love to share their day the way they’ve shared every other big thing in their lives.”
“We love you too,” Juliet said.
“We do,” Maddie agreed. “But are you sure your dress will still fit if we bump your wedding date back a month or two?”
“Why wouldn’t it?” Juliet asked.
“Well, she’ll be further along in the pregnancy by then,” Maddie said.
Tori gasped.
Paige felt her eyes go wide.
Juliet sat up straighter. “What?” she demanded.
“Right?” Maddie asked Tori.
“How…how did you know?” Tori asked.
Now both Juliet and Paige gasped.
“You’re pregnant?” Juliet asked.
“Shhh!” Tori cast a look to where Ellie and Cora were both working behind the bar.
“So no one knows?” Maddie asked.
Tori shook her head. “We just found out.”
“How did you know?” Paige asked Maddie.
Maddie smiled. “Tori isn’t usually a weeping mess. And she hasn’t been into the wedding planning thing from the beginning, but she’s been handling it.”
It wasn’t hard for Paige to imagine that Tori wasn’t that interested in wedding details like flowers and cakes and bridesmaid dress colors. She was a large animal vet. She spent her days with her hands in places that a lot of people didn’t even want to think about, not to mention touch. She was an animal-crazy sweetheart, but Paige was sure she’d spent more time as a kid playing outside in the dirt with kittens and ducks and cows than she had with dressing up dolls or having pretend weddings.
Tori took a deep breath. “It was, obviously, not a planned thing.”
“But you’re happy?” Paige asked.
Tori’s face brightened immediately, and her smile was huge. “Yes. I mean, now that it’s sinking in. I’d never thought that much about being a mom, but yeah, Josh and I had talked about starting a family, and now…” She sighed, but this was a happy sound. “Yeah, I’m happy. And Josh is over the moon.”
Paige felt the crazy urge to grab her friend into a big hug. Tori seemed a little dazed, but also genuinely happy, and Paige had seen her caring for enough animals to know that she was going to be an amazing mom.
“How are you feeling?” Juliet asked. “Other than emotional?” She gave Tori an affectionate smile.
“Good. Mostly. I’m a little nauseous at times, and I get tired at the end of the day,” Tori said. “But mostly good. I’m only about seven weeks along. So, I’m sure that could all change. And Griffin is going to be mad.”
Paige frowned. “Why is Griffin going to be mad?” The guy was clearly a grump, but what did Josh and Tori having a baby have to do with him?
“He’ll have to take over more of the practice,” Tori said. “At least, for a while after I have the baby. And I might want to be home more. I’ll miss the animals, so I won’t ever not practice, but the beauty of what I do is that I can do it part-time on a flexible schedule. And I have lots of babysitters around here.” She grinned at the other two women. “But he’ll have to pick up more of the schedule.”
“Oh, Griffin would love to do more.”