She responded immediately.
“We should definitely get together when I’m back from the honeymoon. I want to hear all about your new boyfriend. He seems very successful.”
Of course. That’s what she’d taken away from the evening. Not that I’d been there supporting her, not that we’d barely spoken all night, but that I’d shown up with an impressive date. That was the only thing that made me visible to her. I didn’t respond. Instead, I set my phone aside and stared at the ceiling, processing the emotional whiplash of the entire day. I’d come to this wedding expecting to feel like an outsider, and I’d been proven right in the worst ways. But I’d also met Julian, had those hours of feeling seen and valued, and now I had breakfast to look forward to in the morning. Sleep came slowly, my mind replaying moments from the evening. Victoria’s perfect smile, my mother’s dismissive comments, Julian’s hand in mine, the sparklers lighting up the night sky. Tomorrow I’d go home to Denver, back to my apartment and my job and my regular life. But something had shifted tonight, some fundamental understanding about my place in my family and my own worth. I woke around eight the next morning to sunlight streaming through the curtains. For a moment I couldn’t remember where I was. Then the previous day came flooding back, bringing with it a mix of emotions I wasn’t quite ready to face. I showered and dressed carefully in casual clothes I’d packed, trying to look effortlessly pretty without seeming like I was trying too hard. The irony wasn’t lost on me. After spending an entire wedding being invisible, I was now worried about making a good impression on a man I’d just met. Julian was waiting in the lobby at nine exactly, looking refreshed in jeans and a navy sweater that made his gray eyes even more striking. He smiled when he saw me, a genuine expression that made my stomach flutter.
“Good morning. You look beautiful.”
“You look pretty good yourself.”
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