“Oh my God, I’m an idiot. Yes! Yes!”
Abruptly she was throwing herself forward, then she was in my arms, hugging me with all her might. I returned the action in kind, holding onto her for all that I was worth. We kissed, the whole world falling away and leaving only the sparkling lights of our affection, until Trevor cleared his throat.
“So, uh, I’m guessing you’re going to want a minister?”
Epilogue
~Nicole~
“And do you, Nicole Arden, take James Hines to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“I do,” I answered, eyes full of tears.
In a million years I never thought I would be here, standing in a white dress in front of James’ friends and my coworkers, pledging all of my heart to the love of my life.
But that’s exactly what was happening. And it was the most beautiful thing I could imagine. We had waited until the transition just between spring and summer, when it would be warm enough not to need jackets but cool enough not to melt into puddles. We had chosen an outdoor pavilion with a beautiful garden set up all around it, and a building nearby for the reception.
Our wedding colors were white, black and lilac, with James and his best man being dressed in black suits with purple vests, me in all white, and our flower girl in the prettiest lilac gown that had ever been made.
Of course, my mother, dressed in a similar outfit, was helping her by carrying her along and tossing flowers. As my only living family member who came, seeing her walk down the aisle from the back had made me tear up.
“Then you may kiss the bride.”
My breath hitched at those fateful words and then suddenly our lips were pressed against each other.
It was magic, pure magic. It felt like lightning shot through my frame and bound me to the earth and the man holding me. Everyone in attendance cheered, and I didn’t think I would forget that moment for the rest of our lives.
We parted, and I was just crying outright. Who would have thought that some girl from the backwaters of Illinois could ever end up in the position I was now? I certainly didn’t, and yet James and I were holding hands as we ran down the aisle, people pelting us with flower petals instead of uncooked rice.
And the enchantment didn’t end there. Our reception was perfect in every sense of the word, with dancing and laughing and even some terrible singing. We had opted for no alcohol at our celebration, and that seemed to be the right decision. There wasn’t a single fight, or awkward moment, or any of those other awful wedding stories you heard about.
We left our venue happy and full and completely drunk off love, then immediately went to the airport to catch our flight. After asking me where I had always wanted to go, James had arranged a week’s vacation to the Bahamas for him, me, the baby and my mother!
I didn’t think I would ever get used to his generosity. It truly seemed to know no bounds, and the entire time we were on our way to the islands, I was simmering with the desire to show him just how incredibly grateful I was.
When we finally touched down on the ground, I was a burning ball of wanton passion, but I had to act like I was normal while we checked in, went to a fantastic dinner, and then got settled into our room.
It seemed like a shame to be anything but utterly enamored with the surroundings, the food, the drinks, and everything else, but I only had eyes for James. I was desperate for a little of that wedding night magic, and even Kireina’s little coos couldn’t district me from him.
Finally, it was night time, and mom was tending to our baby while James and I went to the beach. I was so happy she and I had patched our relationship up. Not just because she was a great babysitter, but because it turned out when she didn’t have my father constantly driving her up the wall, she was a pretty decent person. Not that it was all my dad’s fault. She definitely pushed all of his buttons on purpose and put him into situations she knew would make him uncomfortable. They were definitely a case of better apart than together, and now I appreciated the better version of my mom I never got to see as a kid.
“I can’t believe we’re here,” James said as we left the doors that lead to the patio that then in turn lead straight to the beach. “We almost didn’t make it.”
“It was close,” I agreed. “I was literally leaning forward to sign those papers.”
“Would you have really done it? Even though you loved me?”
I nodded resolutely. James and I had had many conversations since that fateful proposal, and a lot of the talking had revolved around the walls I built and how we both struggled with telling each other what we were feeling and what we wanted from each other.