carefully spread the veil behind her friend. Lisa was the only military “wife” she’d kept in touch with after Erik’s death. Erik had served in Jacob’s squadron, and they’d been stationed together since flight school at Pensacola. Jacob had also been in Erik’s class at the academy, though he’d spent two years in Afghanistan before being accepted to the academy.
Annie grabbed a small bag from the bed and withdrew a faded velvet box and held it out to her. “Here. This is something borrowed.”
“The veil is borrowed,” Lisa said.
Annie shook her head. “That’s something old. Your dress is new. This is borrowed and...” She pulled a garter out of the bag. “This garter is blue.”
“I am not going to wear a garter. I may appreciate vintage things, but I’m definitely not a traditional bride. And we are certainly not going to do that horrible garter thing.”
“You certainly aren’t traditional. You and Nellie have three kids. You make your own yogurt. Your children are named Sky, River and Breeze. You’re serving tofu at your reception, and I don’t think you own a pair of shoes that aren’t Birkenstocks. But you can bow to this one tradition. For your matron of honor?”
Rolling her eyes, Lisa yanked up her skirt and pulled the garter over her bare foot. Then she took the velvet box from Annie’s outstretched hand. She opened it to find a pair of diamond chandelier earrings in a platinum Art Deco setting.
“I remember these,” Lisa said. “I helped you put them on at your wedding.”
“My grandmother gave these to me along with the veil. They’ll go perfectly with your dress and your hair.”
Lisa gave her a hug. “I love them. Thank you.” She bent closer to the mirror and put them on, then turned to show Annie. “What do you think?”
“The most beautiful bride in the world,” Annie said, her eyes filling with tears. She couldn’t help but remember her own wedding day. All her dreams and hopes tied up in a white dress and veil. “Sorry,” she murmured, turning away from Lisa to busy herself with her own jewelry.
Lisa sat on the edge of the bed, a frown of concern etched across her brow, then patted the spot beside her. Annie reluctantly joined her.
“I’m crying because I’m happy for you,” Annie said.
“It’s been over a year,” Lisa said.
“One year, five months and about sixteen days. I know how long it’s been. Believe me, I’ve felt every one of those days.”
“I want you to have fun today. Dance and laugh and drink too much. Find yourself a handsome man and flirt a little bit. Maybe even kiss him.”
“I want to do that. But I just feel like I’m betraying him. Like it’s too soon.”
Lisa gave her hand a squeeze. “You can’t go on like this,” she said. “He would have wanted you to be happy.”
“I know. And I’ve been thinking about what’s been holding me back. It felt like there was something unfinished between us. And I finally realized what it was. The Honeymoon.”
“I thought you never had a honeymoon.”
“We didn’t. We got married and he left for basic two days later. But I was talking about the boat. The sailboat he bought with our wedding money. We were going to sail around the world with it.”
“That wreck you keep in your boathouse?” Lisa asked.
“It’s not a wreck anymore. After I had it trucked out here from San Diego, I decided to spend some time fixing it up. And it’s almost ready to sail. In a few months, I’m going to sail it to California. And if that goes well, I may just decide to keep going.”
Lisa shook her head. “California? So you’re just going to sail on down to the Panama Canal all by yourself. What about hurricanes? What about pirates and drug runners and...and whales? Whales run into sailboats all the time. Haven’t you read Moby Dick?”
“I’m well aware of the dangers,” Annie said. “I’ve been sailing since I was a kid. This is something I need to do. I think maybe it might be the closure I need. I’ll take the honeymoon we never had, and then I’ll sell the boat in California and come back here.”
“Well, I think it’s a crazy idea. If you want closure, you need to find yourself a new man. And there are plenty of handsome, single men invited to this wedding.”
“And all of them are in the military,” Annie said.
“My soon-to-be husband was in charge of that side of the guest list, so I can’t be blamed. What’s wrong with a military man?”
“I don’t think I can go through all of that again. The waiting, the worrying. I just want a regular guy. An accountant or a salesman. Someone who will be home every night and doesn’t have anyone shooting at him.”
“I know exactly what you mean. That’s why I refused to marry Nellie for so long,” Lisa said. “I waited until he was done with active duty.”
“You have three children,” Annie said.
“I couldn’t help myself. But now he’s home and safe. It’s the right time. The kids are old enough to start questioning why Mommy and Daddy have different last names. Nellie’s got an engineering job lined up with Lockheed, and we’re going to finally live a normal life.”
A knock sounded on the door, and Annie went over to open it. Lisa’s six-year-old daughter, Sky, waited on the other side. She was a bridesmaid and carried three bouquets in her arms.
“Grandma said I should bring these to you and that they’re ready for you to come down.”
She handed Annie a simple clutch of daisies and gave her mother a bouquet of white roses. Lisa gave her daughter a hug. “Do you remember what to do?”
Sky nodded. “I walk with Riv on this side and Breezie on this side. And Riv carries the rings and Breezie throws the petals. And then we stand next to Annie and try not to squirm. And if we’re good, we get to drink as much soda as we want to.”
Annie laughed. “That’s a nice reward.”
“You dance with a few men, and I’ll let you have soda, too,” Lisa said.
“All right.” Annie grabbed Sky’s hand. “Let’s go have a wedding. Are you excited?”
The little girl nodded.
“Me, too.” They walked out into the hall, Lisa trailing behind them. As they reached the first floor, the rest of the bridal party was waiting. River and Breezie looked more nervous than excited, as did Lisa’s father, John.
They arranged themselves on the back deck, taking last-minute instructions from Lisa, before they began their walk to the orchard. They were in sight of the guests when a dark-haired man in a blue Oxford shirt came jogging past them.
He turned and faced Lisa, his hands up, his expression contrite. “Sorry I’m late. You look
