“Are you serious?”

I give her another nod.

“But…how?” she asks. “Owen didn’t tell me where he hid it and he wasn’t going to tell you.”

“Of course not.” I laugh. “But he’s also a creature of habit. He didn’t know many people on the outside he could trust and he certainly couldn’t put it in a safe deposit box so he hid it in the only place he knew of.”

“Where?” Olive asks.

“Your mom’s house.”

“Really?” she asks, spitting out her crouton. “Are you serious?”

I shrug and flash her a smile.

“Oh my God, I was such an idiot for not checking there.”

“Eh, it was just a fluke that it was there,” I say generously. “I figured it was worth a look and it turned out that it was more than worth it.”

“How did you do it?” Olive asks, grabbing a piece of French bread and breaking it in half.

“Same way I’ve always done it,” I say with a shrug. “I snuck in once to see if it was there, took pictures, made a replica, and then snuck in again and switched it.”

Olive starts to laugh. “Owen is going to be so mad,” she says. “Honestly, I’m a little surprised that my mom hasn’t sold it.”

“I don’t think she knew that it was real. I think she’s keeping it for sentimental reasons.”

“Well, in that case, she should be perfectly happy with the fake one,” she says, pulling my hand to her lips and kissing it.

“You never answered my question,” I point out when our dessert arrives.

“What’s that?”

“What kind of wedding do you want?”

32

Olive

When we exchange vows…

We drive to the courthouse together two days later. I’m dressed in jeans and a white knit top. Instead of satin heels, I wear mid-calf vegan leather boots.

The day is dreary and cold but I feel anything but that in my heart and mind. I am about to marry my best friend and the love of my life and I know that no matter what happens in the future my love for him and his love for me is never going to change.

I didn’t want to wear a gown or even a dress and even though it’s eating Sydney up on the inside, she bites her tongue and lets me do what I want to.

I know that this day is supposed to be special and we make it special by dressing up but in my case, I’d rather just wear what I feel comfortable in, knowing that it’s going to be special no matter what.

As I walk into the judge’s chambers, I don’t feel any regrets about anything. When my eyes meet Nicholas’ and he gives me that wink of his, I know that we are going to be happy for a very long time.