“You looked great,” Lacey said loyally, handing me a plate loaded with baked goods and a slice of quiche. “Also, no offense, but no one will remember what you wore to this.”

“How was Freddie?” Bea asked as Gaz bustled around loading everyone else up with carbs. “Happy?”

“Did he not look it?” Nick asked, rubbing my left foot.

“No, he did,” Gemma said. “But it’s hard to tell on TV what’s real and what’s acting.”

“He is definitely devoted to Daphne,” I told the room.

“That’s super.” Gaz looked mournful as he handed me a cup of tea. “I mean it. I’m not rooting for it to all collapse on itself, but I am going to miss having his furry mug around.”

“Everyone will,” Mom said. “Earl and I hated having the girls so far away, even just when they were at Cornell, but we had to let them go. Change is the worst part of life.” She smiled. “But it’s also the best part. Your bakery is going to be beautiful, Gaz. And Bex and Nick have the twins coming, Danny is yelling NO at me every two seconds, and Gemma and Bea are…” Mom stopped short.

“Getting hitched, actually,” Gemma said. She waved her left hand, revealing a wide gold band, overlaid with a platinum filigree detail.

“SHUT UP,” I blurted.

“Ever the American,” Bea muttered.

“This is fantastic!” I said. “If I could move, I would hug you.”

“I’ll handle it,” Nick said, leaping off the sofa and diving onto the other one, the better to wrap his arms around Bea and Gemma at the same time.

“Make it a foursome,” Gaz said, trotting over and tackling them from the other side.

“Going for five,” Cilla added, piling on with a giggle.

“Sentimental twaddle,” Bea said, her voice muffled by so many arms. “But yes. None of us is getting any younger. It seemed well past time to make honest women of the both of us.”

Gaz backed out of the embrace and scratched his head. “I have loads of ideas about wedding cakes,” he said. “Not that I would ever assume you’d turn to me for yours. But if it tips the scales, I’ve done some very interesting things with marzipan lately.”

Cilla elbowed him. “Please don’t make this moment about you.”

“I’m not,” Gaz said. “I’m being helpful.”

“I’ll put it in the back of the wedding binder,” Bea said, but she was smiling.

* * *

By the time everyone left, it was late, and my back was killing me. I’d also eaten more buttery bread products than was strictly reasonable, plus we’d ordered Indian because I’d gotten a real yen for samosas. I was stuffed, and my stomach was unhappy with me, so I waddled upstairs and took a quick shower and then crawled into bed. Nick was on his side, flipping through the news channels on the TV.

“Oooh, look, there you are,” he said, over a shot of me walking around outside Freddie’s wedding.