Chapter 21

Twenty-One

Gia

I packed up my things, feeling drained. I should have gone home and gotten a good night’s sleep, but I knew I’d continue writing on my laptop as long as I could. I had this desire to get everything out on paper. It was motivating to think that I could help someone else by telling my story.

Maybe someone else didn’t have a supportive family or didn’t come from a family with money and was starting from nothing like I did. It was exhilarating to think I could make a difference in someone else’s life.

I opened the door to leave, only to find the girls standing outside with bags of stuff.

“Surprise!” Harper said as she came inside, the rest of the girls—Lily, Abby, Aria, Ireland, and Everly—following her.

“What is this?” I asked as I moved out of their way.

“We’re having a burn the rules party!” Harper exclaimed as she lifted the bags of supplies in her hands.

“A what?” I asked, confused as the girls quickly put down their bags and pulled out lights. They didn’t waste any time moving chairs to stand on so they could hang the strings of lights.

Harper popped the cork on a bottle, lined up glasses, and poured champagne for everyone. “We’re going out back to burn the rules. Now, where are they?”

“What rules?” I asked her.

“You know what I’m talking about. The Rules.” She pulled open my drawers until she finally found them taped to the top tray. It had been highlighted but never removed. I hadn’t referred to it in a long time. But I had a general idea of what it said:

Don’t sleep with the wedding party.

Don’t sleep with Gia’s brothers.

Don’t sleep with the vendors or contractors.

Harper ripped the loose-leaf paper off the tray and waved it in the air. “Does this sound familiar to anyone? Don’t sleep with the wedding party. Don’t sleep with the vendors or contractors. Don’t sleep with Gia’s brothers .”

Groans and eye rolls erupted around the room.

I gestured to each person as I listed the infractions. “Obviously, no one paid any attention to the rules. Abby had a one-night stand with the best man, Lily slept with the mechanic who was charged with keeping her delivery van running, Aria slept with my guitarist at the wedding venues, and finally, you slept with my brother Leo.”

Harper smiled sweetly, with a knowing glint in her eyes. “But all of us are happy and in love. Isn’t that what matters?”

I stubbornly refused to respond. I wasn’t sure why they’d staged this intervention, but I felt uneasy. Were they here to talk about my screwup with Silas? I looked around the room, seeing genuine concern from each person, so I held up my hands. “Just for the record, I’d like everyone to know I haven’t broken any of those rules.”

Harper sighed. “The rules were stupid to begin with. You didn’t honestly think you could control who people fell in love with, did you?”

“Of course not,” I said over the tightening of my throat.

Harper lowered her voice. “Then why do you think you can control who you fall in love with?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “What are you talking about?”

“Sweetie, you’re in love with Silas.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I protested, even as my cheeks heated. How much did everyone know? I’d told Harper a bit but hadn’t confided in anyone else.

“Is it?” Harper asked, her brow raised.

The rest of the room had fallen silent. Somehow, they’d managed to finish stringing the twinkly lights on the ceiling and turned them on. Someone flicked off the overhead lights, giving the office a nice glow.

I really wanted the champagne, but I didn’t think it was the right time for it. Harper wanted something from me, but I wasn’t sure what it was.

“For the first time in years, you took off two Sundays in a row.”

Prickles of awareness flew down my spine. Was she right about me being in love? “Is that all you’ve got?”

“You went home for family dinner for the first time in years when Silas was there.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” I insisted.

“You know what he means to you, even if you won’t share it with anyone else. Inside, you know the truth.”

I flushed hotter, my skin feeling uncomfortable. I wanted to escape from the truth of her words and the knowing stares of everyone in this room.

Harper shook the paper in the air. “These rules don’t mean anything, not when we meet the man that means something to us. You’ll break any rule to get what you want.”

Did I want Silas? I missed him. It felt like my heart had been shredded into a billion tiny pieces since he walked out the other day. What if he didn’t want me? I was difficult. My own father didn’t get me. Why would Silas?

But I knew he did. He was the only person who saw all of me and seemed to like me more for it. Could he be in love with me ?

The questions rolled around in my head, making my head spin.

Harper lowered her hand that held the piece of paper that had started everything. “I think if you sit in stillness for just a minute, and stop avoiding the truth for a second, you’ll know.”

I’d never looked forward to spending time with any man before Silas. I certainly wouldn’t have skipped work for anyone else. I’d never felt like I did in his arms. Like I was beautiful and cherished and loved.

“I like him, but love—” I winced.

Harper tipped her head to the side. “Do you want to see him with anyone else?”

The pictures of the women he’d had on his arm in media photos flitted through my head. The mere thought of him with another woman irritated me.

“Can you imagine being with anyone else?” Lily prompted from the corner of the room, where she was struggling with a single strand of lights that refused to turn on.

Even when I thought we were over, I had no intentions of finding anyone else. He felt like the one to me.

Harper’s lips twitched. “Are you figuring it out yet?”

“Even if I think he’s the one for me, it doesn’t mean he feels the same way,” I finally admitted, easing the tightness in my chest.

Harper lifted a champagne glass. “First, girls’ night, then we tackle Silas.” Harper put her arm around my shoulders. “What do you say? Are you ready to set these rules on fire?”

“Why are we doing this again?” I asked, feeling trepidation about letting go of those rules.

Lily moved to stand next to Harper. “To show that we don’t live by these rules—or any, for that matter. We fall in love with who we do, regardless of our backgrounds, experiences, and what’s expected by everyone else in our lives.”

“If you want to date your brother’s best friend, who can tell you what to do?” Aria added.

“Or your best friend’s brother,” Harper smirked, her arm tightening around me, and anchoring me in the moment. “It only matters what you think. It’s your life.”

“We only get one precious life. So, what are you going to do with it?” Lily asked with a brow raised.

She raised an interesting point. I wanted to be successful in business, and supported financially, but wasn’t there something even more exciting than that? What if there was more to life? What if Silas was my future?

I let Harper lead me outside where we had a picnic table and, apparently, a new addition of a fire pit, where a small fire was already burning. As we stood around the fire, Harper and Lily on either side of me, I asked the question that had been simmering in my gut. “What if Silas doesn’t feel the same?”

Harper gave me a sympathetic look. “We can’t control other people. If Silas has a problem with your brothers, then that’s on him.”

The thought of letting go of the control I’d held on to so tightly was scary, but the possibility of a future with Silas was flickering in the distance too.

Harper handed me the piece of paper, the one I thought would protect me and everyone around me from heartache. “Now, are you ready to burn this?”

I sighed, knowing I needed to address everyone who’d been so sweet to come here tonight and attempt to talk some sense into me. “Work has always been the most important thing in the world to me, but Silas helped me see that there’s more for me out there. That I can work less and make more. That I can relax, and my work only gets better.” Then I paused for a minute and rested my free hand on my churning stomach. “I think I love him, but I’m not sure he feels the same way about me.”

“All that matters is that we’re true to ourselves. If he’s the man I think he is, then he loves you, too. Are you going to do the honors?”

Aria stepped closer to us. “It should be you. They’re your rules, after all.”

I read over the rules one more time, wondering what I was thinking when I wrote them. “When I wrote these, I thought I could control everything around me. The tighter I held on to things, the easier everything would be. But I was wrong. All I did was hurt everyone in the process.” Aria was worried she’d lose her job when I discovered that she’d slept with Finn at the wedding venues while they were supposed to be working. Harper didn’t think I’d be friends with her once I found out she was in love with my brother. “But these arbitrary rules don’t mean anything. Not when love is involved.”

Lily handed out the glasses of champagne, and everyone held theirs in the air.

I raised my voice and the silly piece of paper in my hand. “To Happily Ever Afters. To not living by any set of rules. And to setting our own.” Then I smiled, a sliver of hope sliding down my spine. “As long as they make us blissfully happy.”

“Hear hear!” Harper cheered as I dropped the piece of paper into the fire.

As we watched it burn, I said, “No one can tell us how to live. We have to follow our own intuitions.”

“What’s your intuition telling you?” Harper stepped closer to ask.

“That I messed up.” I felt miserable admitting it out loud.

“Which part did you screw up?”

“In not trusting all of you to be my friends.” When I watched everyone’s faces in the light of the fire, there was nothing but understanding, and it buoyed me for the next few things I had to say. “In thinking I needed to prove something to my parents by working all the time. In telling Silas to leave.”

“I think it’s fully in your power to fix all of that,” Lily said softly.

“But how?” I asked, looking around at the women who’d stood by my side. I hadn’t truly considered them friends until now.

Harper shoved a glass of champagne into my hand, and I downed it in one gulp. “It’ll come to you just like your brilliant business ideas.”

“I brought chairs,” Lily said, opening the back of her VW van and pulling out a bunch of camping chairs. We sat around the fire, sipping the champagne.

“I’m sorry I haven’t trusted you with everything going on in the business. I thought on some level that women were in competition with each other. It was stupid and shortsighted,” I said to everyone.

“Especially when we can support each other,” Ireland chided.

“That’s what I always told you, but I didn’t practice it myself. I kept my vision of the business to myself and drafted those awful rules, thinking I could control everything.”

“We want to be there for you,” Ireland said.

I chewed my lip, and when Harper nodded, I opened my mouth to share what I’d been hiding from everyone. “I decided to start a course for other wedding planners, and I’m writing a book about my experiences as a business owner and wedding planner. I have no idea if anything will come of it, but I have a good feeling. I’ve never written anything so fast before.”

Lily reached over to touch my arm. “That’s amazing.”

“I think people will love that,” Abby gushed.

Listening to everyone ask questions and talk about it made me think it was a good thing. That something amazing would come from it.

“I searched online and didn’t find anything like it. There’s nothing tailored to wedding planners,” Harper said.

“Most people selling digital courses pair it with a nonfiction book, so hopefully, I’m on the right track. But I’ve enjoyed the process of getting everything down on paper. I realized I have so much to share, and I hope it helps someone.”

“I think you’re going to encourage a lot of people who are afraid to take that risk, to take that first step and start their business,” Abby said.

Hope filled my heart. “I’d love to share your stories too. Would you be willing to talk about your experiences?”

“I’d love to help. My flower shop wasn’t successful on its own. I struggled to make a profit until I got creative and started a subscription service and renovated my barn to host weddings on my farm. It was a dream come true for me, but it took some time to figure things out,” Lily said.

“I was afraid to expand my photography business and to hire any help because I was worried I’d overextend myself. I wasn’t just supporting myself, but Hunter too,” Abby added.

We went around the circle, and everyone shared their struggles in business. It was so nice to hear that we shared similar experiences.

“Your stories are so inspiring,” I said to them, excited to include their experiences too. I wondered if my business book could expand to all female business owners and then the course could be centered on wedding planners.

Abby pulled out a bag of marshmallows, and we scrounged for sticks to roast them. We drank more of the champagne Harper brought, laughing and having a good time.

I was happy to finally have been part of this friend group. For so long, I set myself apart from everyone. But there was still something missing. Whenever I thought about Silas, my heart sank, and my stomach twisted.

I knew I should talk to him, but I was afraid it was too late. That when I told him to leave, it signaled the end for us. But then, I’d never been in a relationship where my heart was at stake. I’d never been this invested before, and I wasn’t sure how to move on.

“I have something to share with you guys,” Ireland said, the firelight dancing across her face.

Everyone got quiet, sensing she was about to tell us something important.

She held up her hand, and it took me a few seconds to realize she was showing off the large diamond on her ring finger. Her boyfriend, James, must have proposed. They’d met on an online dating app and realized they’d grown up in the same social circles but had never met. Lily squealed and lunged at her for a hug.

There was a flurry of congratulations and hugs. When it was my turn to hug Ireland, I felt a sense of loss. If I was more open with my feelings, would I be in a good place with Silas? Was I shutting down the possibility of a future with us?

When the group quieted again, Abby asked, “You’ve only been dating a short time. Was it love at first sight?”

Something flashed across Ireland’s face before she smiled. “He’s perfect for me. He comes from a good family, and he believes in love and relationships.”

A look of concern passed over Lily’s face. “Do you love him?”

Ireland smiled wide, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “So much. I can’t believe that this is my life. That I’m engaged and getting married.”

“And here I felt bad for moving out of our apartment and into your brother’s house,” Aria teased.

I regretted not being closer to Ireland because something about her story seemed off. She said she was in love, and she seemed happy. But something was missing.

I leaned forward. “I have to know… Are we planning your wedding?”

Ireland squealed. “Of course! I’d love to have a Christmas wedding.”

“You want to have it at the Christmas tree farm?” I asked, my heart sinking.

“Is that even possible?” Ireland raised her hopeful gaze to mine.

“I was going to suggest you talk to Emmett again about the possibility of us working with them. Maybe if you tell him it’s for your wedding, he’ll be willing to do it as a test of sorts. Maybe we can show them that we can hold the wedding with minimal disruption to their tree business.”

“Is that possible?” Lily asked, her voice laced with concern.

“We’ll do our best to minimize the damage by creating a new parking lot only for the wedding party and keeping our event away from the barn shop and the cut-tree lot.”

“You really think I have the best chance of convincing him?” Ireland asked.

“You’re the bride. Who could say no to you?” I asked her, but I wasn’t so sure. I swear Emmett’s gaze had lingered on her when we had met with them previously, which meant he wasn’t going to be happy she was engaged to someone else. But then again, every time I saw him, he was grumpy. Maybe that was just his personality.

“At the very least, Lori will want to help.”

“Even if we can only hold one wedding on the Monroes’ farm, you’ll get the wedding of your dreams,” I said to her.

Harper shot me a look. “You’d be content with one wedding there?”

Everyone laughed, knowing that wasn’t true.

“It’s not a secret I want the Monroe farm for our weddings, and I’m going to do everything I can to get it for us. I think Ireland’s engagement is our best chance to prove to the Monroes that we won’t disrupt their business. We’ll shine a spotlight on their brand and bring in even more customers.”

Ireland shifted in her chair, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“But only if you’re okay with my plan, Ireland. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t feel comfortable with.”

Ireland’s gaze steeled. “I want to help, and I do want to get married at the farm.”

“I think it’s the best way to convince Emmett to allow us to hold weddings there.” It felt like the next right action, and I always followed my intuition.

“What do I need to do to convince you to talk to me ?” The male voice startled everyone.

Silas stood behind Abby and Ireland, across the fire from me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice shaky. It was almost like I’d conjured him here. Was he real or just a figment of my imagination?

“You aren’t answering your phone, and Harper said you were having an office meeting.” He looked around the circle at us drinking champagne and eating marshmallows. “This looks like something more.”

I stood and slowly made my way to him, that glimmer of hope I’d felt earlier growing bigger. “I’m trying something new.”

He arched a brow. “Oh yeah? By strong-arming the Monroes into hosting your weddings?”

I smiled. “I always get what I want. Sound familiar?”

“Do you have everything you want?” he asked when I reached him. We stood facing each other but not touching.

I shook my head. “Not at all.”

Everyone was quiet, only the crackle of the fire making any noise. “What are you doing here, Silas?”

“I need to talk to you.” Silas looked exhausted, like he’d been up all night.

“I want to talk to you too,” I said softly, fighting with my desire to jump into his arms before I knew what he was here to say.

“Then why aren’t you answering your phone?”

“Honestly, I don’t even know where my phone is. But I needed time, and then I was working on my book. It was just flowing for me, and it allowed me to put off what I needed to do with you.” I gestured at the women behind us. “But now, Ireland’s engaged, and I have all these wonderful friends. Everything is working out for me. Or at least, it seems that way on the outside.” I chewed my lip, knowing this was my chasm to fix. “But when I told you to leave the last night, you took a piece of me with you.”

His gaze was trained on me, and it was like everyone else faded away. “What piece was that?”

My heart thudded in my ears. I couldn’t believe I was about to declare my feelings in front of everyone, including him, but I needed to do this. I kept my

gaze steady on his. “ Il mio cuore. My heart.”

Silas took a step closer to me. “What are you saying?”

I threw my hands in the air, deciding to let go and tell him everything that had been on my mind the last twenty-four hours. “ Mi fai impazzire ma ti voglio bene. You drive me crazy, but I’m in love with you. You challenge me, you encourage me, and you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You made me see that I could be and do things differently. That I could work less and make more. That with relaxation and time off work comes the best inspiration of my life. You’ve shown me what it’s like to love someone. Ti amo. I love you, Silas Sharpe, and I’m so sorry I resisted you all these years. I’ve wasted so much time.”