CHAPTER FIFTEEN Another Chance

“AND DO YOU, VERONICA ELENA Vasquez, take Xavier Leroy Redd as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish…”

Bess reached over and squeezed my arm. I looked over at her, and she shot me one of her patented, Can you believe this? This is so romantic I’m about to burst! looks. She even waved her hands over her head, mimicking an explosion: mind blown. I winked at her and nodded. Yup, it was finally happening. Three months after their failed wedding attempt (and Max’s failed murder attempt) in Las Vegas, Xavier and Veronica were finally having a public wedding ceremony at a beautiful flower farm outside Chicago. It was a smaller ceremony—no attendants, even fewer guests, no extreme sports. Notably, though, Veronica and Deanna’s parents were in attendance this time. I guess any romance that could survive a murder attempt was strong enough to convince even the most protective mom and dad. And to look at Xavier’s and Veronica’s faces, all the love from that failed ceremony was still there—plus a little more, now that they knew how much they could truly trust each other.

“… until death do you part?” the officiant finished.

Veronica startled slightly, then found Xavier’s eyes. I would bet they were both thinking about how close Veronica had come to death already as a result of this marriage, but thankfully, the danger was over now. Max was still in Nevada, in jail awaiting trial for attempted murder, along with a host of other charges. Unfortunately for Max and his constitution, it looked like he was headed for prison for a long time.

“I do,” Veronica said, and both she and Xavier beamed.

“Then by the power vested in me by the state of Illinois, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss!”

Veronica leaned in hungrily, and both she and Xavier laughed as they smooched. I glanced to my other side at Ned, who nudged me with a smile and then pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to me. Was I crying? Oh no—I’d teared up. I used the handkerchief to wipe my eyes as the crowd began whooping at the bride and groom.

“You’re not usually this sentimental, Nancy,” Ned leaned down to whisper. “Are you picturing your own wedding?”

I chuckled, but not unkindly. Ned smiled. He knows I’m crazy about him, but I’m not really the fantasizing-about-my-wedding type. Still, it was nice to be attending this new celebration with a plus-one.

The music swelled, and everyone cheered as the bride and groom strode down the aisle together for the first time as husband and wife. When I looked at Bess and George, they were dabbing away tears too.

“It all worked out for them,” George observed, shaking her head. “I almost can’t believe it! Those two crazy kids really want to be married.”

“Of course they do, George,” Bess said, shoving her tissue back into her tiny purse. “It’s true love!”

As the bride and groom and their immediate families (minus those in jail) headed off to take pictures, I wandered with Ned, Bess, and George to the cocktail hour, which was taking place on a little deck a few yards from the ceremony spot. Ned grabbed us all some sparkling cider, and we settled down on some benches to chat.

“Just think, Nancy,” Bess said, “if it wasn’t for Xavier and Veronica, you never would have tried flyboarding.”

I gave her a wry grin. “If it wasn’t for Xavier and Veronica, I wouldn’t have done a lot of things.”

“You really seemed to enjoy flyboarding, though,” Ned suggested, leaning back and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “I mean, going by the video you texted me. In fact, I found a link to it on Instagram. Did you know you’re famous?”

I groaned. “Am I still online? Are all the Redd Zone social media sites still up?” Sadly, the complex had closed this month, after a massive going-out-of-business sale. Veronica and Xavier still did a little thrill seeking on their own, but the Redd Zone was no more. Xavier was filing for bankruptcy, but he and Veronica were working with her uncle to try to come up with a financial recovery plan. Already, I’d heard, Arlo had reached out to Xavier with a proposal for a new business—this one, an employment training and placement firm that would help recently released prisoners get back on their feet. Bess said Xavier was really interested. It turned out he and Arlo did have a special friendship—the kind that can go quiet for years, but then they were able to pick up right where they’d left off.

Speaking of friends, I spotted Priya and Deanna at a table together with their husbands. Deanna was telling a story and Priya was laughing hysterically. I nudged Bess and George. “I guess those two worked out their differences, huh?”

Bess followed my glance and nodded. “Oh yeah. Well, it helps that they were both sort of right—Veronica really was in danger, but not from Xavier, who really is a stand-up guy.”

“I always thought Priya and Deanna would get along if they could just get past the Xavier stuff,” George said. “They have a lot in common.”

“Yeah, for one, they’re both super dedicated to Veronica,” I agreed. It was nice to see Priya and Deanna having a good time after worrying so much about their sister and friend. For once, all was well that ended well—it was a beautiful day, we were home with our friends, and we’d just watched two very happy people promise to share their lives. I let out a little sigh and leaned back against Ned.

Bess glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. “You know,” she said, “I think we all learned that it’s good to push yourself out of your comfort zone sometimes.”

“Did we?” George asked skeptically. “Is that what we learned? Because it kinda looked that way in the beginning, but…”

Bess waved her away and went on. “Like, for example, Nancy and I had these amazing experiences bungee jumping and flyboarding. We never could have done that if we hadn’t pushed out of our little boxes. Right, Nancy?”

Why did this sound familiar? “Bess, what are you getting at?”

Bess grinned and leaned toward me eagerly. “Well! I was on Instagram the other day, looking around at some other extreme-sports accounts. And I found this extreme-sports club that meets up in Chicago. It’s for all ages, and they’re going on a bungee-jumping trip next weekend! I’m seriously thinking about it. And I just thought, you had a nice time flyboarding, and maybe George would be open to trying something new….”

“No,” George said curtly. “That’s a hard no, if you’re wondering. No offense. But that stuff is not for me, especially after we saw Xavier almost die in that canyon….”

Bess shrugged and looked at me hopefully. “And you, Nancy?”

I could feel Ned watching me curiously. And I knew the Nancy he’d fallen for would easily say no. But the thing is, I had learned something from Xavier that weekend in Vegas. No matter how crazy an idea might seem, I didn’t want to live my life in a box. I wanted to reserve the right to consider everything.

I glanced at Ned, then raised my glass toward Bess. “Well,” I said, “never say never.”