“We’ll talk about this later,” I told Bee as there was another bustle from the kitchen. The door swung open again, and this time, my Aunts Martha and May swooped in. May was carrying a giant silver punch bowl, while Martha had a ladle tucked under her arm.

“I am older than you, Martha,” May insisted. “It is not right that you’re making me carry this all by my lonesome.”

“You are two minutes older,” Martha replied, “and that punch bowl hardly weighs a thing. Besides, Mother left it to you, so it’s your responsibility to carry it.”

May grumbled at that, but then Martha saw me, raising the ladle in greeting. “Oh, Harper! You look so pretty! May, doesn’t Harper look pretty?”

“I can’t see her over this stupid bowl,” May muttered, staggering toward the table the waiters had set up.

Despite everything pressing down on me, I laughed. “Where’s Aunt Jewel?”

“She’s wheeling the cooler of punch in,” Aunt May said, finally getting the bowl situated in the center of the table.

Right. The punch. I thought again of David’s vision, the wave of bright red washing over everything. “Where’s David?” I asked Saylor, and she nodded upstairs.

Maybe he had some valuable, punch-y insights.

Bee was still standing in the doorway, her arms folded. “Why do you need to see David?”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Thankfully, Saylor covered for me. “With Mr. Bradshaw and Harper’s sudden and unfortunate situation, Harper will need an escort. I always bring David as a spare just in case these things happen.”

It was probably the last thing Bee wanted to hear, but at least it made sense. I turned away before I could see her scowl, and headed up the stairs to David.

Chapter 38

WHEN I walked into the bedroom, David was standing in front of the window. His tux jacket lay crumpled on the bed, and his bow tie hung around his neck. From the look of his hair, he’d been pulling at it, and one hand was in his pocket, jangling some loose change.

“Nervous?” I asked, and he spun around.

“Are you—” he said, and then he saw me. “Oh. Wow.”

I’d had that reaction from a lot of people. Mom, Ryan, the saleswoman at the bridal shop. But hearing David say it, seeing David’s eyes go wide, made me suddenly self-conscious. I had to stop myself from twisting the silk skirt in my hands, and Ryan’s words rang in my head.

Harper, you and David Stark have been circling each other since kindergarten.

And maybe we had. But it’s not like any of it mattered anymore.

So I put my shoulders back and walked over to David. “You’ve seen the dress before.”

“It looks different tonight—” David said, but I just kept talking.

“Any sign of . . . well, anything?”