Chapter 49

Kelsey POV

I stood at the top of the stone path with a cascade of ivory roses in one hand and the other resting lightly over the curve of my belly.

A brisk wind tugged at my pale gown. Below me, the sea stretched in molten silver beyond the cliffs, and rows of white chairs faced a simple wooden arch wrapped in the flowers Stella had spent weeks teaching me to distinguish from cream.

Stella hovered near the arch, dabbing furiously at her eyes. She had insisted all morning that she was not crying. Her cheeks had already betrayed her.

Wyatt gave Garrison a mock salute. Garrison stood beneath the arch in a dark suit, so still that for one breath the whole scene looked like a photograph I had somehow wandered into.

“You ready?” a low voice asked beside me.

Garrison’s father offered me his arm. He had complained about the wind, the parking, and the hors d’oeuvres. Now he looked as if he had swallowed every word he knew.

“I think so.” I slip