“I do,” she said with conviction. “They say that I married him for something other than love. Even if it were true—and it’s not—that’s just…well, it’s fucking moronic. If I had whisked him off to Vegas to marry him for an alibi, it would have been out of love, right? Wouldn’t that have been the goddamn point? Wouldn’t that have been the ultimate act of love for someone? To go against your own rules because you love that person too much?”

The more she talked, the angrier she became.

“Absolutely,” I said.

“If I did save him, it was because I loved him. There is no other reason to do that for someone, is there?”

“I don’t know of any,” I said.

“But I wasn’t saving him from the fire. We weren’t even there. That’s what pisses me off the most.”

“No, I totally get it. Don’t let them ruin your night. If they want to hate on everything, let them. You get to determine how this plays out. This isn’t their story to tell.”

She offered a smile, shifting nervously in her seat. “Thank you. I’m glad you came. It’s nice to see Thomas happy again. It’s nice to see Thomas at all.” She smiled and sighed, content. “Promise me you’ll have your wedding here, so I have an excuse to come back.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s still new with Thomas and you, right? And he brought you to a wedding. That’s a very non-Maddox thing for him to do if he’s not head over heels, which I’m willing to bet that he is.” She turned to watch the dance floor, satisfied. “And I never lose a bet.”

“He didn’t want to be the only one without a date.”

“Bullshit. You two are as thick as thieves. You’ve got it bad. I can tell,” she said with a mischievous grin. She was trying to make me squirm and enjoying the hell out of it.

“Is this your version of an initiation?” I asked.

She laughed and leaned over, touching her bare shoulder to mine. “You caught me.”

“What are you doing, bitches?” America said, shimmying over to us. “This is a fucking party! We’re dancing!”

She tugged on Abby’s hand and then mine. We joined the mob on the dance floor. Thomas grabbed my hand, twirled me around, pulled me until my back was against him, and then folded his arms across my middle.

We danced until my feet hurt, and then I noticed Abby and America hugging America’s parents good night. Then, Jack and Deana left, and we all hugged Jim before he left for his room.

Travis and Abby were eager to be alone, so they thanked us all for coming, and Travis carried her away into the night.