“I’m not cutting your hair,” Sierra said calmly. She stretched up to get a good look and had the hair loose within seconds. “There.” She guided Kennedy back around to face her, met her sister’s hazel eyes, her makeup still perfect and more pronounced than usual. “You’re gorgeous. Still. The limo is outside waiting for you and Hunter. Your bag is in the limo. Everything is taken care of.”

“You, sister-in-law,” Hunter said as he sidled up behind his wife, both his hands winding around Kennedy’s waist, “are a godsend for keeping my beautiful wife mostly calm. Thanks for all you’ve done.”

“This is calm? I don’t feel calm,” Kennedy said, her pitch rising.

“Did you see Violet two months ago at her wedding?” Hunter asked. “This is calm.”

“I heard that,” Violet called as she and her new husband, Nick, headed out.

Sierra nodded, having been a guest at Violet’s wedding. “He has a point. Between sister duty and maid-of-honor duty, I’ve got you covered.”

“Thank you.” Kennedy pulled Sierra into a hug. As they held on, Hunter pressed a kiss to the top of Sierra’s head and moved away. “Someday I’ll return the favor,” Kennedy said.

“It’ll be a while,” Sierra said dryly. “Like, decades.”

“Whenever.” Kennedy backed away and discreetly swiped at her eye. “These damn tears…”

“You’re still in a church,” Sierra said, laughing. “Let’s get out of here before your mouth gets you struck down. I need to find Cole.”

“I’ll meet you in the narthex,” Hunter told his wife as he hurried out the side door. “Two minutes.”

Sierra grabbed her bag and her purse from the pew, which the wedding coordinator had brought out after the ceremony, and as she and Kennedy made their way back down the aisle, they could see—and hear—the rest of the wedding party gathered near the outside doors, getting ready to leave.

“Everyone looks amazing,” Kennedy said, gazing at her group of friends from afar. “I’m lucky to have these people in my life.”

“They’re good ones. What’d you think of the ceremony?”

“I barely remember it,” Kennedy said.

“They got video, right?”

“Hope so. It’s the only chance I have of experiencing the details.” Kennedy wove her arm through Sierra’s.

“The vows were awesome. You definitely need to hold Hunter to the no-dirty-socks-on-the-floor thing.”

“I’d try to get it in writing, but saying it in a church has even more power, right?”

As they hit the doorway from the sanctuary to the outer room, Sierra darted a glance around, searching for Cole. When she spotted him to the right, leaning against the wall, reading something on his phone, oblivious to their entry, her step faltered and her eyes popped wide open.