EverWorld (Book 3 of the Down World Series)

Chapter Eleven

Piper looked radiant in her pink wedding dress.

In fact, Amalia's entire house was transformed into the winter wonderland she had promised it would be. Hidden candles twinkling on every surface, water bowls strategically placed underneath to reflect the light. The yard came alive with strings of white lightbulbs entwined in the trees and strewn overhead like shooting stars. Space heaters were subtly placed in corners and behind pillars so the entire yard was magically comfortable even in the knee-length purple lace dress Piper had picked out for me.

Piper and Amalia had been working on it together most nights for a week, with Piper taking the early shift at the fashion boutique in town—some trendy store where a pair of shoes is half my tuition—and rushing straight over here afterwards. They had become fast friends in the process, texting each other with ideas over breakfast.

And as I stood next to my brother, more handsome than I'd ever seen him in a new suit Piper had bought him, and watched my dad walk her down the aisle, I felt like, for just a moment, everything was right in the world.

But then my eyes landed on Kieren, watching me from the second row of seats. There were about fifty guests total, mostly friends from school and from Piper's job, with Dad and Laura having the seats of honor up front. It did not escape my attention that the seat next to Kieren was empty.

Piper and Dad reached us at the altar—a makeshift construction of wood that Piper had made herself, overflowing with pink and purple flowers—and he lifted her little veil to kiss her cheek. Her lip quivered for just a moment, but she held it together while Dad took his seat next to Laura. And we all turned to face front.

Robbie's best friend from school was marrying them, a fellow psychology student named Oscar, who, along with his boyfriend Johann, had become regular fixtures at our Sunday night dinners at the brownstone. He was a perfect choice, with his warm, engaging voice and calm demeanor. They'd considered hiring a priest for a moment, but Piper was raised Episcopalian and Robbie and I were both lapsed Catholics, so this just made more sense.

I turned my head towards the white rows of seats just once during the vows, and found Kieren was watching me again. I smiled and he smiled back. Then I kept my eyes glued to Piper and Robbie for the rest of the ceremony.

When it was over, I busied myself playing waitress. Amalia had hired a couple of people to help with hors d'oeuvres and glasses of champagne, but she had underestimated how much people eat and drink at weddings. A table in the corner of the yard was piled high with gifts, including a blown-glass vase from Amalia that must've cost a fortune.

I took a break to watch Piper and Robbie have their first dance, and at one point my dad pulled me onto the floor to make me recreate a hand jive we had made up when I was a kid. And though neither of us could remember it very well, we still cracked up with the effort. Before long, just about everyone was trying to do it with us.

If Kieren and Robbie had some kind of heart-to-heart during this time, I didn't notice it. Instead, Kieren seemed to fall in with the people he was sitting with—a table that included Piper's married cousins and their football-obsessed husbands, one of whom was actually wearing a jersey from his favorite team under his jacket.

The cake was a three-tiered white concoction covered in little yellow rose petals—another gift from Aunt Amalia, who carefully removed the ornate porcelain figurine of a dancing couple perched on a silken base. Apparently, it had been a family heirloom from her late husband, another little reminder of the dead cheater who was posthumously paying for all of this. Piper and Robbie cut into it while everyone snapped a million pictures on their phones, and then they stuffed pieces into each other's faces.