Chapter 2

Celeste arrived at the rehearsal wearing Grant's grandmother's hummingbird brooch.

The small bird had a silver body and pale blue glass wings. Elaine had shown it to me two years earlier and said it would belong to Grant's wife.

Now it rested above the neckline of my sister's dark green dress.

Celeste covered it with one hand when she noticed me looking.

"Elaine loaned it to me."

"Grant asked her to," I said.

Her face changed. "I can take it off."

"Why? It's already where he wanted it."

Grant stood close enough to hear. He looked down at his drink instead of answering.

Reverend Hill called everyone into position. The rehearsal began fifteen minutes late. Grant forgot when to step forward. Celeste dropped the practice bouquet twice. I answered the caterer's questions and fixed the seating cards while the two of them avoided my eyes.

At six, thunder shook the windows.

Rain struck the parish hall roof. The lights flickered, and every phone in the room sounded at once.

TORNADO WARNING. TAKE SHELTER NOW.

"The storm cellar is through the service hall," Reverend Hill called. "Walk. Don't run."

Elaine took Arthur's arm, and Reverend Hill guided them toward the stairs. Other guests followed.

A hard gust blew open one of the side doors. The wooden floral arch rocked once, then tipped toward me.

I tried to move, but its base struck my calf and knocked me down. One ankle caught beneath the heavy wooden frame.

"Grant!"

He turned.

For one second, our eyes met. He saw me on the floor. He saw my leg trapped beneath the arch.

Then Celeste screamed from the entrance to the service hall.

Grant ran past me.

He reached Celeste, wrapped both arms around her, and pulled her into the windowless pantry. The door shut behind them.

"Mara!" Tess Rowe pushed through the remaining guests and dropped beside me.

Together with the caterer, she lifted the base high enough for me to pull my ankle free. Pain shot up my leg when I stood, but I could walk.

We reached the cellar before the worst of the storm hit.

The warning lasted twenty minutes. When we returned upstairs, broken branches covered the parking lot. My ankle had begun to swell.

Grant emerged from the pantry with his arm around Celeste.

"Mara." He hurried toward me. "You're hurt."

"You saw that before you ran past me."

He glanced at Tess. "She was coming to help you."

"She reached me after you closed the pantry door."

Celeste folded her arms over her chest. The hummingbird flashed beneath the emergency lights.

Grant lowered his voice. "You don't panic. You know what to do in an emergency. Celeste freezes."

"So you chose the woman who needed you to feel strong."

"That's not fair."

"You looked directly at me, Grant. Then you left me on the floor."

"I knew you could manage. You always do."

There it was again. My strength wasn't something he admired. It was his excuse for abandoning me.

I turned to Celeste.

"How long have you been meeting him at Ridge House?"

The color drained from her face.

Grant went still.

I took out my phone and showed them the photograph of Elaine's calendar.

Celeste whispered, "Mara, please."

"Not here," Grant said. "We can explain."

"You have until nine tomorrow morning. Both of you will come to my apartment."

"Tomorrow is our wedding," he said.

"I know."

Tess helped me toward her car.

Before getting in, I called Reverend Hill.

"I need five minutes at the chapel before tomorrow's vows," I said.

"Mara, what happened?"

I watched Grant pull Celeste close beneath the awning.

"Grant has been sleeping with my sister for almost three years. I'm coming to the chapel tomorrow, but I'm not coming as his bride."