But I can't. Not yet.
"I should finish packing," I say instead. "Make sure Tommy has everything he needs for tonight."
"He's staying with you until after the ceremony?"
"Yes. Mrs. Chen offered to watch him during the wedding, but I want him close. In case..." I trail off, not wanting to voice my fears.
"In case what?"
"In case something goes wrong. In case Derek tries something."
The silence on the other end of the line stretches long enough that I start to worry we've been disconnected. Then Sawyer's voice comes through, deadly quiet and absolutely certain.
"Nothing is going to go wrong, Lisa. I promise you that."
The conviction in his voice, the complete confidence that he can protect us from whatever Derek might try, makes something warm and dangerous unfurl in my chest. Makes me want to believe that Sawyer McKenna really can fix anything, solve any problem, keep any promise he makes.
Makes me want to believe this marriage might be real after all.
"I know," I whisper. "I trust you."
"Good. I'll see you at sunset."
After he hangs up, I sit on Emma's bed for a long time, staring at Derek's messages and thinking about choices. About the difference between facing problems alone and letting someone else help carry the weight.
About what it means to trust someone with everything you have to lose.
Finally, I delete Derek's texts without responding.
Whatever he wants to say to me, whatever threat or bribe or manipulation he's planning, it doesn't matter. I made my choice when I walked up to Sawyer's cabin yesterday morning. I made my choice when I asked him to marry me.
I'm making it again right now.
Three hours later,I'm standing in front of Emma's mirror wearing the green dress and the only pair of heels I own, trying to work up the courage to drive to Sawyer's cabin. Tommy is fed and changed and sleeping peacefully in his car seat, completely oblivious to the fact that his life is about to change forever.
That we're about to become a family.
The drive takes twenty minutes, winding through pine forests and around curves that offer glimpses of the valley below. I've made this drive a hundred times over the years, visiting the McKenna family during holidays and summer barbecues, but tonight it feels different.
Tonight, I'm driving toward my wedding.
Sawyer's cabin sits on a rise overlooking the valley, surrounded by towering pines and built from logs that have weathered to a rich golden brown. It's bigger than I remembered, with a wraparound porch and large windows that catch the late afternoon light. Smoke rises from the chimney, and I can see lights glowing warmly inside.
It looks like home.
The thought hits me so suddenly, so completely, that I have to grip the steering wheel to keep my hands steady. This place, this man, this life we're about to build together, even temporarily, it feels like coming home after years of wandering.
Sawyer appears on the porch before I can get out of the car, moving down the steps with that easy, confident stride that's uniquely his. He's wearing dark jeans and a white button-downshirt that makes his eyes look even bluer, and he's cleaned up the scruff from yesterday. He looks like a man getting married.
He looks devastatingly handsome.
"You made it," he says, opening my car door and offering his hand to help me out.
"Was there any doubt?" I take his hand, let him pull me to my feet, and immediately regret it.
The contact of his warm fingers wrapped around mine, sends electricity shooting up my arm. Makes me acutely aware of how close we're standing, how good he smells, how the white shirt stretches across his broad chest.
How much I want to run my hands over that chest and see if it's as solid as it looks.
