Epilogue - 1 Year Later
“Ladies and gentleman, it’s my pleasure to present to you for the very first time–Griffin and Eleanor Hart!”
I grin widely at my husband before we walk hand in hand through the old barn doors into our reception.
Husband. I will never get tired of saying that.
Everything about the wedding was perfect.
Abby and Jenna stood by my side, with Jack and David by Griffin’s.
The old barn–the same one where we had the reunion that brought us back together–overflowed with irises and roses from the gardens Griffin planted on the grounds, long before he had any hope that we’d work out.
Each bouquet and boutonniere was made of the same flowers, which was his idea.
He let me (and Abby) take the reins on wedding planning, but was adamant about the flowers.
It took me back to my sixteenth birthday and the flowers on my desk that told me fully knew me, even then.
Griffin’s dad got ordained so he could officiate the wedding, and my dad cried the whole time walking me down the aisle.
I had the jitters all morning–excited ones, not cold-feet ones–but the moment I locked eyes with my sweet cowboy, the world fell away.
No one has ever looked more handsome in a tux and a cowboy hat, and with each step toward forever, my love for him somehow grew even deeper.
As we take the floor for our first dance, the first notes of A Life Where We Work Out by Flatland Cavalry play over the speakers.
In a life where we work out there’s a house up on the hill…
“Well, Mrs. Hart,” Griffin says, leaning down to whisper in my ear. “How are we feeling?”
A front porch going all the way round, and a flower pot on the windowsill…
“Like the luckiest girl in the world,” I whisper, kissing him on the jaw.” A shiver runs through his body, and my heart stutters. It’s been nearly fifteen years since we met, and I never get tired of the way he reacts to every little touch.
We sit and watch the sunset while the kids play in the field…
“I’m the luckiest man alive,” he says, stars in his eyes as he studies my face. “You’ve never looked more beautiful than you do right now, darlin’.”
‘Cause in a life where we work out, there’s a house up on a hill…
It’s been a little over a year since the reunion, and I’m still amazed every day that this is my life.
We’ve gone back and forth between Boston and Larkspur, each of our dreams that much sweeter for dreaming them together.
David has taken over temporarily as Griffin’s right hand man at the contracting company, and my firm has been graciously flexible with letting me work remotely for months at a time.
If life is only ups and downs, maybe you’ll come on back around…
I’ve agreed to two more years at the firm, after which we’ll come back to Larkspur permanently, and I’ll join the business as a project manager.
Never in a million years did I think I’d end up in Larkspur for the long haul–I thought I knew what I wanted out in this big old world, desperate to escape and find myself.
But life has a funny way of showing us that it’s not what we do, but who we do it with.
Even if that means circling right back to where you came from.
Save me from what I’ve become…
Griffin has seen every part of me, good, bad, and ugly, and loves me fiercely all the same. As we sway to the music, eyes locked, captivated by the love we’ve found in each other, I couldn’t be more grateful. I couldn’t be more in love.
I couldn’t be more excited for whatever the future might hold, so long as I get to do it as Mrs. Ellie Hart.
I pull Griffin’s lips down to mine, kissing him deeply without a care in the world that everyone and their mother is watching us.
I smile against his mouth as the crowd whoops and cheers, whispering “I love you, husband” with my lips still on his.
Lord knows I can’t keep losing sleep dreaming about…
“I love you, wife,” he whispers back, kissing my forehead as the final lyric sings us into our forever.
A life where we work out.