Chapter 1 - The Jacket on the Floor
The jacket hit the floor before anybody heard the bride scream.
A pale silver-green sleeve slid across the polished wood and stopped against an old woman's turquoise shoe. One hundred wedding guests sat frozen beneath white flowers and afternoon sunlight. At the front of the aisle, Evelyn Brooks lowered her silver-gray head as if the thin piece of fabric weighed a hundred pounds.
"I told you not to wear that thing," Vanessa Price snapped. Her white gown glittered under the tall windows. "Do you ever listen, or do you just enjoy making everything about you?"
Evelyn didn't reach for the jacket. Her hands rested in her lap, small and still. "I thought it might get cold."
"It's my wedding. Not your living room."
A chair creaked. Somebody drew in a sharp breath. Nobody stood.
"Vanessa." The voice came from the aisle, low enough to sound almost calm. "Pick it up."
Marcus Brooks had been halfway to the front when he saw his mother's jacket fall. He wore a navy tuxedo, black bow tie, and a white rose pinned to his chest. Now he stood with one hand open at his side, staring at the woman he was supposed to marry.
Vanessa turned. "Marcus, don't start. Your mother has been disrespecting me all day."
"Pick. It. Up."
"Are you seriously taking her side?"
He looked past the bride. His mother was staring at the grain of the wood, her mouth pressed tight. She had spent years telling him she was fine when she wasn't. He knew that expression better than his own face.
"I'm taking the side of somebody who doesn't deserve to be humiliated," he said.
Vanessa folded her arms, veil trembling against her shoulders. "Then maybe you should marry her."
The words rang across the room. Marcus went motionless. Even Vanessa looked startled by what she'd said.
May you like
Then Evelyn whispered, "Marcus, there's something I need to tell you before you make a decision."
He turned toward her. Her eyes weren't only wet with hurt. They were frightened.
