All The Summers After | TSITP | Sequel

The First Cousins Wedding.

The invitation was still on the counter when Lydia snatched her phone.

Conrad watched her, amused, as she padded into the living room, already scrolling for the contact she wanted.

Her hair fell forward, lips pressing together in barely contained excitement.

"Who are you calling?" he asked, even though he knew.

She gave him a look.

"Who do you think I'm calling?"

He raised his hands in surrender. "Proceed."

She hit DENISE 🤍 and pressed the phone to her ear, pacing a little in front of the balcony doors.

The line clicked.

"Lydie?" came Denise's voice, all warm and familiar, like a hug through the phone.

"Tell me you're home," Lydia said, not bothering with hello.

"I am. Why? Are you in jail again?"

"Again?" Lydia scoffed. "You are so disrespectful."

Conrad snorted from the kitchen.

Lydia rolled her eyes but her grin was already spreading. "Okay, focus. Did you check your mail today?"

There was a beat.

Then, a sharp inhale from the other end.

"Oh my god."

Lydia's eyes widened. "So you got it."

"I GOT IT," Denise practically shouted.

Conrad looked over from the fridge, eyebrows raised.

Lydia put her hand over the phone. "They got it," she mouthed.

He nodded, smiling.

Back on the line, Denise continued, "Daniel almost choked on his toast when he opened it. I thought he was dying."

"How romantic," Lydia deadpanned.

Denise laughed. "We just stared at it for a solid minute. I was like... are they serious? Are we old enough for this?"

"We're not," Lydia said. "But apparently they are."

"So." Denise's tone turned conspiratorial. "Belly and Jeremiah. Getting married. In Cousins. In three weeks."

Lydia dropped onto the couch, legs curled under her, eyes shining. "It's insane. It's crazy. It's... kind of perfect?"

"I know," Denise said. "It's so them."

Lydia picked at a loose thread on her sleeve. "You're coming, right?"

"Obviously," Denise scoffed. "I'm not missing the first official Cousins wedding."

Lydia smiled. "We really did start a club, huh?"

"The trauma club?" Denise asked. "Or the 'we all fell in love with complicated men' club?"

"Both," Lydia said. "But I meant... like... this. Us. This family. It's like they're the first ones to make it official."

Denise went soft on the other end. "Yeah," she said, quietly. "It is."

"Okay," Lydia clapped once, her energy kicking back in. "We have three weeks. That's no time. We need shopping. Dresses. Shoes. Hair ideas. Gifts."