Riley stared at me like I’d just suggested something completely unhinged, her eyes wide with the particular disbelief reserved for things that genuinely shouldn’t need explaining.

"How could you say that? These two kids are just as much my responsibility as they are yours. I’m asking for one — not even half of one," I said.

Harlan, who had been sitting quietly through all of this, looked between us with his brow pulling together in real confusion. "Wait — what do you mean, your responsibility? What exactly happened here?" The color drained from his face in a slow, visible wave. "Hold on... you two didn’t...?" He slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes blown wide. "Does Lewis know? Riley, how could you — no wonder she lost so much weight when you disappeared for a while!"

I could not believe what I was hearing. All I could do was laugh and get to my feet, giving Harlan a light smack on the side of his head. "Stop making things up. Janice and I are sisters — blood sisters. Nothing more."

He clutched his chest with the full theatrical commitment of someone who had genuinely frightened himself. "You really scared me. I thought she didn’t like me because she... liked women!"

I crossed my arms and looked at him with the patience of someone who had long since made peace with the situation. He had the face and the build, and absolutely nothing going on upstairs to accompany either. "With that brain of yours, it’s no wonder she never gave you the time of day."

"Riley, you two are so close — can’t you put in a good word for me? You’ve already got two kids and I can’t even get a girlfriend."

I shot Riley a sideways look. She was forever sending me pictures of good-looking men with great enthusiasm, yet somehow she held out against Harlan’s particular brand of charm without even blinking. Maybe the appeal for her was in the chase — wanting something that stayed just far enough out of reach to remain interesting. I waved my hand. "I’m not a matchmaker. What exactly do you want me to do about it?" Harlan sighed with the weight of a man the entire world had failed, and shuffled off after Riley, thoroughly sulking.

Vivian had made the trip in from the countryside specifically to visit, arriving with a basket of fresh eggs — chicken and duck both — and two tiny tabby kittens tucked carefully against her side. "These are from our cat," she said, beaming with the particular pride of someone presenting something they’ve looked forward to giving. "I remember you liked cats when you were little." Snowflake, who had once arrived as a stray and was now enormous, had apparently produced offspring that looked impossibly small by comparison. I reached out and stroked one of their soft little heads gently. Newly weaned, probably brought over the moment they were ready to leave their mother.

"Is everything set for the wedding?" I asked.

"Lewis went over everything several times just to be certain, but it’s all ready," Vivian said. Then her eyes went soft in a way she wasn’t quick enough to contain, and a tear slipped free before she could catch it. "As long as you two are happy — that’s all that matters."

"Yeah," I said quietly. This happiness had been hard-won. I understood its weight better than most.

Time moved faster than I expected. Even spending every day with Lewis and our six-month-old twins, my stomach still knotted whenever I let myself think too directly about the wedding. The babies had finally dropped their late-night feedings, and asleep, they looked like something from a dream — small and peaceful and entirely themselves. I gently eased Everett’s little hand out of Everly’s mouth. She made a soft sound of protest without waking, and I smiled despite myself. Even in sleep, they reached for each other.

I had barely closed my eyes when I heard the balcony door ease open. Lewis slipped inside, quiet as instinct.

"Didn’t we agree the bride and groom weren’t supposed to see each other the night before?" I asked, watching him without moving.

He closed the door without a sound and walked toward me, something warm and unhurried settling in his expression. "I couldn’t stand being away from my mate and our kids." A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, unrepentant.

"Then why not use the front door?"

"Sneaking in felt more fitting."

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, and I didn’t argue. I curled into his chest and let that familiar pull of him settle over me like a second skin, and I was asleep before I could say another word.

The next morning, just before sunrise, Lewis nudged me gently awake. "Riley. Time to get up."

"A few more minutes," I mumbled into the pillow.

He pressed a kiss to my cheek, unhurried. "Come on, darling. We’re going to miss our own wedding."

My eyes snapped open.

I had been so wrapped in the comfort of ordinary days that I had almost let the most important morning of my life sneak past me unnoticed. I scrambled upright, and within minutes the makeup artist and stylist arrived in a controlled flurry of bags and brushes, the room filling with purposeful noise. Lewis had already slipped away to the groom’s side to prepare for the procession.

By the time they finished, I barely recognized the person in the mirror. Riley stood nearby in her pale pink bridesmaid dress, phone raised, quietly capturing everything. "Seeing you like this — married, kids, all of it," she said softly. "It feels unreal. Like I’m watching my own life play out in front of me."

"It’s like I’m at my own funeral," I said without thinking.

"Don’t you dare say that! Funeral? Riley, you had better be happy from now on. That is an order."

"I will," I said, smiling, and moved to hug her.

Then I saw her face go completely still — pupils wide, color gone.

I turned around. Harlan was standing in the doorway. He was supposed to be with Lewis on the groom’s side, but here he was, clearly having caught at least the last part of what we’d said. He walked slowly toward Riley, his voice dropping low. "What did you mean — seeing your body getting married?"

"Nothing," Riley said quickly, her voice not quite steady. "You heard wrong."