“ ‘It’s not that,’ said the groom. ‘The problem was, she gave me twenty bucks in change.’ ”

Despite herself, Molly snorted again, and everyone else laughed as well. She lifted her gaze to Carter, who winked at her.

Damn him. She wasn’t going to like him ever again. She was a lot more comfortable hating him. He’d been in that dark place in her heart for twelve years, and that’s where he was going to stay.

They arrived at the reception hall and there was a decided chill in the air. She was glad Emma had thought to have the matching long-sleeved shrugs added to their gowns, because she might need hers before the end of the night. October could be so unpredictable in Hope, and while the day had dawned warm and sunny, it was growing cooler in the evenings and these skimpy dresses weren’t going to provide much in the way of warmth.

They made their way into the reception area, and Molly took in all the beautiful decorations. Emma and their mom had seen to all the planning, with a lot of help from Martha and the bridesmaids as well. It was gorgeous, with abundant fall colors, including eggplant and burnt orange as well as deep yellows and browns. Champagne was flowing and the bar was open. People were filing in and the deejay was already playing music.

Molly made her way to the bar to get a glass of wine. She met her dad there.

“How’s it going, sweetheart?”

“Fine, Dad. How about you?”

“Happy to have one of my baby girls married. And how about you?”

“Happy to not be one of your baby girls who got married today.”

He laughed, then put an arm around her and tugged her close. “Plenty of time for that. You just haven’t found your knight in shining armor yet.”

She didn’t want to tell her father she didn’t believe that knight existed, so she just nodded. “Right.”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

At this moment, with her dad kissing the top of her head, so was she. “Me, too.”

She didn’t miss a lot about Hope, but she did miss her parents and her sister. If she could have packed them up and had them travel the country with her, life would have been perfect. But she couldn’t, so she made do without them. At least her mom and dad visited her a couple of times a year, as did Emma when she could. She was grateful for that.

She rounded up the wedding party and got them to stand at the entrance to the ballroom so they could flank Emma and Luke when the deejay announced their arrival.

The doors opened, and the deejay called for everyone’s attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together and direct your eyes to the open ballroom doors while I introduce Luke and Emma McCormack!”

Luke and Emma entered, their smiles wide, clasping their hands together as everyone cheered.

Her sister was married. Wow. That was kind of surreal.

She grinned.

They made their way to the head table and sat. Champagne was poured, and Logan got up to make his toast.

“I know my brother well, and if anyone was ever against marrying—again,” he said, to much laughter, “it was Luke. Until he met Emma, the one woman he couldn’t live without. When you find that right person, that one person who you’re meant to be with no matter what happens, then you know. And with Luke, he’s always known it was Emma. So raise your glasses and toast to Luke and Emma.”

Everyone toasted and drank.

Molly had been preparing a speech, but it was going to be hard. Still, she knew as the maid of honor it was her duty, so she took the mic next.

“I haven’t lived in Hope for a very long time, which means I wasn’t here to witness Luke and Emma’s love story. But I know love when I see it. It’s a palpable thing. Something you feel, like instinct. It’s just . . . there. And when it happens between two people, it can’t be denied.”

She felt Carter’s gaze on her, saw him out of the corner of her eye despite her attempt to focus only on the smiling bride and groom. She retrained her attention and concentrated on the simmering tears in her sister’s eyes.

“So when Emma brought Luke to meet me, their love hit me instantly, and I knew he was the one for her. She had changed from this focused, driven individual, to someone who was part of a couple. She became a lot less ‘me’ and a lot more ‘us.’ And that’s what love is, when it becomes less about what’s best for the one, and more about what’s best for the whole. Because love is not a singular thing, It’s not about what’s best for me, but about what I can do to make you happy.”

She raised her glass. “To Emma and Luke. May you spend a lifetime making each other happy. I love you both.”

Glasses clinked, and people drank to the couple. Emma got up and wrapped her arms around Molly. “I love you, too. Thank you for that. And you made me cry, dammit.”

Molly blinked back the tears that she hadn’t wanted to shed. She laughed. “Sorry. And you’re welcome. I hope you’re both happy forever.”

“We will be.”

After Emma returned to her seat, Molly looked over to find Carter staring at her. This time, there was no clever wink, no smile.

She saw the hurt, the realization that the speech hadn’t been entirely intended for the bride and groom.

She’d spoken from the heart and the words had just spilled from her. And if he’d gathered some truth from them, there wasn’t anything she could do about that.

Their love was in the past. They’d had their chance, and they’d blown it.

There was no future for them, no happily-ever-after.

The thought of it made her ache all over.

CARTER WASN’T GOING to let Molly’s words ruin his night. Or, rather, Luke and Emma’s night. It was a night of fun and partying, not an evening to remember the past and the wreckage that had been in its wake.

But Molly’s toast, what she’d said about love, left a big gaping hole of pain in his heart that was hard to ignore.

She was still hurting, he knew it, and there wasn’t a goddamn thing he could do to change what had happened all those years ago. He’d been young and stupid and had thought only about himself. God, it had been so long ago. They’d been so innocent.

He needed to talk to her. They needed to resolve things, so they could put it away, could move on with their lives.

He kept an eye on her while they ate dinner. She focused on talking to Jane, Chelsea, and Des, refusing to look at him.