Page 118 of The Last Goodbye

She plopped down beside me as I pulled the gift from the box. It was a photo album. The cover had a picture of her and William that had obviously been taken sometime over the last few years.

I flipped the pages, and she had dates and notes for every photo she’d included: baby pictures of Briar, photos from her kindergarten graduation, and pictures from Christmas and Easter and different milestones at school.

“You were a cute fucking kid,” I said with a laugh. “Of course you never had an awkward stage.”

As I flipped through the pages, my chest ached as I read the notes beside each photo. She was letting him into the life that he’d missed. She’d taken the time to find every important moment to share with him.

“Stop it. I was incredibly awkward. You’re just feeling sorry for me because my stepmother is the stuff that nightmares are made of. I was a late bloomer, so I looked like I was twelve years old when I was in high school.”

She chuckled as she pointed to different photos, giving me the backstory on each one. “Oh my gosh, this one was my sweet sixteen. My mom and Granny made all my favorite foods and invited way too many friends over to surprise me. Our apartment was tiny, but they somehow managed to shove around twenty teenagers in there.”

“I want to see a photo of your mother and your grandmother,” I said, because obviously they weren’t in this book.

She pulled out her phone and opened an album, and my eyes widened when I saw a photo of Briar’s mother, Josephine. “You look just like her,” I said.

“Yeah, everyone says that.” She shrugged and then pointed to a photo of her grandmother, who had a smile that reached her eyes.

I spent the next ten minutes looking at photos of her with her mom and grandmother, noting the way they were always laughing and smiling. You could actually see the strong emotional connection in the photos.

“I wish I could have met them,” I said as she took her phone back, because it was time for us to go.

“Me, too. But maybe people come into your lives at just the right time.” She stood and pulled her small purse over her head and shoulder.

“What do you mean?”

She reached for the door handle and glanced over her shoulder to look at me. “I know we haven’t known each other for all that long, but the way you speak to me. The way you look at me. The way you show up for me. I haven’t had that in a long time. Turns out you came into my life at the exact time that I needed you to be here, Bass Bennett.”

Her words hit me hard.

“The same could be said for you.” I wrapped my arms around her, my lips finding the shell of her ear. “You’re everything I never knew I needed.”

And that was the damn truth.

twenty-eight

​. . .​

Briar

We’d been back in Blue Sky Bay for a week, and I still laughed every time I thought of Bass at my father’s birthday party.

He was hit on by multiple older women, and then he somehow found his way into the kitchen and became friends with the chef (of course) before I’d dragged him out onto the dance floor.

And we ended up having a great time.

Tabitha stayed clear of me, aside from a few snide comments about my black cocktail dress being too low-cut and my laugh being too loud.

For whatever reason, it didn’t bother me the way it normally did. Having Bass by my side made an enormous difference.

He and Denton had hit it off, and Jessica had opened up much more to me over this past weekend. I was grateful that I’d gone and that Bass had come with me.

“I’m so happy you guys could all be here for this,” Gracie said as we sat on the couch in the most beautiful bridal boutique in Blue Sky Bay. Gracie’s mom, Presley, and Cutler’s mom, Emerson, were both here, along with me and Tatum. Jovi was in Italy, but she was a close friend as well, so we’d had her on FaceTime for the last thirty minutes. I’d met Bass’s sister via FaceTime many times now, and I couldn’t wait to meet her in person.

“Okay, I’ve loved all the options I’ve seen,” Jovi said. “Take photos of the next few dresses, please, and send them to me. I need to get some sleep.”

“Okay, thanks for being here,” Gracie said. She wore the most gorgeous white fitted gown, covered in beads. “Love you, Jov.”

“Love you, too. And Briar, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Ciao!” She waved, and I ended the call. Bass always spoke to her on Sunday evenings, so we’d be chatting more then.