At Her Sister’s Wedding, My Best Friend Caught the Bouquet… Then Walked Straight to My Table!
Chapter 1
Everyone at the wedding expected the bouquet to land in Emily’s hands.
Her older sister, Claire, had just finished her first dance with Daniel, the man she had loved since college. The ballroom was glowing with soft golden lights, champagne glasses sparkled on the tables, and every unmarried woman in the room had gathered behind the bride.
Emily stood near the back.
She wasn’t even trying to catch it.
Her best friend, Sophie Lane, was standing beside her.
“You should move forward,” Sophie whispered.
Emily laughed.
“Why?”
“Because you’re going to miss it.”
“I don’t want it.”
“You say that every time.”
Emily looked at the bride.
Claire turned.
The music changed.
Everyone screamed.
Claire threw the bouquet.
It flew over the crowd.
Hands reached up.
Someone missed.
Another woman jumped.
Then Sophie caught it.
The room erupted.
Emily clapped and laughed.
“You did it!”
Sophie stared at the flowers in her hands.
Then something strange happened.
She didn’t laugh.
She didn’t celebrate.
She simply looked at the bouquet.
Then she looked directly at Emily.
And started walking.
Straight toward her.
Emily’s smile faded.
“Sophie?”
Sophie kept coming.
People began to notice.
Whispers spread around the ballroom.
The bride looked confused.
The groom looked amused.
Emily sat frozen at her table.
Sophie stopped in front of her.
Then she placed the bouquet on the table.
“I’m not keeping this.”
Emily laughed nervously.
“Okay…”
Sophie leaned closer.
“I need to tell you something.”
Her voice was trembling.
“What?”
Sophie glanced around.
Then whispered:
“I’ve been in love with someone for seven years.”
Emily’s heart skipped.
She looked around, expecting to see some man standing behind her.
“Who?”
Sophie looked directly into her eyes.
“You.”
Everything around Emily seemed to disappear.
The music.
The conversations.
The laughter.
Even the clinking glasses.
Emily stared.
“What?”
Sophie swallowed.
“I love you.”
Emily couldn’t speak.
They had been best friends since they were seventeen.
They had shared apartments.
Breakups.
Family problems.
Holiday dinners.
Every birthday.
Every secret.
But never this.
Emily finally whispered:
“Why now?”
Sophie looked down.
“Because I was about to watch my best friend fall in love with someone else and pretend I was okay.”
Emily’s heart pounded.
“There is no someone else.”
“There was going to be.”
Emily frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Sophie pulled a small envelope from her purse.
She placed it beside the bouquet.
“Read that.”
Emily stared at the envelope.
Her name was written on the front.
For Emily.
She opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Emily recognized the place immediately.
Their old high school football field.
On the back was a date.
Seven years earlier.
And beneath the date were six words.
The day I knew I loved you.
Emily looked up.
Sophie was crying.
But before Emily could say anything, Claire suddenly appeared beside them.
“What’s going on?”
Sophie wiped her face.
“Nothing.”
Claire looked from Sophie to Emily.
Then to the bouquet.
Her eyes widened.
“Wait…”
She slowly smiled.
“Oh my God.”
Emily stood.
“Claire, I…”
Claire hugged Sophie.
Then whispered in her ear:
“You finally told her.”
Emily froze.
“You knew?”
Claire pulled away.
“I’ve known for years.”
Emily stared at her sister.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Claire looked at Sophie.
“Because she was terrified you would never look at her the same way again.”
Sophie lowered her eyes.
Emily looked at her best friend.
Seven years.
Seven years of secrets.
And suddenly every moment they had shared seemed different.
But there was one thing Emily didn’t know.
Sophie hadn’t caught that bouquet by accident.
She had planned to catch it.
Because there was another secret inside her purse.
One that would change everything.
