I Plan on Forever (Never #3)

by Stefanie Jenkins

  I watch them as their eyes quickly go back and forth, reading their brother’s shitty handwriting.

  “Wow, who knew my brother was so romantic?” Kate says before handing me back the letter and taking a sip of her wine.

  “Seriously, that was something I would read in one of my romance novels, not something I would ever expect someone to experience in real life. Love doesn’t happen for everyone. A love like yours and yours…” Lauren looks over at Haylee. “…is rare and not found often.”

  I watch sadness fill her face as she takes a long swig of her wine.

  “It could still happen for you.” I don’t know much about Lauren’s past relationships—in fact, as I think about it now, I don’t think she has really seen anyone since we met. “Maybe you’ll find yourself a handsome single man at the wedding and get your happily ever after.”

  Lauren swirls her finger over the top of her wine glass and stares blankly into it. “Nah. I had that once-in-a-lifetime love before, and it didn’t work out.”

  I watch Kate and Lauren share a look before they both take a drink. Lauren ends up finishing the contents of her glass. When my eyes meet Lauren’s again, I recognize a sadness behind them I once saw in myself. I choose not to push the subject.

  Things I have learned about the Lawson twins: if they don’t want to talk about it, you don’t push it.

  I just give Lauren a reassuring smile, and she gives one back, but I can see it’s fake. Clearly, this is a touchy subject for her, one that I am honestly surprised has never come up before. But judging by the sadness on her face, I understand why. No one wants to talk about the heartache they went through.

  But I have faith that maybe one day she will be happy again. I never believed that I would find love again after losing Emmett, but here I am the night before marrying the love of my life. Kyler filled all of the broken holes of my heart and brought me out of the darkness. If it could happen to me, it could happen to my future sister-in-law.

  “So, enough serious love talk tonight,” a rather drunk Haylee says, lifting her wineglass in the air, sloshing a little over. She makes a funny face. “Oops, I’ll just blame that spot on Zach or Emme later.” She laughs.

  “Okay, so first, this girl needs a refill.” Haylee holds up a bottle and hands it to Lauren to refill. “Then we will gossip all the funny Kyler Lawson stories growing up, and then I have a special treat for the bride-to-be.”

  She gets up and walks over to the entertainment center and pulls out a Blu-ray of My Girl, my ultimate favorite movie. I can’t help but smile even more. I think about all the times I have made Kyler watch this. I’m pretty sure he can quote scenes now too, but back in the day, he thought Thomas J. and Vada Sultenfuss were real people I was hanging out with and not characters in my favorite movie.

  I clap my hands in excitement. “Okay, I agree on all of this, but I can’t stay up too late. Someone has to go get married tomorrow.” I laugh, rising from the chair, and walk toward the couch, joining the rest of the girls. “Now scoot over, bitches. Make room for the bride.”

  As I settle down on the couch in between Haylee and Lauren, I feel a tug on my shirt. I look to my left and find Lauren smiling, looking me up and down.

  “You know, that last name looks good on you.”

  “Thanks. I think so too.”

  I wake up to my phone buzzing on the nightstand. I reach for it with a smile on my face.

  Ky: Good morning, beautiful. Guess what today is?

  Me: Hmm…what?

  Of course I know what today is. Oh my God, it’s my wedding day, but l want to see where Kyler is going with this. Plus, I love to mess with him.

  Me: Good morning to you, too, by the way.

  Ky: I’ll give you a hint. U + Me = 4ever

  Just when I thought the smile on my face couldn’t get any bigger. I think my cheeks might actually hurt from smiling so big.

  Me: I can’t wait to marry you.

  Ky: Same, baby. I’ll be the one down by the altar.

  Me: Good to know. I’ll be the one in white, in case you couldn’t find me.

  Ky: Hmm. White, huh? I thought that meant you were supposed to be pure, and those things you do with that mouth of yours are anything but pure.

  I feel my cheeks redden. Is he seriously trying to have phone sex right now?

  Me: Just think…the next time I do that, I will be your wife.

  Ky: Hell, yes! I can’t wait.

  Ky: Well, the moms should be there soon. They just dropped off coffee here and said they were headed over to you to get ready.

  Me: You mean, I don’t get to go back to bed? Boo!

  Ky: Nope! You’ve got big important things to do.

  As I go to respond, the door flies open and my best friend comes running, jumping on the bed pouncing on me with more energy than I expected her to after all she drank last night.

  How is she not hung over?

  “Oh, hell no, missy. What do you think you’re doing?” she scolds.

  “What?”

  “No talking to the groom.” Haylee grabs the phone right out of my hand.

  “Hey, give me that! And I’m pretty sure it’s that you’re not supposed to see the groom before the wedding, not talk to him.”

  She waves her hand, ignoring me as she types a message.

  “What are you doing?” I lunge for her, but she is too quick.

  I guess her reflexes are better now that she’s a mom and always needing to act quickly when it comes to Emme. She finishes her message and tosses the phone back on the bed. I grab for my phone to see what possible trouble she just caused.

  Me: Stop texting the bride, Mister. She loves you. She can’t wait to marry you. Blah Blah Blah. She’s spending her last few hours as a single woman with us. P.S. Tell my hubby that I missed him last night. *wink face*

  “Gross! Really, Hails?”

  She shrugs and smiles slyly, but before she can respond, the doorbell rings and she leaves the room.

  My phone buzzes.

  Ky: Ha! Phone got hijacked, huh? Aye-aye, boss.

  Me: She left the room. I think the moms have arrived. But she got one thing right, I do love you, and I can’t wait to marry you. XoXo.

  Ky: I love you too, baby. I’ll see you soon at the end of the aisle.

  I toss my phone back on the bed and throw my hair up in a messy bun before making my way out to the living room to meet everyone.

  When I turn the corner to the living room, I see a familiar blonde.

  “Aria! You made it!” I run to her and wrap my arms around my friend. We sway side to side excitedly in a hug. “When did you get in?”

  Aria opens her mouth to speak but is quickly cut off by Kate grumbling behind her. “It was about two in the morning.”

  I cock my head, trying to piece together the tension.

  Aria shrugs. “It was late when the guys dropped me off. You know, my brother and I were on the road for three years, and we never experienced traffic as bad as 695. I was exhausted, and it was dark. I said I’m sorry.” She turns in Kate’s direction before turning back to me, grimacing. “I kind of tripped over her.”

  I begin to laugh when I notice that Kate is on an air mattress close to the front door.

  My laughter increases when Kate rises and stomps over to the bathroom dramatically, mumbling, “If by kind of, you mean fell fully on top of, then yes.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t have been so close to the front door,” Aria responds sassily.

  I love how perfectly she blends in with this group.

  Kate closes the bathroom door with a little more force than necessary.

  I have to wipe the tears in my eyes from laughter. “Don’t mind her. She is not a morning person.”

  “Huh. You don’t say? And here I thought I wasn’t a morning person.”

  I wrap my arm around Aria, pulling her in for another hug. “I’m so glad you guys are here.”

  “Me too. You know we wouldn’t miss it.”

&nb
sp; At that moment, my mom, Liz, and Natalie walk in with a tray full of breakfast pastries and trays of Starbucks coffees.

  I stand and kiss each one of their cheeks. Natalie pulls the first coffee off her tray and hands it to me. “Coffee with almond milk for the bride.”

  I inhale the delicious aroma and take a seat back on the couch.

  Natalie and Liz pass out coffee to all the girls, and Mom walks back into the kitchen to grab the second tray of pastries.

  Aria accepts the coffee from Haylee’s mom and moans when she brings the cup to her mouth. “Oh my God, you are going to be my best friend today.”

  I giggle. “Rough trip?”

  She narrows her eyes at me. “Girl, you have no idea. I hope Hunter got some rest.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be fine. I left a tray of cinnamon rolls in the kitchen at home, just for him.” I take another sip of coffee and feel myself coming to life as well.

  “And he will be your best friend today or possibly forever. He was hoping he could have some before we left.” Aria smiles, reaching for a pastry from the table.

  We all settle into our seats in the living room, sipping coffee and munching on delicious pastries.

  “Okay, so before the stylists get here, Dani, I wanted to give you something,” my mom says, reaching into her bag.

  Natalie clears her throat, and Mom rolls her eyes. I can’t help but laugh as I see so much of Haylee and me in our moms.

  “Okay, we have something for you.”

  I adjust myself on the couch, along with Haylee, Aria, and Lauren. Kate has emerged from the bathroom and is currently curled up in my brother’s favorite chair.

  “As you know, there is a wedding tradition of having something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.”

  I nod, as I’m familiar with the tradition. When we were planning the wedding, Mom told me not to worry about it, that she would be taking care of it.

  “So, first is from me: your something old.”

  My mom walks in front of me and hands me a long velvet box. I open it and my hand rushes to my mouth. In front of me is an infinity loop with a diamond in the center. “Mom, it’s gorgeous.”

  She takes it out of the box and reaches for the clasp. “This was given to me on my wedding day by my mother, and she was given it by hers.” She leans over to hook the clasp behind my neck. “One day, you will give this to your daughter on her wedding day.”

  I look down and run my thumb over the diamond and feel a rush of emotion hit me.

  “Mom, I don’t know what to say.” I swallow hard.

  She cups my cheeks with her soft hands. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to say anything.”

  She leans over and kisses my cheek before rising to her feet and stepping to the side. My future mother-in-law, Liz, takes her place in front of me.

  “Today, I get to add a new daughter to my family officially. You make my son so happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for Kyler—for him to be happy. I knew from the moment I met you that you had captured my son’s heart. I also knew that he had done the same for you.”

  I have to wipe away a stray tear. Haylee puts a reassuring hand on my knee.

  “I have spent a lifetime raising him to be the amazing man he is today. While I will always be his mom, it’s now your turn to be the leading lady in his life.”

  The tears are fully flowing now.

  “I hope that you love each other, support each other, and choose each other every day of your lives. I hope you embrace him for who he is, the good, the bad, and everything in between. This is your something new that is from Lauren, Kate, and me.” Liz hands me a small box with the lid open.

  The sparkle of the diamond earrings catches my eyes.

  “This is just too much.” I look over at Kate and Lauren, and their smiles match their mom’s.

  “It’s not, Dani. You’re the most important person in my brother’s life, and this is nothing in comparison to the love you two have for each other,” Kate says through teary eyes.

  Lauren clears her throat, clearly already a blubbering mess. “The diamonds are to shine bright just like the light you have brought into Kyler’s life.”

  “Thank you so much,” I manage to choke out. I rise to my feet and wrap my arms around Liz.

  “I love you,” she whispers.

  “I love you too,” I respond.

  “All right, ladies, we are never going to get through this without losing it. Oh hell, who are we kidding, mine is definitely going to bring on the waterworks.” Natalie moves from where she is sitting to close to me.

  She wastes no time in handing me a small bag. I feel like a little kid on Christmas, but I pause for a moment to see if she has more to say.

  “Go on, sweetheart, and open it.”

  “Don’t have to tell me twice,” I laugh. I reach into the bag and pull out a small hairpin with a heart on the end.

  “So, this might not seem like much, but this is the same ‘something borrowed’ that I lent your mom on her wedding day.”

  My eyes widen, and I turn to my mom, who is nodding her head. My heart feels whole right now, knowing that two of these items are the same things my mother wore when she married my dad.

  “Just like you and Haylee, your mom and I have been best friends all our lives. Having that one person always by your side through the good times and the bad is so important.” Natalie looks over at the wall where the collage of frames currently hangs, the same group of photos that had my attention the day I first arrived.

  I don’t need to look to know exactly what holds her attention.

  “Danielle, you deserve all the happiness and love in the world, and I am thankful to be a part of this day and watch the love grow between you and Kyler.”

  My mind travels back to the talk we had the weekend of my mom’s birthday when Ky and my relationship went public. She sat on the swing with me, helping me work through my feelings.

  “Em only ever wanted you to be happy, and I’ve watched you with Kyler, and I think he makes you happy… Does he?”

  I smile a true smile, not a forced one, and nod. “Yeah, he does…”

  I didn’t realize at that moment how happy Kyler would make me.

  “Guess that means it’s my turn now.” Haylee slaps my leg and stands.

  She walks out of the room, I assume to her and Zach’s bedroom, and returns with a box. Haylee takes a seat where she was sitting before next to me. She pulls her feet underneath her and shifts to face me.

  “You and I have been best friends since birth, but the difference between most best friends and us is that we grew up more like sisters. I couldn’t have been happier when I believed one day you would actually become my sister, but life was cruel and took that away from us.” She begins to choke on her words and takes a deep breath.

  I try to give her strength by squeezing her hand.

  She gives me a brief smile and continues. “I thought our chance to become officially sisters was lost, but fate had it otherwise. We finally got to share the same last name for these past six months. Today you change your last name, but nothing else will change between us. You have so many titles in my life: best friend, sister, godmother, therapist, dance partner, and partner in crime. I don’t know what I would do without you in my life. We just call those years without you the lost years.”

  We both laugh. Hails hands me a box with a pretty blue bow. “Well, if you haven’t figured out already from getting a new, old, and borrowed item, I was in charge of blue.”

  I tear through the bow and lift the lid. I hold up a blue lace garter with the name Lawson embroidered in cursive writing.

  “Hails.” Her name comes out more of a whine than anything else. “I love it.”

  She smiles big. “I can’t wait to see Kyler’s face when he takes it off you with his teeth.” She waggles her eyebrows.

  And thank you, Haylee, for making this sweet moment awkward. She clearly spends too much time with my brother. I look arou
nd the room; Kate and Lauren are both cringing, and I can’t hold back my laugh.

  A soft throat-clearing next to me brings my attention to Aria. “I have a little something for you too.” She stands and walks over to her bag by the door. “I had texted Haylee and asked her where you and Kyler went on your first date. She told me he took you to a festival at the park with food trucks, so I made you this.”

  She spins a canvas around, revealing a hand-painted picture of a park with a food truck and a couple sitting at a picnic table. Aria is such a talented painter.

  “I know you loved looking at all of the paintings in my studio in Hunter’s garage while you guys were visiting, so I thought you might like an Aria Matthews original.”

  “Aria, it’s beautiful. I can’t wait to show it to Ky.”

  Kate stands next to Aria, admiring the painting. “You made that?”

  Aria nods before handing me the canvas.

  “That’s really awesome. It looks like we may some things in common, and I might just be able to forgive you for falling on me.”

  Kate is also a very talented artist. We actually have a few of her drawings hanging in our house.

  I place the canvas on the coffee table along with my other presents. “Having you all here with me, there really are no words. You all mean the world to me.” I wipe my eyes again. “Shit, I didn’t think I would cry this much, and it’s only just the beginning of the day.”

  There is so much love in this room; I’m not even sure what to do with it. New friends and old ones surround me. It doesn’t matter that we’re not all blood-related; these people here are all my family. Before I can say something more to spark the waterworks, there is a knock at the door.

  My mom opens the door and in walks our hairstylist, Karen, and her assistant along with the makeup artist, Amelia. “Who’s ready to get wedding fabulous?”

  Everyone cheers and stands. Haylee escorts them to the kitchen where we will be getting ready. I take in the scene, and my smile widens.

  Oh, my God, it’s my wedding day. Let’s do this.