Updated Mar 13, 2026 • ~6 min read
Eleanor’s backyard is transformed.
String lights crisscross overhead. Long tables pushed together, covered in white linens. Wildflowers in mason jars. A grill station set up near the back fence.
It’s casual and elegant and exactly what I wanted for the night before our wedding.
“This is perfect,” I tell Eleanor as we arrive.
“I’m so glad you like it, dear. I wanted something relaxed. No stress before the big day.”
Both families are already here. My parents talking to Holden’s aunt and uncle. Hudson’s kids chasing each other around the yard. Noah and Margot setting up the bar.
Everyone together.
“You good?” Holden asks quietly, his hand finding mine.
“Yeah. Just… taking it in. Tomorrow we get married.”
“Technically we’re already—”
“I know, I know. But tomorrow is different.”
“Tomorrow is better.”
He’s right.
Tomorrow, everyone watches us choose each other.
Dinner is a potluck situation—everyone brought something. My mom’s famous potato salad. Hudson’s wife’s baked beans. Eleanor’s grilled chicken. Margot’s pasta salad.
It’s chaotic and delicious and feels like family.
After we eat, the toasts start.
Noah stands first, wine glass in hand.
“So,” he begins. “Tomorrow, my best friend marries my sister. Again.”
Everyone laughs.
“You’ve all heard the story by now—how I found out, how I reacted. But what I want to talk about tonight is what I’ve seen since. These two have been dancing around each other for over a decade. Holden’s been in love with Tessa since she was fourteen. Tessa spent eleven years claiming she hated him when really, she was just scared.”
“Hey,” I protest. “I did hate him.”
“You thought you did. Big difference.”
He’s not wrong.
“Anyway,” Noah continues. “I spent way too long trying to keep them apart. I thought I was protecting both of them. But really, I was just being an idiot. Because watching them together now—really together, not hiding or pretending—I see what I should have seen years ago. They’re perfect for each other. They challenge each other. Support each other. Make each other better.”
He raises his glass higher.
“So tomorrow, when Holden marries my sister for the second time, I get to be there. As best man. Supporting them. The way I should have from the beginning. To Tessa and Holden—may your marriage be filled with less chaos than it started with. But knowing you two, probably not. Love you both.”
“To Tessa and Holden!” everyone choruses.
I’m already crying. Damn it, Noah.
My dad goes next. “Holden, when you first asked for my blessing—”
“Wait, what?” I interrupt. “When did you ask for his blessing?”
Holden looks sheepish. “Last week. I know we’re already married, but it felt like the right thing to do.”
My heart melts.
“As I was saying,” my dad continues. “When Holden asked for my blessing, I told him he already had it. Because I’ve watched him grow up alongside Noah. I’ve seen the man he’s become. He’s honorable, hardworking, and clearly loves my daughter more than anything. So Holden—welcome to the family. Officially. And Tessa—” His voice gets thick. “Your mother and I are so proud of the woman you’ve become. Tomorrow you marry a good man. Be happy, sweetheart.”
Now my mom is crying too.
Eleanor stands. “I don’t have much to add that hasn’t already been said. But I want to thank Tessa for bringing joy back into my son’s life. After his father passed, Holden threw himself into work. He was successful but not happy. Then he met you—well, re-met you—and everything changed. He smiles again. Laughs. Looks forward to coming home. That’s what love does. It brings us back to ourselves. So tomorrow, I get to watch my son marry the woman who made him whole again. And I get to officially welcome Tessa as my daughter. I couldn’t be happier.”
She raises her glass. “To tomorrow. To love. To family.”
“To family!”
The toasts continue. Hudson talks about gaining a brother. Margot jokes about planning the wedding that almost didn’t happen. Even Wren gets up and makes a speech about watching her best friend finally find real happiness.
By the time everyone finishes, there isn’t a dry eye in the yard.
As the party winds down, kids getting sleepy and adults lingering over wine, Holden pulls me aside.
“Walk with me?”
We slip away from the crowd, into the darker part of Eleanor’s garden.
“Big day tomorrow,” he says.
“Huge day.”
“Nervous?”
“Terrified. You?”
“Same. But also… ready. Really ready.”
“Me too.”
We stand under the stars. The party sounds fade into background noise.
“Can I tell you something?” Holden asks.
“Always.”
“I’ve imagined this moment—the night before marrying you—for years. Since I was probably twenty. Maybe younger. And in my imagination, I was always nervous. Worried I wasn’t good enough. That you’d change your mind. That something would go wrong.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m not worried. Because you already chose me. In Vegas, accidentally. Then again, on purpose. And tomorrow you’re choosing me in front of everyone we love. There’s no doubt left. Just certainty.”
My throat tights. “I love you.”
“I love you too. So much it scares me sometimes.”
“The good kind of scared?”
“The best kind.”
We kiss. Slow and sweet and full of tomorrow’s promises.
When we finally head back to the party, everyone’s starting to say goodbyes. It’s almost midnight.
“Tradition says we shouldn’t see each other until the ceremony,” I say.
“Tradition also says we shouldn’t have lived together before the wedding. Or gotten married in Vegas. Or—”
“Okay, okay. We’re not traditional.”
“But if you want to do this right, I’ll stay at Noah’s tonight. Give you space to sleep and prep without me hovering.”
“You hover?”
“I absolutely hover. Especially when I’m nervous.”
I kiss him one more time. “Okay. Stay at Noah’s. I’ll see you at the altar tomorrow.”
“See you there, Mrs. Reid.”
“Not Mrs. Reid yet. Tomorrow.”
“You’ve been Mrs. Reid for seven weeks.”
“Tomorrow it counts.”
He grins. “Tomorrow it counts.”
Back at my parents’ house, I lie in my childhood bed, staring at the ceiling.
Tomorrow I marry Holden Reid.
For real. With vows and witnesses and a dress I’ll actually remember wearing.
My phone buzzes.
Holden: “I miss you already.”
Me: “It’s been 20 minutes.”
Holden: “20 minutes too long. See you tomorrow?”
Me: “See you tomorrow. Don’t be late.”
Holden: “Wouldn’t dream of it. Love you, wife.”
Me: “Love you too, husband. Sleep well.”
I set my phone down and close my eyes.
Tomorrow, everything changes.
Tomorrow, we become us.
Officially.
Finally.
Forever.
END OF CHAPTER 20
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