Chapter 412 A low bar
Mia’s POV
“Nate!” I said again, because apparently my vocabulary had shrunk to one word.
He smiled. That same gentle smile.
“Hello, Mia.” His voice was warm. Easy. “You look surprised.”
“I am surprised. I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“Morton invited me. Well–technically Grace invited me.”
“Right. Of course.” I was still processing. “You’re back in Paris?”
“I am.”
Scarlett had turned around in her seat, her champagne glass paused halfway to her lips. Her eyes moved between us with that particular sharpness. Reading the room.
“Dr. Pierce,” she said.
“Mrs. Morton.” He smiled at her. “Or should I say Mrs. Morton–Wallace? I heard you and Morton reconciled.”
“Just Scarlett is fine.” She took a sip of champagne. “And yes. We’re giving it another try. Apparently, I’m a glutton for punishment.”
Morton made a sound beside her. Soft. Could have been laughter. Could have been protest.
“Glutton for love,” Morton corrected.
“Same thing,” Scarlett said cheerfully.
I looked at Nate. The lines around his eyes had softened.
“You look good,” I said.
“Thank you.” He gestured vaguely at himself. “Living in Paris agrees with me. I am in Jardin House now.”
“Wow.” I stopped. Didn’t know how to finish.
“It’s good,” he said simply. “Carol isn’t there. She never will be. But everything we were–everything we built together–it’s still there.”
His voice was steady. Clear.
My throat tightened. “I’m glad.”
“Me too.”
Scarlett was watching this exchange like it was a tennis match. Her head turning between us. When Nate looked away to survey the venue, she leaned close to me.
Chapter 412 A low bar
“He seems better,” she whispered.
“He does.”
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“Good.” She straightened. “Though I have to say, it’s getting crowded around here. Every time I turn around, there’s another man from your complicated history showing up.”
“Nate is not part of my complicated history.”
“He wanted to be.”
“No, he didn’t” I shook my head. Took another sip of champagne. The bubbles felt sharp against the roof of my mouth.
Nate had moved slightly to greet someone else. An older couple. The woman’s hair was silver. Perfectly styled. Her dress was probably worth more than my car.
Madison tugged on my sleeve. “Mia? Is that your friend?”
“Yes, baby. That’s Dr. Pierce.”
“The one who helped Grandma?”
“That’s right.”
“He looks nice.”
“He is nice.”
Alexander had twisted around in his seat. Looking. “Is he a doctor like the wizard doctor?”
“Different kind of doctor. He fixes brains.”
“That’s cool.” Alexander’s eyes were wide. “Can he fix Kyle’s brain?”
“Kyle’s brain is fine, buddy. It’s his immune system that’s the problem.”
“But the immune system is connected to the brain. That’s what Ethan said. Because the blood goes everywhere.”
“That’s true.” I touched his shoulder. Gentle. “But sometimes different doctors fix different things.”
He nodded. Serious. Like I’d just explained quantum physics.
The string quartet started playing. Not the ceremony music yet. Just background. Something classical. Pachelbel, maybe. Or one of those composers whose names all sounded similar.
People were still arriving. The garden was filling up. Clusters of expensive clothes. Jewelry that caught the light. Voices that carried across the manicured lawn.
“They came,” Scarlett said suddenly.
I turned.
Chapter 412 A low bar
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And there walking down the stone path toward out section–were three figures.
Sophie Thomas And Kyle.
Sophie was wearing red. Of course she was wearing red. A dress that looked like it had been painted onto her body. Her hair was styled in elaborate waves. She walked with that particular confidence. Like she owned every space she entered.
Thomas walked beside her. His suit was navy. Conservative. He looked like he’d rather be anywhere else.
And Kyle. Kyle was in a black suit. Perfectly tailored. His shirt was crisp white. His tie was dark gray. Simple.
He looked-
He looked good. Better than I’d seen him look in weeks.
His face a least had some color. Not much. But more than the ghostly pallor I’d become used to. The suit fit him properly. Not hanging loose the way his clothes had been.
He looked like someone who might not die tomorrow.
Which was a low bar. But still.
They reached our row.
Sophie spotted me first. Her face lit up. “Mia! Scarlett! Darling!”
She swept forward. Air–kissed both my cheeks. Her perfume was strong. Expensive. Something with jasmine and danger.
“You look exhausted,” she announced cheerfully. “Have you been sleeping?”
“Hello to you too, Sophie.”
“I’m serious. Look at these dark circles.” She gestured at my face like I was an art installation. “When was the last time you slept more than four hours?”
“I sleep fine.”
“You’re lying I can always tell when you’re lying. Your left eye twitches.”
“My eye doesn’t twitch.”
“It’s twitching right now.”
I resisted the urge to touch my eye. “Sophie
“Never mind. We’ll discuss your terrible self–care habits later.” She turned to Madison. Knelt down. Her red dress pooling on the grass. “And who is this beautiful princess?”
Madison’s face went pink. “Madison.”
“That’s right!” Sophie said.
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Chapter 412 A low bar
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Thomas had stopped beside Kyle. They stood together. Not quite comfortable. But not hostile either.
Thomas’s eyes found mine. Held for a moment. Then looked away.
Kyle didn’t look at me at all. His attention was on the altar. On the roses. On anything but me.
Morton stood up. Shook Thomas’s hand. Then Kyle’s. Professional. Formal.
“Glad you could make it,” Morton said.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Thomas replied. His voice was flat.
Kyle just nodded.
The tension was thick enough to cut.
Scarlett stood up. Smoothed her dress. “Well. This is cozy.”
Sophie laughed. That bright, sharp sound. “Isn’t it? I love gatherings where everyone has complicated histories with everyone else. So much better than boring weddings where people actually like each other.”
“Sophie,” Thomas said. His voice had a warning edge.
“What? I’m just being honest.”
“You’re being inappropriate.”
“Inappropriate is my middle name.”
“I thought your middle name was Marguerite.“,
“It’s both. Sophie Marguerite Inappropriate Field. It’s on my passport.”
Despite everything–despite the weirdness of this situation, despite my exhaustion, despite the fact that Kyle was standing three feet away and still not looking at me–I found myself smiling.
Nate had drifted back toward our group. He took in the new arrivals with mild interest.
“Dr. Pierce,” Sophie said. Her voice changed. Warmed. She switched to French. Rapid–fire. Too fast for me to follow.
Nate responded in kind. His French was flawless. Native–level.
They exchanged what sounded like pleasantries. Sophie laughed at something he said. He smiled. That genuine smile.
“Excuse me,” Scarlett interrupted. Loud. In English. “Some of us don’t speak French.”
“Then you should learn,” Sophie said without looking at her.
“Or you could speak English at an English–speaking wedding in America.”
“But French is so much more elegant.”
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Chapter 412 A low bar
“French is pretentious.”
“You’re just jealous because you can’t roll your Rs.”
“I can roll my Rs just fine, thank you.”
“Prove it.”
Scarlett made a sound. Like a cat hissing. But there was laughter underneath it.
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Sophie turned back to all of us. Her eyes swept across the group. Landing on each face. Taking inventory.
“This is perfect,” she announced. “We’re all here. Together.”
“Is it perfect?” Thomas asked dryly. “Because it feels uncomfortable.”
“Uncomfortable is good! Uncomfortable means we’re alive. Comfortable means we’re dead.”
“You’re impossible.”
“You’re insufferable.”
They were standing closer now. Facing each other. Sophie’s chin tilted up. Thomas’s jaw tight.
The air between them crackled.
Scarlett leaned over to me. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Are they going to fight or fuck?”
I choked on my champagne. “Scarlett.”
Chapter 413 I do
