Epilogue
Scarlett
One year later
“Are you sure about this?” Grandma asks a sharp look in her eye. She’s leaning on her cane, her long pearl necklace knocking against the rings on her fingers.
When Mom and Dad came back from Florida, they brought Grandma. They convinced her to move to Serendipity Springs. I don’t know how they did it. I don’t know why they wished this travesty on this happy little town. I don’t know if Serendipity Springs can work its magic on Grandma because she might be too far gone. She’s abrupt, cranky, and obstinate.
I’ll probably turn out just like her.
She’s renting an apartment at The Serendipity now and is excited to be closer to her grandchildren. She’s already been here three months and always says how happy she is to be close to family. Aka, Wade and me. I think she’s just excited to be closer so she can boss us around. It ought to be interesting. She’s already butting into all of her neighbors’ business and somehow knows everyone who lives in the building. She’s a quick worker.
“Am I sure about what, Grandma?”
“About marrying this boy.” She points toward the window with the view of the backyard where the wedding guests are gathering.
“Of course, I’m sure about it, Grandma,” I reply with a little nervous laugh.
She shakes her head. “Because let me tell you, if you’re not sure about it, I have the keys to your brother’s car.”
She holds up a set of keys in her left hand and jingles them. I honestly have no idea how she would’ve gotten her hands on those because Phoenix would not trust his car to anybody—except maybe Wade.
“Wow, how did you get those?” I ask.
Grandma shakes her head. “It wasn’t easy, let me tell you that.”
“Do you not like Wade or something?” I ask.
“Oh, I really like him, but you’re my granddaughter, and if you don’t want to marry him, I will help you run away.” She raises her eyebrows in a way that lets me know she’s serious.
It’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.
“You would be the best getaway driver ever, Grandma.” Although, I don’t know that we would make it out of it alive. But I don’t say that part out loud.
“But I really do love him, and I’m excited to marry him. Is it weird that I’m not nervous? I feel like maybe I should be nervous about this, but it just feels so right—like I’m meant to marry him, and like this is just the next step in our lives.”
Grandma nods. “That’s just the peace of knowing you’re marrying the right person. You’d be nervous if it was the wrong one.”
Mom bustles into the room, holding my giant bouquet that she made. “Oh, you’re breathtaking. I can’t believe how beautiful you look.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I say with a laugh.
She hurries to add, “Not that you don’t look beautiful every other day. It’s just so strange to see my little baby in a wedding dress. I can’t believe this day is here. I told myself I wouldn’t get emotional, but here I am.” She dabs at her eyelashes. “I don’t want to ruin our family pictures.”
“You know this isn’t going to change anything, right, Mom? We’re still living in Serendipity Springs. We’ll still be here.”
“I know, but it’s a big life event to promise your love to someone and promise to be with them.”
The music starts outside.
“Come on honey, if you’re ready, all the guests have been seated.”
I adjust my dress one more time. I opted for an off-the-shoulder, ball gown style dress with an embroidered lace skirt. It’s a dress that belongs in a movie or a book. It feels like I’m living out my own fairy tale.
Mom opens the door, and we leave the bedroom I grew up in. Dad is standing on the landing.
He’s crying.
A battle-hardened prosecutor with the biggest heart. I blame him for setting my standard high for the man I marry.
“Honey, you just look—” He chokes back his words as he leans forward to press a kiss on my forehead. “I think I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want you to be old enough to get married.”
I kiss his rough cheek, breathe in that familiar cologne that smells like home. “I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too.”
And then we make our way down the stairs and to the glass sliding door that leads in to the back yard. Grandma walks out the door, holding her cane in one hand and clutching Mom’s arm as they make their way down the path to sit at the front of the chairs.
There’s about a hundred people here. Wade’s family. My extended family. Several neighbors and friends from The Serendipity. Pretty much the whole fire department that’s not on shift today.
It's a crowded back yard and I see Wade standing in front of the arbor next to the officiant.
Oliver starts down the aisle, pulling his sister in a wood wagon. He makes his way slowly, trying to match the beat of the music, but then quickly gets tired of that and sprints toward Wade.
Both Carson and Wade rush forward to catch Margie before she can topple out of the wagon. Wade reaches her first, and Oliver drops the handle on his dad’s foot, then runs over to stand next to Phoenix.
Wade returns to his spot, Margie still in his arms and now playing with the corsage pinned to his suit. The man makes holding a baby look good.
Ashlyn has a rather dark look on her face as she gives her four-year-old the mom look, just before she makes her way down the aisle. When she reaches the front, Wade passes her a giggling Margie.
Lilly makes her way down next and my breath catches as I realize it’s my turn next.
The first strains of the bridal march plays over the rented speakers, and the guests rise to their feet.
Dad pats my hand, and we step out onto the deck. “This is it,” he whispers.
“This is it,” I agree.
I’m walking down the aisle toward my forever. How did I get so lucky?
Wade looks like something out of a fairy tale. It’s wild how handsome he is. I keep thinking that I’ll get used to it. But I haven’t. I’m still ridiculously attracted to him.
I’ve always objectively known that Wade is the best-looking man in the world. I just can’t believe I hadn’t felt the attraction until this year. I can’t believe this is actually happening.
That he loves me. Boring little Scarlett.
But Wade? He’s never made me feel like I’m less. Like I can’t keep up with him in life. Instead, he’s acting like I’m the reason his life will be perfect.
Zero expectations of me to change.
He turns to grin at me as I walk down the aisle.
I’m so glad we did the first look without all of the guests watching. We had an intimate photo shoot with just the photographer, and I got to surprise him with my dress.
He cried.
And then I cried. And then I had to retouch my makeup because not only was the mascara running everywhere, he went on to smear my lipstick with a devouring kiss. Totally worth it.
And now I get to walk down this aisle with Dad and promise “I do” to the man who is everything I’ve ever wanted.
Dad pats my hand and kisses my temple before leading me down the aisle. The short grass tickles the edges of my exposed feet.
Wearing sandals with a heavy wedding dress was a good choice.Much easier to walk in the grass without a heel sinking into the dirt.
We pause a few feet away from Wade. I force myself to wait as the officiant asks, “Who gives the woman to be married to this man?”
“Her mother and I.”
“And me!” Phoenix pipes up from where he’s standing next to Wade .
I fake a glare at him, then turn my attention back to Wade. He’s smiling so big I know it’s got to be hurting his cheeks—because I have the same smile on my face.
Dad kisses my cheek and hugs me, then goes to sit next to mom.
Wade holds out his hand. “Are you ready for forever with me?” he whispers.
“With you?” I whisper back. “I thought I was here to marry someone else.”
Wade’s eyes take on a dangerous glint before he disrupts the proper order of a wedding ceremony. He steps forward and presses a hot kiss against my mouth to the “Awws,” “whoops,” and “you can’t do that yet” of the crowd.
“Thank you for coming down the aisle to me. I was half scared you would come to your senses and leave me standing here.”
And then we turn to say our vows.
Two hours later and we’ve officially been Mr. and Mrs. Wade Hendrix for one hundred minutes. The reception is in full swing, and the DJ is playing some fun dancing music.
I stepped away from a conversation with Wade’s grandparents to catch my breath in the shade. I take that moment to glance around the yard and see how everyone is enjoying themselves.
Phoenix is holding Lilly’s hand as they walk to the drink cart. How unsurprising. It’s about dang time.
Ashlyn stops next to me, a rapidly growing Margie on her hip. “This is the nicest wedding, Scarlett. It’s exactly what I would expect from you.” She smiles as she looks around.
“But do you think Wade is happy with it?” I ask, worried that I didn’t consult him enough about the wedding .
“I think he’s perfectly happy with everything today,” she says bluntly as she sets Margie down, who toddles off toward her grandma. “Look at him.” She tips her head to where he’s standing next to the rose hedge. “I haven’t seen him take his eyes off you. I think he’s scared you’ll disappear if he does.”
“Thank you for helping me so much. I couldn’t have pulled this off without you.” I reach for Ashlyn and do my best to crush her in a hug.
“You know I was happy to help.” She hugs me back. “It was a great excuse to get out of the house this last month. You and Lilly are my best friends; I would do anything for you.”
We shift to where we’re looking back at the crowd in the yard, still with our arms around each other.
“You know the best part of all this?” I ask in a sly voice.
“The best part of the wedding, or the best part of marrying Wade?” she asks with a laugh.
“Marrying Wade. It’s that you and I are now officially sisters-in-law.” I grin at her, and she smiles back.
“You’re so right! You’re my kids’ aunt. How fun is that?”
I tilt my head to where Phoenix is leading Lilly toward the gazebo. “And if I don’t miss my guess, Lilly might end up being my sister-in-law as well.”
We both grin as we watch Phoenix sneak a kiss because he thinks no one is watching.
“Do you remember our girls’ night in your apartment?” Ashlyn asks in a hushed tone.
“You mean the one where the milk got spilled?” My eyes find Wade talking with my grandma by the dessert table that’s an array of cookies. It’s as if he senses me watching him and turns to meet my gaze.
“Yes, that night.” Ashlyn clears her throat. “Is there any chance that mop was actually magical? ”
The question catches me off guard—the mop and our theory that it granted wishes.
“To be honest, after getting together with Wade, I hadn’t thought of it again.”
Ashlyn tips her head toward Lilly and Phoenix. “Lilly wished that she would end up with Phoenix. The baby started sleeping through the night that very night, and it made me actually like my husband again. It’s amazing how much sleep deprivation starts affecting your relationships. I thought I should just divorce him, but it turned out we both just needed a good night’s sleep.”
I’m unable to fight the laugh off.
“What about your wish that night? Or anything else you wished?”
“Wade and I are married, aren’t we?” I whisper conspiratorially.
“Do you suppose all the rumors are true and that The Serendipity actually does make magic?”
“I’m not caught up on all my magic lore, so I don’t know what would make things magical,” I say with a shaky laugh. I can’t believe I’m actually verbalizing something I’ve been thinking for so long. “But…there have been…instances, and people falling in love. Look at Wade and me. Look over there.” I physically turn her to look at Phoebe, who moved into 3E on the third floor not too long after Wade and I started dating. She’s the museum director in town and is now happily with Jay. That only happened after she moved into the building. “That’s Phoebe and she’s now in a happy relationship with Jay—after living in The Serendipity.”
Ashlyn’s eyes go wide. “Because of the building or the mop?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that people seem to find their person when they live at The Serendipity. Maybe it’s the charm of the old building? Maybe magic is real. I don’t know. I don’t think it’s something that can ever truly be answered. All I know, is I couldn’t be happier with Wade.”
“Obviously.” Ashlyn snorts. “I’m just wondering if that mop would continue to grant wishes. Because, if it does…I’ll be over to mop your house every day.”
We both crack up at that.
“What are you two giggling about over here?”
I jump at the sound of Wade’s deep voice behind me. I feel like I just got caught with my hand in the cookie jar. How do I explain that we were talking about the possibility of my mop being magical?
Yeah, that would just sound like the stress of planning a wedding finally got to me.
“On that note, I see that Carson is waiting for me on the dance floor,” Ashlyn says as he hurries away to the patio, where Carson is waving for her to join him.
I lift the skirt of my wedding dress and turn to face Wade.
“Well, hello there, Mrs. Hendrix,” Wade murmurs as he slides his hands to my waist. He looks positively delicious in his tux.
Maybe he’ll lean in and kiss me.
“What were you two laughing about?”
With a sheepish grin, I lift my eyes away from his mouth. “What would you think if I told you we thought there was something magical at The Serendipity?”
Wade’s eyes widen at the question. “I’d say you’re not the first person to believe that or to even mention it to me. Gloria told me some stories before.”
“Really? Like you wouldn’t think I was becoming a conspiracy theorist or something like that?”
Wade shakes his head. “I would say that if you, Scarlett Tiffany Hendrix, believed that something held magic, then it was because of a very good reason.”
He kisses my forehead. It’s the kind of support I need to feel justified in my suspicions. He’s right . I don’t usually believe in things like magic. But…the evidence is here. I’m living my happily-ever-after in a way I would have never dreamed possible. There has to be some magic in that.
I grasp his left hand and pull it away from my side so that I can inspect the band on his ring finger. “Well, isn’t this the sexiest ring I’ve ever seen you wear?” I tease.
“You like that, do you?” he asks as he pulls me closer.
“You think I didn’t notice that you started wearing a ring before we started dating…Well, congratulations, I noticed.”
“I knew you had a thing for guys with rings. I was hoping it would tip the scale in my favor,” he teases.
“Obviously, it did,” I reply seriously. “I never would have married you if you hadn’t worn that ring.” I click my tongue as though wearing a ring is the most important thing a man could do.
“You know, I can’t believe I’ve married such a stinker.”
I grin up at him. “Lucky you.”
He laces my fingers through his. “You’re right about that. I am the lucky one.”