I frowned. "Why would you ask me that, Nora?"
I watched her draw a long breath, then point toward the trees beyond the villa. "Addie, do you have any idea how many of my colleagues are hiding in that banyan grove right now?"
"Every last one of them got tipped off. They're betting the Swanson family will look down on you and humiliate you, and they're out there waiting to splash your worst moment across tomorrow's front page."
"I'm only going to ask you once. If things are already this hard before it's even begun, do you honestly believe you and Jesse will be happy after the wedding?"
Nora's warning landed like a stone in my chest.
But when I lifted my gaze to the woman in the mirror, the unease slowly faded.
In all the time we'd been together, Jesse had never once broken a promise to me.
He had offered me the happiness I'd spent my whole life longing for. No matter how much ridicule or slander waited down the road, I was going to walk it with him.
So I gently took Nora's hand. My voice was barely a whisper, but steady as stone.
"Nora, I trust him."
Nora drew another deep breath. Finally, she tied the last ribbon into a perfect bow.