The Last Song (24 page)

“Sorry, Dad,” he said, chastised. “I meant jiminy crap,” he tried again.

Ronnie and her dad laughed, and Jonah turned from one to the other. “What?”

“Nothing,” her dad said. Jonah moved nearer to inspect her more closely.

“What happened to the purple in your hair?” he asked. “It’s gone.”

Ronnie bobbed her curls. “Temporarily,” she said. “Is it okay?”

Before her dad could answer, Jonah piped up. “You look normal again. But you don’t look like my sister.”

“You look wonderful,” her dad said quickly.

Surprising herself, Ronnie breathed a sigh of relief. “Is the dress okay?”

“It’s perfect,” her dad answered.

“And my shoes? I’m not sure they go with the dress.”

“They’re just right.”

“I tried to do my makeup and my nails…”

Before she even finished, her dad shook his head. “You’ve never been more beautiful,” he said. “In fact, I don’t know if there’s anyone more beautiful in the entire world.”

He’d said the same thing a hundred times before. “Dad—”

“He means it,” Jonah interrupted. “You look awesome. I’m being honest. I barely recognize you.”

She frowned at him in mock indignation. “So you’re saying you don’t like the way I usually look?”

He shrugged. “No one likes purple hair except weirdos.”

When she laughed, she caught her dad smiling at her.

“Wow” was all he could say.

Half an hour later, she was pulling through the gates of the Blakelee estate, her heart racing. They had just run the gauntlet of Highway Patrol officers stationed along the road to check IDs, and now they were being stopped by men in suits who wanted to park their car. Her dad tried calmly to explain that he was simply dropping her off, but his response made no sense to any of the three valets—they couldn’t seem to grasp the fact that a guest at the wedding didn’t even have her own car.

And the improvements…

Ronnie had to admit the place was as spectacular as a movie set. There were flowers everywhere, the hedge was trimmed to perfection, and even the brick-and-stucco wall that surrounded the property had been freshly painted.

When they were finally able to make their way to the central roundabout, her dad stared at the house, which was growing larger in the foreground. Eventually, he turned to her. She wasn’t used to seeing her father surprised by anything, but she could hear it in his voice.

“This is Will’s house?”

“This is it,” she said. She knew what he’d say: that it was huge, or he didn’t realize how wealthy the family was, or did she feel like she belonged in a place like this? Instead, he smiled at her without a trace of self-consciousness.

“What a lovely place for a wedding.”

He drove carefully, thankfully drawing no extra attention to the old car they were driving. It was actually Pastor Harris’s car, an old Toyota sedan with a boxy style that was out of date as soon as it came off the production line in the 1990s; but it ran, and right now that was good enough. Her feet were already aching. How some women wore pumps every day was beyond her. Even when she was seated, they felt like instruments of torture. She should have wrapped her toes in Band-Aids. And her dress obviously hadn’t been designed to wear while sitting; it was digging into her ribs, making it hard to breathe. Then again, maybe she was just too nervous to breathe.

Her dad made his way around the circle drive, his gaze fixed on the house just as hers had been the first time she’d seen it. Even though she should have been used to it by now, the place still felt overwhelming to her. Add in the guests—she’d never seen so many tuxedos and formal gowns in her life—and she couldn’t help but feel out of place already. She really didn’t belong here.

Up ahead, a dark-suited man was signaling to the cars, and before she knew it, it was her turn to get out. As the man swung open her door and offered his hand to help her out, her father reached out to pat her leg.

“You can do this.” He smiled. “And have fun.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

She peeked in the mirror one last time before emerging from the car. Once she was out, she adjusted her dress, thinking it was easier to breathe now that she was standing. The porch railings were decorated with lilies and tulips, and as she made her way up the steps toward the door, it suddenly swung open.

In his tuxedo, Will looked nothing like the shirtless volleyball player she’d first encountered or the easygoing southern boy who’d taken her fishing; in a way, it was like glimpsing the successful, sophisticated man he would be a few years from now. Somehow, she hadn’t expected him to seem so…
refined
, and she was about to make a joke about how “he cleaned up pretty good” before she realized he hadn’t even said hello.

For a long time, all he could do was stare at her. In the extended silence, the butterflies in her stomach began to feel like birds, and all she could think was that she’d done something wrong. Maybe she’d arrived too early, or maybe she’d overdone it with her dress and makeup. She wasn’t sure what to think and was beginning to imagine the worst when Will finally began to smile.

“You look… incredible,” he said, and at those words, she felt herself relax. Well, a little bit, anyway. She still hadn’t seen Susan, and until then, she wasn’t out of the woods. Still, she was pleased that Will liked what he saw.

“You don’t think it’s too much?” she asked.

Will stepped toward her and placed his hands on her hips. “Definitely not.”

“But not too little, right?”

“Just right,” he whispered.

She reached up, straightened his bow tie, then slipped her arms around his neck. “I must admit you don’t look half bad yourself.”

It wasn’t as bad as she’d thought it would be. It turned out they’d already taken most of the bridal pictures before the guests arrived, so she and Will were able to spend some time together before the ceremony. Mostly they walked around the grounds, Ronnie gawking at all the arrangements. Will hadn’t been kidding: The back of the house had been completely restyled, and the pool had been covered with a temporary deck that looked anything but temporary. Scores of white chairs fanned across the surface, facing a white trellis where Megan and her fiancé would exchange their vows. New walkways had been constructed in the yard, making it easy to access the few dozen tables where they’d eventually dine, beneath the vault of a massive white tent. There were five or six intricately carved ice sculptures, large enough to hold their form for hours, but what really drew her interest were the flowers: The grounds were a sea of brilliant gladiolus and lilies.

The crowd was pretty much what she’d expected. Aside from Will, the only guests she knew were Scott, Ashley, and Cassie, and none of them were particularly thrilled to see her. Not that it mattered much. Once people took their seats, everyone, with the possible exception of Will, was focused on Megan’s imminent appearance. Will seemed content to fix his eyes on Ronnie from his spot near the trellis.

She wanted to remain as unobtrusive as possible, so she chose a seat about three rows from the back and away from the aisle. So far, she hadn’t seen Susan, who was probably fussing over Megan, and she prayed she wouldn’t notice Ronnie until after the ceremony. If she had her way, Susan wouldn’t notice her then, either, but that was probably unlikely, since she would be spending so much time with Will.

“Excuse me,” she heard someone say. Looking up, she saw an older man and his wife trying to slip past her to the empty seats on the far side of her.

“It’s probably easier if I scoot down,” she offered.

“Are you sure?”

“It’s no problem at all,” she said, moving over to the last empty seat to make room. The man seemed vaguely familiar to her, but the only thing that came to mind, the only possible connection, was the aquarium, and that didn’t feel quite right.

Before she could dwell on it further, a string quartet started the first strains of the “Wedding March.” She looked over her shoulder toward the house, along with everyone around her. She heard an audible gasp when Megan appeared at the top of the veranda stairs. As she began to move down the steps toward her father waiting at the bottom, Ronnie made the instantaneous decision that Megan was without doubt the most dazzling bride she’d ever seen.

Captivated by the sight of Will’s sister, she barely registered the fact that the elderly man beside her seemed more interested in scrutinizing her than Megan.

The ceremony was elegant and yet surprisingly intimate. The pastor read from Second Corinthians, and then Megan and Daniel recited vows they’d written together. They promised patience when it was easy to be impatient, candor when it was easier to lie, and in their own ways, each recognized the fact that real commitment could be proven only through the passage of time.

As Ronnie watched them exchange rings, she appreciated that they’d decided on an outdoor wedding. It was less traditional than the church weddings she’d been to, but somehow still formal, and the setting was picture perfect.

She also knew that Will was right: She was going to like Megan. In the weddings she’d been to, she always had the sense that the brides were intent on pulling off an act, and more than once, she’d seen brides get upset if anything deviated from the script. Megan, on the other hand, seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself. As her father walked her up the aisle, she winked at some friends and stopped to give her grandmother a hug. When the ring bearer—barely a toddler and cute as a bug in his little tuxedo—stopped halfway up the aisle and crawled into his mother’s lap, Megan laughed in delight, defusing the momentary tension.

Afterward, Megan was less interested in staging more magazine-worthy wedding photos than in visiting with her guests. She was, Ronnie thought, either incredibly confident or utterly clueless about all the stress her mother had incurred over every last wedding detail. Even from a distance, Ronnie could tell that nothing was going quite the way Susan had envisioned.

“You owe me a dance,” she heard Will whisper.

Turning, she was struck anew by how handsome he was. “I don’t believe that was part of our deal,” she said. “You said you just wanted me to attend the wedding.”

“What? You don’t want to dance with me?”

“There’s no music.”

“I mean later.”

“Oh,” she said. “Well, in that case, I might consider it. But shouldn’t you be posing for pictures?”

“I’ve been doing that for hours. I needed a break.”

“Too much smiling hurts your cheeks?”

“Something like that. Oh, I’m supposed to tell you that you’re going to be eating at table sixteen with Scott, Ashley, and Cassie.”

Bummer
. “Great,” she said.

He laughed. “It won’t be as bad as you think. They’ll be on their best behavior. Otherwise my mom would probably lop off their heads.”

It was Ronnie’s turn to laugh. “Tell your mom she did a wonderful job getting all this organized. It’s beautiful here.”

“I will,” he said. He continued to stare at her until both of them heard his name being called. When they turned, Ronnie thought Megan showed a trace of amusement at her brother having wandered off. “I have to get back,” he said. “But I’ll come find you at dinner. And don’t forget about our dance later.”

He really was heartbreakingly handsome, she thought again. “I should warn you that my feet are already hurting.”

He put one hand over his heart. “I promise not to make fun of you if you limp.”

“Gee, thanks.”

He leaned in and kissed her. “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”

She smiled, still tasting his lips on hers. “Not for at least twenty minutes. But you better go. You’re needed elsewhere, and I don’t want to get in trouble.”

He kissed her before rejoining the rest of the wedding party. Feeling a rush of contentment, she turned around, only to see the elderly man she’d made room for at the ceremony watching her again.

At dinner, Scott, Cassie, and Ashley made little attempt to include her in their conversation, but she found she didn’t really care. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to them, nor was she hungry. Instead, after nibbling a few bites, she excused herself and headed toward the veranda. The porch gave her a panoramic view of the festivities, which somehow were even more enchanting in the dark. Under the moon’s silvery spell, the tents seemed to be glowing. She could hear strains of conversation blending with the music from the band, which was now playing, and she found herself wondering what she would have been doing back home tonight had she stayed in New York. As the summer had progressed, she’d spoken to Kayla less and less often. Though she still considered her a friend, she realized that she didn’t miss the world she’d left behind. She hadn’t thought about going to a club in weeks, and when Kayla talked about the latest, greatest guy she’d met, Ronnie found her thoughts wandering to Will. She knew that whomever Kayla was fixated on was absolutely nothing like Will.

She didn’t talk much about Will to Kayla. Kayla knew they were still seeing each other, but every time she mentioned the things they’d done—whether it was fishing or mudding or walking the beach—she had the feeling that Kayla was on another wavelength entirely. Kayla wasn’t able to grasp the fact that Ronnie was happy simply being with Will, and Ronnie couldn’t help wondering what that would mean for their friendship when she returned to New York. She knew she’d changed in the weeks she’d been down here, while Kayla, it seemed, hadn’t changed at all. Ronnie realized she had no interest in going to clubs anymore. Thinking back, she wondered why she’d been so interested in them in the first place—the music was loud, and everyone was on the make. And if everything was supposed to be so great, why did everyone drink or do drugs in the hope of enhancing their experience? It didn’t make sense to her, but as the ocean sounded in the distance, she suddenly knew that it never had.

She also wanted a better relationship with her mom. At the very least, her dad had taught her that parents could be okay. Though she was under no illusions that her mom trusted her the way her dad did, she knew the tension cut both ways in their relationship. Maybe if she tried talking to her mom in the same way she talked to her dad, things would begin to improve between them.