The Best Laid Plans (Chicago Sisters Book 2)

by Amy Vastine

  Emma sat up and wiped her face with the back of her hand. “I’m in love with him. I’m in my-life-is-never-going-to-be-the-same love with him.”

  “Oh, honey, that’s great.” Her mom tried to help dry her eyes. “So why are you crying?”

  “Serious Sister Business, Mom,” Lucy replied.

  “Oh, no. Don’t you three start with that again. I didn’t like it when you were teenagers and I don’t like it now. If there’s something going on, you should be able to tell your mother.”

  Emma hadn’t told anyone what had happened at the hospital on Monday. She knew if she talked about it, she would ruin the entire wedding. She’d tried burying herself in last-minute wedding plans to block out the pain from the gaping hole in her chest. It had sort of worked until today. Until she saw him and knew she couldn’t let him go.

  “I met his sister on Sunday, but I didn’t know it was his sister. I accused him of dating other people right after he found out I actually did date another person. Now he loves me but can’t be with me because he thinks I don’t love him back.”

  “I knew it was a misunderstanding. You owe me two pints of ice cream from the Triple C,” Kendall said, pointing at Lucy.

  “Are we sure it’s his sister or did he just say it was his sister?”

  “It was his sister, Lucy,” Emma said with a sniffle. “His sister was here for his dad’s retirement party.

  “Well, sounds like you blew it,” Lucy said matter-of-factly.

  “You just have to make things right. When he knows you love him, everything will work out,” Kendall said, always the-glass-is-half-full to Lucy’s half-empty.

  “He said he’s given up on me. He deserves better than someone who’s afraid he’s not the right choice.” Emma dissolved into tears again. She had been afraid. Stupid and afraid. Charlie was the only choice. Her not-perfect perfect match.

  “I can kind of see where he’s coming from,” Lucy said, earning glares from her mother and Kendall. “Well, he’s right. She was so afraid of not following her plan she didn’t go all in with Charlie. You know how I feel about love. I don’t believe in the fantasy, but I do believe lots of people settle for much less than they deserve. I think he did the right thing.”

  “But she does love him,” Kendall argued. “He wouldn’t be settling. He’d be getting exactly what he’s wanted from the beginning. She just needs to prove it to him.”

  There was a knock at the door, and the church’s wedding coordinator stuck her head in. “Five minutes, ladies.”

  Their mother sprung into action. “All right,” she said, clapping her hands together. “This pity party is over. We have a wedding to get ready for. And you—” she put two fingers under Emma’s chin and tipped her head up “—are going to fix your makeup and be happy for your sister. And after you get through this day with grace and dignity, you are going to be honest with Charlie and let him know that he can give up if he wants, but you plan to fight for his heart because that’s what he deserves.”

  “Oh, that’s good,” Kendall said, impressed with their mother’s advice. “I think we should let Mom in on all Serious Sister Business from now on.”

  “That’s why you’re my favorite,” Maureen said, giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead.

  “Hey!” Lucy protested.

  “Today. She’s my favorite today. Be good and you can be my favorite tomorrow.”

  Emma almost laughed. She took a deep breath and dug deep to find her grace and humility. Her mom was right. Get through the wedding and then be what Charlie deserved. That was the best plan yet.

  * * *

  SAINT CLEMENT HAD BEEN built in 1917 and was an amazing piece of art and architecture. With seventy-three stained-glass windows and a majestic circle of angels gazing down from the eighty-foot-high heavenly dome, it was a sight for all to behold. Kendall and her artistic heart had been enamored of the building since she was little. Every Sunday, she’d sit in the pew and take in all the intricate details, never hearing a word the priest said.

  When she married Trevor, he had wanted to get married in his parents’ church and Kendall had given in. She had called it a compromise. Lucy and Emma had called it him being controlling. That was the main reason Emma wanted her to have this wedding instead of a simple exchange of vows at the courthouse. The only place Kendall should be pledging her undying love was in the church she loved, as well.

  The music started and so did the processional. The royal blue cocktail dress Lucy had found last week on a clearance rack actually looked quite regal. Her blond hair was neatly rolled into a classic Grace Kelly updo and the red roses she had stolen from one of the arrangements on the altar made an acceptable replacement for the smushed freesia.

  She was followed by the two most adorable ring bearers known to man. Aidan and Simon were symbols of Max’s and Kendall’s pasts, but also their future as a family. The boys held hands, both clearly needing the other to muster up the courage to walk down the long aisle in front of a lot of unfamiliar faces. They were proof that you didn’t need to share blood to be family, only love and understanding.

  Emma was next. She smoothed down her ruby-red skirt, hoping no one would notice any wrinkles. The strapless crimson dress was shorter than she liked but had been the one that left Charlie speechless when he helped her pick one out a couple weeks ago.

  She closed her eyes and reminded herself to breathe. Charlie was going to be standing next to Max, watching her, loathing her for breaking his heart. She needed to suck it up and do this for Kendall.

  Emma placed one foot in front of the other and made her way to the altar. She felt as if there was a spotlight on her as she approached the rest of the wedding party. The heat of her blush ran down her neck and across her chest. Focusing her eyes forward, she tried not to let them drift over to the man standing on Max’s left, but his pull was undeniable.

  Her heart stuttered when she noticed he was staring a hole in the ground between his feet. He couldn’t even look at her. There was no way he was going to listen to anything she had to say. The disappointment rattled her as she took her place next to Lucy and shifted her gaze back down the aisle.

  The guests all stood as the music changed and Kendall and their father entered the main sanctuary. When the doors opened, light from the church foyer backlit the bride and her dad. Their silhouette stepped forward and everyone got their first glimpse of the beautiful bride.

  Kendall had never looked so lovely. Her dress was simple this time around—a cream-colored gown with an empire waist. There was some sparkle on the bodice, but the rest of it was a soft chiffon.

  Emma peeked at Max, who raised his fist to his mouth as he was overcome with emotion. When their father and Kendall reached him, Max thanked her dad for trusting him to be her partner. Kendall’s eyes welled with tears. Max quickly helped her wipe one away with his thumb before she took his arm.

  “You’re absolutely breathtaking,” he whispered, bringing tears to Emma’s eyes, too.

  Just over Max’s shoulder, she spotted Charlie. This time his stare was solely focused on Emma. The irrepressible urge to shout, “I love you! Please don’t give up on me!” overcame her, but the priest began the ceremony and Charlie looked away.

  This was Kendall and Max’s moment. Emma’s would come.

  The ceremony was short and sweet. They exchanged traditional vows, and with Simon and Aidan, filled a vase full of four different-colored sands to represent their new blended family. When the priest finally said it was time to kiss the bride, Max sighed with exaggerated relief. He dipped his new wife and kissed her with the flair of a Hollywood movie star.

  Husband and wife made their way down the aisle, smiling at friends and family as they passed. Emma stepped toward the center. This was the moment she dreaded the most. Charlie stood beside her and offered his arm. She feared she wouldn
’t be able to let him go when they got to the end. With shaking hands, she roped her arm around his, linking elbows. His eyes were fixed on Kendall and Max as they followed them out.

  A reassuring warmth flowed through Emma as they walked. Just touching him centered her, made her feel safe. But the moment they crossed the threshold, Charlie slipped his arm out of hers. His silent rebuke left another tender welt on her already broken spirit. How was she ever going to get him to believe she was sorry and would be worth his trouble if he couldn’t stand to be near her for more than a few seconds?

  Emma was going to have to get creative.

  * * *

  THE WEST SIDE LOFT was located on the top floor of the Aberdeen Art Center. Somehow, even with spectacular, unobstructed views of the entire Chicago skyline, it was still a hidden gem.

  Kendall knew many of the artists who had studios in the building and had taken Emma to a private art show there a few months back. Kendall loved the exposed-brick walls and wood-beamed ceilings. When Emma found out they rented the space for private events, she knew it was the perfect spot for the reception. The guests would even be able to see the fireworks over Lake Michigan later in the evening.

  Dinner was served after some light appetizers were passed around. Gianna’s sisters reminded Emma of her and her sisters. They looked alike but each had her own unique personality. More important, they cooked a delicious meal that left everyone full and satisfied.

  After dinner, it was time for the two speeches. The best man was scheduled to go first and then the maid of honor. Emma had written her speech shortly after Max and Kendall’s engagement. She pulled the paper out of her clutch only to grab the pictures of her and Charlie from the wedding they’d crashed. She had forgotten they were there. She held the photo strip in her lap. There were two silly photos, one of them both smiling at the camera and one of Emma staring up at Charlie with an expression of complete adoration.

  “Hi, everybody, my name is Charlie. I’m the soon-to-be former neighbor and best man of this guy.” He motioned toward Max but didn’t look at him. He hadn’t looked at Max all through dinner. Emma could only assume it was because she was seated on the other side of him.

  “I have watched this guy fall in love with this girl over the last year or so, and I can tell you that I’ve been a jealous man. I would love to have the kind of love they share.

  “Of course, there are a million reasons why we all shouldn’t be here tonight. It’s crazy that these two found each other. It’s even crazier that they fell in love. But here’s what I know about love. Love doesn’t care who your dad is. It doesn’t care if you’re scared or if you’ve been hurt before. Love demands to be felt. Love fights to be heard.”

  Emma’s throat tightened. Her love wanted to be heard. She tucked the pictures back in her clutch.

  “These two trusted and believed and here we all are on this beautiful night celebrating their love. I raise my glass to you. To Max and his Special K. May you always feel the love. Today, tomorrow, forever.”

  The sound of clinking glasses was followed by some applause for such a sweet and heartfelt speech. Kendall and Max both gave Charlie a hug as all eyes fell on Emma. She played with the worn edges of the paper that contained her speech and rose from her seat. The room fell silent and she didn’t have much time to consider her options.

  Desperate times called for desperate measures.

  “Hi, everybody.” She cleared her throat. This was going to be harder than she thought. She tossed her planned speech on the table. “My name is Emma. As most of you know, I’m Kendall’s younger sister. I had a speech. It was full of sweet little anecdotes about growing up with Kendall. I was going to address the elephant in the room and tell you about the first time I met Max and was rendered speechless because I was sure I was seeing a ghost. Then, it was going to end with a lovely wish for the happy couple. It was a solid speech, but it’s not the speech I’m going to give.”

  “Oh, here we go,” Lucy said. She was sitting next to Charlie, and she leaned forward on her elbows to get a good view of Emma making a complete fool of herself.

  But love didn’t care if you were a fool. It made you a fool.

  “Kendall and Max are going to have a great marriage. I’m not worried about my sister one bit because Max isn’t just her husband, he’s her friend.” Emma tried to swallow but her mouth had dried up like the Sahara Desert. “I had a friend.”

  “I wonder who that was,” Lucy whispered a little too loudly.

  Emma ignored Lucy and focused all her attention on Charlie. “I had a friend who made me laugh, made me feel like I was pretty on those days when I was feeling anything but. He didn’t only compliment my looks, though. He made me feel smart and generous. He told me he liked my confidence.”

  Charlie didn’t look away; his eyes stayed trained on her. It encouraged her to keep going.

  “But what he didn’t know was that I’m not as confident as I seem. It was an illusion. See, I had this life plan, and what I was really confident in was that plan. The plan included meeting a handsome doctor and falling madly in love.”

  She watched Charlie’s face crumble. Just keep listening, she wanted to say.

  “I didn’t fall in love with a doctor, though. I fell in love with my friend.”

  “Bam,” Lucy said with a giggle. Emma’s declaration made everyone a little giddy. Kendall’s smile cheered her on.

  “I fell in love with him and it was real. The kind that makes you fall asleep thinking about him and wake up hoping you’re going to see him that day. The kind of love that makes you freak out. Makes you think you’ve maybe lost your mind because how can you possibly be in love with this person? That wasn’t the plan. That wasn’t how you imagined your life was going to be, but there it was—a love demanding to be heard, demanding to be felt. And I felt it.”

  Emma stepped behind Max and Kendall and made her way over to Charlie, who stood up as she approached. Her heart thundered in her chest as the rest of the room fell away. He was the only one who mattered. She took a risk and reached for his hand.

  “I screwed up and I’ll probably screw up again because I have no idea what I’m doing. But I do know that I am in love with you. I have been in love with you since the first time you called me Nightingale. I was in love with you when you played jump rope with the O’Reilly girls. I was in love with you when you talked me into crashing that wedding and made some sweet widow’s night by dancing with her like her late husband had. I was in love with you when you kissed me on my sister’s couch. And I am in love with you right now.”

  Emma placed a hand on his chest and felt his heart pounding as hard and fast as hers.

  “You can give up on me if that’s what you think you have to do, but don’t do it because you think I don’t love you. I will never love anyone as much as I love you, Charlie Fletcher.”

  The silence in the room was deafening. It was possible that all the guests were holding their breath, waiting for Charlie to respond. He let go of her hand and cupped her cheek. Leaning forward, it was their foreheads that touched first.

  “Do you really mean it?” he whispered.

  “Every word.”

  “Then I’m going to trust you, because I love you, too, Nightingale.”

  Their lips connected and the entire room went wild. The hooting and hollering continued even after the kiss ended.

  “To Kendall and Max!” Emma shouted, raising her empty hand in the air. Kendall handed her a glass of champagne and they toasted not to one love, but two.

  The reception took on a completely different life after Emma made her declaration. She and Charlie danced and she introduced him to everyone in her extended family.

  “That was probably the most interesting speech I’ve ever heard at a wedding,” her aunt Debbie said when they stopped at her table.

  “
Definitely will be the one I’ll never forget,” Charlie said. His arm was wrapped securely around Emma’s waist. Nothing had ever felt so right.

  “Emma’s a good girl, but a lot like my sister, her mother. She’s a fighter. She wasn’t going to let you get away, you cute thing.” After everything that had happened today, this was what officially embarrassed her.

  “Emma, Charlie.” They turned and Owen snapped a picture of them with an old Polaroid camera. The photo popped out and he handed it to them with a marker. “I love this thing. Great idea.”

  Emma’s plan had been to have guests take pictures of themselves and write a note to Max and Kendall on the bottom of the photo. Charlie shook theirs until the image developed.

  “You want to write something or should I?” he asked.

  “I’m pretty sure they’ve heard enough from me for one night.”

  Charlie laughed and set the Polaroid on the table. He scribbled something down, but she couldn’t see.

  “What’s it say?”

  Charlie picked it up and held it out for her. Emma was careful to only touch the white edges. What he wrote at the bottom filled her heart with joy and her eyes with tears.

  Best. Wedding. Ever. Love, Charlie and his Nightingale.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “OH MY GOSH, when did you guys take this picture?” Emma pulled the oversize family photograph down off the mantel.

  Charlie peeked over her shoulder. That photographer had not been lying when she said she was a whiz with Photoshop. Every single person in his big, crazy family was smiling and looking at the camera. That did not happen in real life.

  “This was the weekend of my dad’s retirement party. There’s Becca when she was a huge pregnant lady.”

  “A huge pregnant lady who kicked your butt in a hotel hallway, as I recall,” Becca said from the rocking chair where she was nursing little Logan Charles, otherwise known as Lo’ Charlie, thanks to his favorite uncle.