He was telling her it was her choice whether they did this or not. On the surface, that was incredibly gallant. But just beyond that came another, darker inkling. He wasn’t sure about getting married either, or he’d never have given her an out. Not only wasn’t he sure, but he didn’t want to be the bad guy. “Dillon—”

“Shh,” he whispered, and pulled her in close, warming her up in the way that they communicated best.

She didn’t know what would happen tomorrow, what she’d do. All she did know was that he wasn’t going to make the decision, that it was all on her to do so, to either show up . . .

. . . or not.

Chapter 23

Maze’s to-do list:

—Be there for Caitlin no matter what.

Late that afternoon, Maze stared at herself in the mirror. She was in a pale rose dress that was more demure than she’d normally wear, but Caitlin’s rehearsal dinner was not a place where she wanted to stick out.

In fact, if she could get away with not going at all and continuing to avoid Cat’s parents—who, let’s face it, she’d severely disappointed over the years—she would. But she always knew she’d have to face the music at some point, and tonight was it.

She drew in a shaky breath. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

Cat had been acting off all day, so when earlier she’d asked Maze to make sure everything ran smoothly during the wedding rehearsal, she’d readily agreed without thinking it through.

Being in charge of everything running smoothly was going to be interesting in its own right, but that task was nowhere near the same anxiety-inducing level as knowing that in less than an hour she’d be walking into a room and coming face-to-face with Caitlin’s parents for the first time since she’d walked out of their anniversary party all those years ago.

The adult Maze understood that all of it, including her reaction to the Walshes’ move after the fire, wasn’t their fault. But the angry, hurting, devastated teenage Maze hadn’t understood a damn thing. All she’d known was that she’d had to once again pack up her bag and start over.

Her reaction embarrassed her now. They’d lost a child. Michael was gone forever, and she’d had a hand in that. Cat’s parents deserved more from her than what they’d gotten, at the very least a sincere apology. That she hadn’t managed to do so before now meant she clearly wasn’t nearly as grown up as she liked to believe. The truth was Shelly and Jim had saved her. They’d given her a home when she’d never really had one she could trust before. They’d given her so much, and all she’d done in return was hurt them.

They took two cars to the restaurant. Caitlin and Dillon went together, and then Walker, Heather, Jace, Sammie, and Maze in a second car.

Originally—as in before Heather had shown up with Sammie—there wasn’t going to be a flower girl. But Caitlin had decided that Sammie belonged in her wedding, and no one even tried to argue otherwise. Once Caitlin made a decision about something, not even God could change her mind.

Walker parked and Jace pulled Sammie from her car seat. “I’ve got her tonight,” he told Heather. “You do what you have to do for Caitlin and enjoy yourself. We’ll be fine.” He smiled down at Sammie and gently booped her nose. “Right?”

Sammie let out a stream of garbled words no one could understand, but she seemed enthusiastic about it.

Heather got out with a sweet, thankful smile for Jace. Maze loved that Jace could calm Heather, who deserved someone like him in her life.

As far as herself, Maze had convinced herself over the years that she didn’t need anyone. She’d been wrong of course, but she had been proud of herself for hiding it from everyone.

Walker held the door of the restaurant open, letting Jace, Sammie, and Heather through, but then held Maze back. He was dressed in charcoal-gray pants and a slightly lighter charcoal button-down that complemented his leanly muscled build in a way that could almost take her mind off her troubles.

Almost.

“What?” she asked, finally meeting his gaze to find him taking her in as well, a small sexy smile telling her he was every bit as appreciative of his view of her. Her heels put her at eye level with his mouth, which she couldn’t help but stare at. After all, it was a pretty great mouth, and she should know. It’d had its merry way with every inch of her body—

“You okay?” he asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“That’s not an answer.” He searched her gaze. “You’re freaking out.”

“I’m freaking out,” she admitted softly.

“Jim and Shelly are going to be thrilled to see you.”

“You don’t know that.” She shook her head and looked around for a way out. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You were thinking that you wanted to be here for Caitlin, but you’ve just realized you’re so far outside of your comfort zone that you can’t even see the comfort zone.”

“Yes!” She grabbed him by the shirt. “I can’t do this. What made me think I could do this?”

He covered her hands with his warm ones. “Because when someone you care about needs you, you give them your all, no matter the personal cost.”

She dropped her forehead to his shoulder and took the comforting hug he offered, sighing in pleasure at the feel of his arms closing around her. “Thanks,” she whispered.

“Any time.” He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “And I meant that. Any time.”

She’d never really believed in a forever sort of love, but somehow Walker was making it feel possible. Which was momentarily terrifying enough to bank her panic over the evening ahead. “Okay,” she murmured. “I’m good. Let’s get this over with.”

He gave her a small squeeze. “That’s no way to live, Maze, just trying to get through all the moments.”

“Not all the moments,” she said, even though she knew he was right. “Just some of them.” Or, you know, a lot of them . . .

They walked in together and were greeted by a hostess with a tray of filled wineglasses. Walker took two and handed her one as they met up with the others.

“To pregaming,” Maze said, and clinked hers with first Heather’s, Jace’s, and then Walker’s.

The hostess pointed them to the big open room in the back that had been set aside for the dinner. The entire back wall was sliding glass doors that were opened to the property. The plan was to walk through the wedding ceremony first, then eat after. As she knew from her trip here earlier in the week, the property had a huge grassy area, trimmed and landscaped beautifully with oaks lining the sides, flowers planted to add color, and, far off to the west, a stunning view of the ocean. Tonight the crowd would be small, the gathering intimate—family and wedding party only. Tomorrow, with two-hundred-plus people, it’d be a zoo.

Caitlin and Dillon were at the open doors, greeting the various wedding party members. Dillon had a grip on Caitlin’s hand as if she were a flight risk. But Caitlin broke free to hug Maze, then pulled back to look into her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Maze shook her head with a smile. “Nothing.”

Caitlin searched Maze’s gaze and sighed. “Maze, they’re going to be so happy to see you. Please, don’t worry.”