Devotion

20

"Is this one of those things you'll tell me as soon as we're married? Like when Mason's going to propose to Bee?"

"Did I say I would tell you that? I don't remember saying that."

"James," I said and squeezed his hand. "You promised you'd tell me."

"Hmm. I promised?"

I laughed. "You know I'll get the information out of you."

"Oh, I have no doubt that you're capable of that." He smiled down at me. "You look beautiful, Penny."

"And you look very handsome." I ran my fingers down his tie. "Are you nervous at all?"

"About what? Tonight or tomorrow?"

"Both. Isn't it like a bad omen or something if the rehearsal goes poorly?"

"I don't think I've ever heard that before. But no, I'm not nervous. Are you?"

"Of course I am."

He turned his head away from me and stared at the Tavern on the Green in the distance.

"Not anything about you, James. I'm so sure about what we have. I just want everything to go perfectly, though. And our parents...James," I said and stopped in the middle of the path, almost making him trip. "We didn't tell your parents the wedding was back on! Did you call them?"

"Um...no. I didn't."

"We have to call them."

He lowered both his eyebrows. "No."

"You didn't hear your father last night. They care about you so much. They just..."

"They care about me?" James laughed. "If they cared about me at all, they would have called me last night to see if I was okay. They clearly didn't care that we broke up. So, f**k them. Both of them."

"My parents are expecting to meet them at the dinner tonight."

"I think they'll understand after the way they behaved at the engagement party they threw us."

"Well, I didn't tell them about that."

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't want my parents to dislike your parents before they even met them."

An exasperated laugh came out of James' mouth. "They should dislike them. I dislike them. Everyone dislikes them!"

"I just want to give them the benefit of the doubt."

James shook his head.

"If you think they knew about what Isabella was planning, they didn't. Your mom looked so shocked that her perfect daughter in law would do something like that. And your father stuck up for me in front of her. He wanted to hear what I had to say. It was the best conversation we had ever had, and I don't think it was just because they knew they had gotten rid of me. Your mom even asked if I loved you. They care."

"I'm sure Jen told them that the wedding was still on. If they want to be there tonight, they'll be there."

"It's different if they hear it from you, James. That you want them to come."

"But I don't want them to come. Penny. Hey." He put his hand on my cheek. "Tonight is about us. Not about anyone else. There could be no one at the dinner tonight or the wedding tomorrow, and I wouldn't care. I'm only going to focus on you either way. This is about us agreeing to spend the rest of our lives together."

"I know. But James, it's also about our families coming together."

"And our family is going to be there. Rob, Mason, Bee, Matt, Jen, Melissa...that's our family. You're my family."

"You know what I mean."

His fingers slid down my neck. "And your parents. And Mason and Matt's parents."

"Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell aren't your parents, though."

"I know. They're better than my parents. They were always nice to me growing up. Their house was like a safe haven."

"I just don't want you to regret your parents not being there."

"Like I said, it's their choice."

I took a deep breath. "Okay."

He leaned down and placed a soft kiss against my lips. "We're going to be late," he said and kissed me again.

"You know, I never understood the point of a rehearsal. Isn't it just walking down an aisle and standing there?"

He laughed. "Come on, Penny." He grabbed my hand and we quickened our pace toward the restaurant. As we approached, I could see the big tree with the lights strung through it. To me, that tree exuded all things romance. And tomorrow night, James and I would be getting married underneath it. Chairs were already set up on either side of an aisle. My mom and dad were sitting in the front row to the left. Mr. & Mrs. Caldwell were sitting in the front row on the right. James' parents hadn't come. It hurt my heart, but James didn't seem to have any reaction.

"James!" Jen was the first one rushing toward us. She threw her arms around James' neck and he lifted her off her feet. "How's California treating you?" he said as he set her back down.

"Really, that's the intro you're going with? I heard you almost blew it with the best thing that's ever happened to you and you want to talk about California? Priorities, James," she said as she straightened his tie.

She threw her arms around me. "You look stunning. I never would have let this wedding not happen." She kissed my cheek and released me from her embrace.

I laughed and looked up at James. He was straightening his tie back to the way it had been before Jen had touched it. He met my gaze and smiled.

"Okay, so all they've said so far is that the bride's parents will sit on the left and the groom's on the right. Penny, is your dad walking you down the aisle?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll go grab him." She rushed off as quickly as she had come.

"So, what are we supposed to be doing?" James whispered in my ear.

I laughed. "I have no idea." I caught sight of Melissa standing off to the side, completely engrossed by her phone.

"Melissa?"

She immediately looked up from her phone and gave me a huge smile. "Penny, you look amazing in that dress," she said.

That had not been the reaction I was expecting at all. More like, tears and shoe throwing.

"Thanks, Melissa. Did you get my message? I know you probably..."

"It's okay. You know, sometimes I hate being right, but, it's really okay. I kind of knew it wasn't going to be a long term thing. Even though I was hoping it could be more. But I'm seriously okay."