She lifted her head off her mom’s shoulder and stared at her in surprise.
“You kids are falling for each other,” Ava said. “Have fallen. It’s written all over your auras and maybe in the stars.”
“Well then, those stars have left us star-crossed,” Hope said sadly. She pulled out of her mom’s embrace and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “And maybe that’s what I deserve. But not Brent.”
“When Jackie arrives, maybe you should explain things.”
“To Brent? And his family?” Hope asked in shock. “That would blow this wedding apart.”
“Yes. It could at that.” Ava furrowed her brow. “But wouldn’t that be better than Brent marrying the wrong sister?”
Hope inhaled sharply. “That’s just it. Brent didn’t ask me to marry him. He asked Jackie, and if this weird twin swap had never happened, he’d still be marrying her anyway.”
“Then he never would have known what he’s missing, would he?”
…
Later that afternoon, Brent knocked on the carriage house door, looking gorgeous in a coat and tie. Hope had dressed in a pretty white off-the-shoulders sundress with a flouncy hem that hit above her knees. She wore casual flat sandals with it and had partially pulled back her hair. Meredith and her mom were still changing for the rehearsal. Hope pressed open the screen to find Brent smiling at her while holding a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers. “These are for you,” he said, “from Grandmother’s garden.”
“Aww. How sweet.”
“Sally’s gathering wildflower bouquets for the bridesmaids, but I handpicked these myself just for you.”
Heat warmed her cheeks.
“It’s hard to believe tomorrow’s the day.”
“I know,” she said, accepting the flowers and wishing it could be her holding the bridal bouquet tomorrow instead of Jackie. “Can’t wait.”
His eyebrows arched. “Have you heard anything more from Hope? Did she make her flight?”
“Yes. Thank goodness. She texted me from the runway that she’d gotten on the plane.” Hope worriedly glanced at the time on the kitchen clock. Nearly five o’clock. “She should have landed in Boston by now and be on her way.”
“Maybe you should call her to check in?”
“What? Now? I don’t know, Brent. She’s probably busy picking up her rental car.”
“Might be good for us to update the others. Everyone’s been asking about her.”
“Yeah, yeah. Of course.”
Hope’s heart hammered as she set down the bouquet and nabbed her phone from where it lay on the kitchen counter. Half of her desperately wanted Jackie to answer, but the other half didn’t. Especially with Brent watching her.
After three rings, Jackie answered, clearly out of breath. “Can’t talk now.” She sounded like she was juggling things. Suitcases, perhaps. “I’m headed back to the airport.”
“Back?”
“I was on standby for the six o’clock flight.”
“What do you mean? I thought you’d boarded the plane.”
“We sat on the runway for hours, Hope.” She turned her back on Brent when Jackie said her name. “Hours. Until people started complaining that the airline was violating federal regulations or something. The captain kept waiting on the all-clear from the tower, but it never came. Finally, they cancelled the flight.”
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, yeah. I wasn’t going to call you until I was sure of this one.”
“What do you mean, sure?”
“There’s a chance that this one won’t go through, either.”
Hope stroked her heart-shaped pendant, her head suddenly woozy. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t. “What about—alternatives?” She was about to ask about a boat when she recalled that Brent was listening.
“Ferry service has been suspended for today. On account of”—thunder boomed loudly—“the storms.”
“Please don’t say it.”
“I know, I know,” Jackie wailed, and then her voice shattered into sobs. “Don’t you think I feel terrible about this?”
Hope held up her hand, and Brent read her signaled need for privacy, stepping out onto the deck.
“Jackie,” Hope said in hushed tones. “You can’t bail on me now. You have to be here.”
“I’m try-trying…” Jackie blubbered and blew her nose. “So, so hard. I never thought it would come to this, Hopie. Never dreamed it would go this far. At first I was afraid—”
“Afraid of what?”
“Marrying Brent. The decision was so hasty, and I was honestly still stung from Rodney.”
“Oh, no. You mean Meredith was right? This was a rebound thing?”
“Since when have you gotten so cozy with Meredith that she’s spilling all my secrets?”
“Since you decided not to show up for your own wedding week.”
“Okay, all right. Sheesh. You don’t have to be so mean. I already feel like the worst person on earth. Next to you, probably. I’m sure you feel even worse.”
“Thanks, Jackie. Thanks a lot.”
“And anyway, it’s not all about Rodney.”
“Let’s hope not.”
“Brent seems pretty wonderful. You’ve attested to this yourself. And he offered me something, Hopie. Something immeasurable. The kind of life I’ve always wanted.”
Hope glanced through the sliding glass doors at Brent’s rugged profile framed by the backdrop of the bay, thinking that this was the sort of life she’d always wanted, too. Only she’d never known about it until this week and meeting Brent.
“It’s just that, after we got our marriage license at the courthouse, I started getting nervous that I was making a—”
“Wait a minute. What did you say? Marriage license? What marriage license?”
“You know, the little piece of paper you sign at the courthouse that says you’re legally wed? We had to take care of that a few weeks ago before Brent’s business trip.”
A lead weight settled in Hope’s stomach. She was in a far worse fix than she’d understood. “You and Brent are already legally married?”
“Only on paper,” Jackie hastily added. “Nothing really counts until the ceremony.”