Chapter One
When Amy Jensen arrived at her sisterâs apartment on Thursday night, less than forty-eight hours before Lisa was scheduled to say âI do,â she found the bride-to-be in tears.
âWhatâs wrong?â
Lisa gestured to her dining room table, covered with dozens of champagne glasses, mini bottles of bubbly and spools of white tulle. âShe dropped everything off half an hour ago, apologizing for the fact that she didnât have time to finish.â Lisa impatiently swiped at the tears on her cheeks. âFinish? She didnât even start.â
âSheâ being Susanna Victoria Dalton Jensenâtheir mother. Suffering from a self-diagnosed delicate disposition, she frequently took to her bed with migraines whenever she was faced with a task she deemed too onerous or demanding.
Amy set down the wine sheâd brought and picked up one of the elegant crystal flutes. It had been hand-painted with the bride and groomâs initials surrounded by an intricate scroll pattern. âYou did a fabulous job on these, Lisa.â
Her sister managed a smile, though it wobbled at the corners.âIt just would have been nice if Mom had actually stepped up and acted like a mother instead of a drama queen for once in her life.â
Amy couldnât disagree, so she went to the kitchen and returned with a corkscrew and a couple of wine glasses.
âDad decided to throw a wrench into the plan, too,â Lisa told her. âHeâs bringing Heather Cole as his date to the wedding.â
Amy worked the cork out of the bottle, poured the wine. âWhy does that name sound familiar?â
âShe was in my class in seventh grade.â Lisa accepted a glass of wine and took a long sip. âNever a dull moment in our family, is there?â
âI just wanted my wedding to go smoothly, without any last-minute snags. Now thereâs been twoâand bad things always happen in threes, so I canât help wondering what the third is going to be.â
âThere wonât be any more snags,â Amy assured her. âYouâre just experiencing some pre-wedding jitters.â
Her sister glanced at the cluttered table. âI wanted to kick back tonight with my sister, drink wine and paint our toenails.â
âWe can drink wine while we finish the favors. As for your toenails, I booked the âblissful brideâ package for youâincluding massage, manicure and pedicureâfor ten a.m. Saturday morning at Sanctuary Spa.â
âReally?â
Amy nodded. âYouâve been running yourself ragged over the past few months organizing the wedding of your dreams, and now that the big day is almost here, I want you to be able to relax and enjoy it.â
âYou always do that, you know?â
âDo what?â
âWhenever I start to feel sorry for myself for the parents I was given, you do something that makes me realize how fortunate I am to have a sister like you.â
âNothing Mom or Dad says or does can change the fact that Saturday is your dayâthe day youâre marrying the man you love,â Amy said, and hoped that Lisa didnât pick up on the wistfulness in her tone.
âI really do love him, with my whole heart.â
The curve of her sisterâs lips was as instinctive as it was genuine, giving Amy hope that true love did exist, despite her personal experience to the contrary. âThen thatâs all that matters.â
âYouâve gone above and beyond in so many ways,â Lisa said. âAnd I never even considered that it might be uncomfortable for you to be my maid of honor less than a year after you gave Adam back his ring.â
In truth, Amyâs feelings about her sisterâs nuptials were somewhat mixed, not because of her own broken engagement but because sheâd always assumed that, as the older sister, she would be married first. Life hadnât worked out that way, but she was sincerely happy for Lisa and Warren. And just a little bit envious.
âI never should have accepted Adamâs ring,â Amy admitted to her sister now.
âYou didnât love him?â
âI thought I did. Until he decided to take a job in California and I realized I didnât want to go with him.â
âYou were in the middle of your residency,â Lisa pointed out in Amyâs defense.
It was the same explanation that Amy had given to her fiancé, but heâd known the same truth that she admitted to her sister now. âI could have applied to finish my residency in California.â
âWhy didnât you?â
âBecause I didnât love him enough.â
âIâd follow Warren to the ends of the earth,â Lisa confided. âAnd Iâm sure he would do the same.â
Amy fluffed the bow sheâd just tied and pretended that her own heart didnât ache for the forever kind of love her sister had found. âThatâs how it should be.â
âHave you ever loved anyone enough?â Lisa asked.
She pretended to consider the question, though the answer was as unequivocal as her feelings had been for the one man sheâd loved. âOnce. A long time ago.â