Planning a wedding should have been chaos.
But somehow, it wasn’t.

Maybe it was because Lucy refused to let it become a circus.
Maybe it was because Harper immediately appointed herself as the unofficial maid of honor and event coordinator.
Or maybe it was because, for once, Lucy let herself lean on the people who loved her — something she was still learning to do.

The ceremony would be simple.
A garden venue just outside the city.
Close friends, close family.
Nothing ostentatious. Nothing fake.

Just them.

---

But even the best plans run into snags.

Two weeks before the wedding, Lucy sat on the floor of her apartment, surrounded by fabric swatches and final guest lists, when Miles called.

“Hey,” he said.

His voice was tense — not panicked, but… unsettled.

Lucy sat up straighter. “What’s wrong?”

He hesitated.
“I just got off the phone with my mother.”

Lucy’s heart sank.

Miles rarely spoke about his family.
They weren’t close — not out of hatred, but out of sheer emotional distance.

“She wants to come,” he said.
“And she’s asking to bring someone.”

Lucy processed that slowly. “Bring someone?”

“Her fiancé,” Miles muttered.

Lucy blinked. “Fiancé?”

“Apparently, they’re getting married next month. She thought… it’d be nice if we ‘made it a family affair.’”

Lucy rubbed her temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache.

“Look,” Miles said quickly, sensing her stress.
“We don’t have to invite them. I told her I’d talk to you, but if you say no, that’s it.”

Lucy thought about it.

About how family had broken and healed her in equal measure.

She inhaled slowly.

“Invite them,” she said softly.
“If it’s important to you… it’s important to me.”

Miles was quiet for a long beat.

Then, roughly: “Thank you.”

And in that moment, Lucy realized that love wasn’t just about sunsets and sparkles.
It was about small, hard choices.
It was about choosing grace even when you were tired.
It was about building something that could survive storms.

And she was ready.

For all of it.

---

That night, they curled up together on Lucy’s couch, Moose snoring in the background (Harper’s oversized golden retriever had adopted Lucy until she moved officially).

Miles brushed his hand over her hair.

“You scare me, you know,” he said quietly.

Lucy tilted her head up. “Why?”

“Because I didn’t know it could be this easy,” he murmured.

Lucy smiled against his chest.

“That’s the trick,” she whispered. “The right thing always feels harder at first. But it gets easier when you’re not carrying it alone.”

He kissed her forehead, lingering there, sealing the promise.

Together.

Always.