Epilogue
Charlotte
“I never thought I’d say this,” Josie admits as her face is half covered in a giant, expensive camera, “And I can’t believe I am saying it now, but this color is somehow working.
” She says, talking about the olive green.
I look down at my own dress, and over at the other bridesmaids; I can’t help but smile.
“You know…I was thinking the same thing,” I say. And wildly enough, I mean it. “It’s actually working with every skin color, every dress cut, every body type, and almost looks good next to the color I picked.”
“You mean I did something right?” Gavin asks, walking up in a perfectly fitted black suit, complete with an olive vest and tie underneath.
He’s fumbling with his white boutonniere with a smug smile on his face.
“Maybe I should quit my job and take over the wedding planning industry,” he says just as the boutonniere falls off and into the snow.
I laugh and pick it up. Gavin’s cheeks actually flush a little as I pin it properly to his lapel. “I think you should just stick to the ski resort industry,” I say, patting him on the chest.
“Yeah, maybe so,” he grimaces. I tug on his jacket, pulling him into a kiss.
“Okay you two,” Josie cuts in, “I need pictures of the whole wedding party. Which means wrap it up and get in place.”
I giggle, and he winks. “That dress looks great on you,” he says.
“Yeah? It’s a little snug,” I say as I hoist up my boobs.
“In all the right places,” he growls, and I playfully shove him.
“Chop chop,” Josie says again, and we blend into the group. Wedding party photos take nearly an hour, and by the time we are finished, we are all starving and freezing.
“This is lovely,” Josie says with a drink in her hand as we stand around the fireplace in the event hall. “I need to do more high-end weddings. Destination maybe. Do you have any clients planning to elope to the Bahamas?”
“Not currently,” I laugh. “But I wouldn’t turn it down.”
I am stuffing my face with shredded pork and potato salad when Gavin walks up.
“Here comes trouble,” I tease.
“How’s the barbecue?” he asks, wiping a smudge of sauce from my lip.
“Delicious,” I say. “Even if it’s a little messy…for a wedding.”
“I don’t think anyone cares about it being messy,” he says.
“The bride usually does,” I argue.
“Not this bride,” Holly says, bouncing over to us.
“See?” Gavin smiles.
“Unusual circumstances,” I say, and he winks again.
“I see you two are back to your normal banter,” she says.
“He drives me crazy,” I say. “And I can’t even have a drink to take the edge off.”
“Well, I can’t do anything about that, but I can offer you cake,” she says.
“The cake! I almost forgot!” I clap as we head over to the table.
“A pregnant woman forgot cake?” Gavin asks. “I didn’t know that could happen.”
I playfully smack him on the chest. “Wait, you didn’t get red velvet?” I ask.
“So I actually forgot, but Ben got sick on red velvet when he was a kid, and I guess he can’t stand it now,” Holly says.
“Oh, that’s right,” Gavin says. “I forgot about that too.”
“You forgot that the groom, who is your own son, has an aversion to red velvet cake?” I ask. “Tsk, tsk…”
Gavin pinches my side, making me shriek. And then, when I see what’s sitting next to the almond cake, I shriek again.
“Shut. Up. What are those?!” I ask, but I already know what they are. Maple bacon cupcakes. I grab one and take a bite, and my knees nearly give out. “You are the best bride ever,” I say with a full mouth.
“Thanks,” Holly smiles. “But I didn’t order those.”
I stop chewing and look up at Gavin.
“Best boyfriend ever…” he says. I roll my eyes but with a smile before munching on the cupcake.
After the cake, the dancing starts, and the band is great!
The dances are wild, and everyone is having a blast. As crazy as it sounds, none of it is awkward.
Not even the fact that I am dancing at my ex’s wedding…
with my ex’s dad…whose child I'm pregnant with, or that Holly and I are now good friends.
Somehow everything has worked out, which is wild.
At one point, Gavin grabs my hand and tugs me outside into the night. The air is crisp, and the snow is pristine on the mountain tops. There’s no less than a billion stars in the sky.
“That’s better,” he says, pulling me against his chest and planting a kiss on my lips. “The party is fun, but all I’ve been thinking about is getting you alone.”
We walk over to the fire, and I hold my hands out to it. Despite being a Colorado native, I’ve never done well in the cold. Gavin comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me.
“That’s nice,” I say.
“You cold?” he asks.
“I’m always cold,” I answer, and Gavin flips me around to face him.
“Maybe I can help with that,” he says, kissing me again. And for a moment we get lost in it…until I hear footsteps behind us and pull away.
“Oh, don’t stop on our account,” Holly says with a big grin.
“Okay,” Gavin says, pulling me back into him.
“No, you can stop,” Ben says, and I press my hands to Gavin’s chest, pushing away.
“We just wanted to thank you two for everything,” Holly says.
“Of course,” I say. “I’m so glad it turned out the way you hoped, even if there were some road bumps.”
“Makes for a fun ride,” Gavin says.
“Or more interesting, anyway,” Ben says, and they both laugh. “But for real. It’s been perfect. And now…we head off to our honeymoon.”
“I was going to say,” I chime in, looking at my phone. “Your flight to Costa Rica is in four hours. You two better get going!”
“And what are you two going to do while we are gone?” Holly asks.
“Oh, we have plans,” Gavin says, and I give him a curious expression. Gavin ignores it, and we all say our goodbyes. It’s crazy to believe the four of us can make this work, but I believe we can.
We watch them drive off, and once they are out of sight, we turn back to each other.
“Now where were we?” he growls, going in for another kiss.
“Hold on,” I say, pushing back again. “What did you mean by we have plans?”
“Oh, right,” he says. “We have a little getaway of our own waiting for us.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
“The airbnb. The contest? Don’t you remember?” he asks.
“Contest?” I ask. “Wait. From that travel agency? We won?”
“We won,” he says. “And from the looks of it, it’s not too shabby. But we don’t have to rush. We can leave whenever you–”
“Let’s go,” I say, tugging on his hand. “I have been polite for as long as I can stand. Just because Ben says he’s okay with you and I together doesn’t mean he wants to see the PDA at his wedding. But I’m done holding back.”
“Damn, girl…” he says and we drive off.
* * *
“It’s so big,” I gasp as I step inside the airbnb.
“That’s what she said,” Gavin says. But I am so in awe of the place that I don’t even care that I walked right into that joke.
“Seriously. That travel agency was so quirky I assumed the contest was a scam. But this is the nicest airbnb I’ve ever been to. And as a wedding planner, trust me, I’ve seen a lot of airbnbs.”
“I’m glad you’re happy,” he says, and I stop gawking at the vaulted ceilings, chef’s kitchen, and hot tub on the balcony. I turn my attention back to him.
“I am happy,” I say. “But it’s not because of the airbnb. It’s who I am here with.”
“Yeah?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“So what do you say we take advantage of that California king bed in there?” he asks.
“Or we could take advantage of the couch.”
“Or the hot tub.”
“Or the shower.”
“Or the counter.”
I giggle. “Honestly, I don’t care where we do it. As long as we get to it.”
“Hell yeah, girl,” Gavin grins, and the next thing I know he is carrying me into the bedroom. “Call me old-fashioned, but I love bedroom sex.”
“Well, lucky for you, I’m not picky,” I say as he sets me on the bed. I grab him by the tie and yank him towards me, crashing his lips into mine. Gavin chuckles into my mouth.
“You are a hungry little thing,” he says.
“You have no idea.”
“But we just had sex last night…”
“Yeah well, that was yesterday…”
“Jesus, girl. You are insatiable,” he says.
“You have no idea.”
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