Sadie looked gorgeous and radiant with her short red hair braided back and her romantic, trumpet-style dress. But it was Rae who really brought the waterworks on for Via. The short, black-haired woman wore a handsome tailored suit and the biggest smile Via had ever seen. She didn’t think she’d ever seen someone look prouder than Rae did when Sadie walked down the aisle. Maybe she was getting caught up in the moment, but Via felt like she was watching Rae come to terms with the fact that Sadie was picking her, forever.

Their ceremony was fast and emotional and barely intelligible through all the tears. It wasn’t more than a few minutes before Sadie was bending Rae backward for the kiss of a lifetime. The two of them straightened up, threw their joined hands in the air and completely cheesed for the wildly cheering crowd.

It was getting chilly with the sun going down, so the caterers bustled the wedding guests inside the venue. Cocktail hour was scheduled to last for a while, so the first chance she got, Via excused herself to the bathroom and fixed her makeup.

She felt wrung out after the high emotional intensity of the wedding, like a sponge after a really great bout with a saucepan. A good cry always did that to her. But as Via eyed herself in the mirror, she realized that it was more than that. She felt like she was filling up with air and leaking it at the same time. Like her insides were somehow producing glitter and glue simultaneously. She was a glittery, sparkly, sticky mess inside her chest.

God, had she ever felt this way before? Like, ever? About anyone?

After all the attention she was used to getting from Sebastian, it was strange to feel the loss of it. Almost like a vacuum. She shrugged to herself in the mirror. Either she could address it head-on with him or she could let it go. But she refused to allow herself to brood. She was here to party down for Sadie and Rae. Glitter glue be damned.

Deeming herself presentable again, she stepped out of the bathroom and into the back hallway that led to the reception area. She stopped in her tracks.

Sebastian was leaning against the wall, apparently waiting for her, his hands in his pants pockets and his feet crossed at the ankle. The second he saw her, he pushed forward. Closer than normal, but he wasn’t touching. Her high heels brought her up to a solid five-foot-eight, but she still had to drop her head all the way back to be able to look him in the eye.

“You’re so gorgeous it hurts,” he told her, point-blank.

She jolted like he’d zapped her with a little kiss of electricity. She opened her mouth but couldn’t think of anything to say. His words were still absorbing into her, like beads of wine over cloth.

“I wanted to tell you immediately, but I worried it might embarrass you in front of everyone. And I didn’t want to say, ‘you look nice’ or ‘very beautiful’ or something lame like that. Because the truth is, I can barely look at you right now. That’s how unbelievably gorgeous you are.”