Daphne settles into a contented rhythm with Miles, Julia, and Ashleigh through the Fourth of July and Cherry Festival, enjoying communal cooking, fireworks, and constant texting with Miles even when their bedrooms are feet apart. She and Miles maintain a charged but platonic friendship, never quite alone together, while Daphne consciously chooses to feel content rather than push for more.

Daphne begins selectively job hunting for positions she actually wants, including a children's librarian opening at Ocean City Library in Worcester County, Maryland—twenty minutes from her mother. She quietly submits an application without telling her mom, not wanting to raise hopes prematurely.

On Friday the nineteenth, Daphne comes home to find Miles cooking pesto trofie and Julia hauling in shipped boxes from Chicago. Julia casually reveals she's not just visiting longer—she's relocating, planning job interviews, and intends to fly back only to retrieve the rest of her belongings. Miles is blindsided. Julia insists she's staying because Miles is in denial about his breakup and needs her, then escapes with Ashleigh before he can argue.

Miles offers to put Julia or Daphne in a hotel, but Daphne refuses, saying she can handle another week. Miles confides that Julia is hiding from something herself. He and Daphne share a tender hug, Daphne acknowledging internally that she wants him but cares enough to set those feelings aside.

Julia and Ashleigh return with air mattresses and supplies, and Julia heads for the closet to stash her things—the closet where Daphne has hidden her wedding dress and all the wedding paraphernalia. Daphne lunges too late: an avalanche of organza, candles, gift bags, and the dress itself spills out, exposing her secret. Ashleigh asks incredulously whether Daphne kept the dress.