EPILOGUE
Lily stared into the mirror as the makeup artist worked on her face and someone else worked on her hair. She was glad to not have to do all this herself, but bittersweet emotions still filled her.
Amy and Will were getting married. Just four short months after their engagement they were getting married. There was snow on the ground and Christmas was just around the corner, but the focus of the Collingsworth family had been the wedding.
Lily had been glad for the distraction. It had kept her from wondering why her left hand was still bare.
She touched her ring finger as the makeup artist asked her to close her eyes.
For some reason she’d assumed that as soon as they were back together again Nate would pop the question.
Instead, though their relationship was strong and growing stronger, there had been no talk of an engagement, let alone a marriage.
Thankfully she hadn’t had any major attacks over the past few months.
She’d made sure to find that balance in her life.
She worked at Nate’s garage doing the admin side of things for a couple of hours each day and had also become active in the MS support group in Collingsworth.
Life was no longer clouded by what lay ahead for her in terms of her health.
She and Nate had agreed to take it a day at a time.
With things going so well, it just made her all the more eager to begin their life together. Instead it felt like a repeat of what had happened four years ago when he had been reluctant to set a date. At this point she’d be happy with a wedding in Vegas. She just wanted to be Nate’s wife.
“You look beautiful!”
Even with her eyes closed, Lily recognized Jessa’s voice and smiled
“How’s Amy doing?” Lily asked. “She nervous?”
“Not sure nervous is the word. She’s pretty much over the moon excited.”
“You can open now,” the makeup artist told her.
Lily looked in the mirror again, a bit surprised at how much time they were taking with her. “You’ve done a wonderful job.”
“It’s easy when you give us so much to work with. Your cheekbones are to die for.”
Lily smiled at her. “Thank you.”
“Just a little bit more and you’re done.”
Sure enough, a short time later there was a cloud of hair spray and then they pronounced her perfect. Lily felt anything but perfect, but at least she knew she looked good.
“Where is everyone else?” Lily asked Jessa when the makeup and hair people left.
“They’ve gone to the bride’s room at the chapel to get dressed. As soon as you’re done here, you can go there, too.”
Amy had chosen to have her best friend from Dallas, Lily and Cami as her bridesmaids.
The other two had had their hair and makeup done first. Lily thought they should have just had their hair and makeup done at the chapel instead of the manor since that’s where they were getting dressed, but since it was Amy’s wedding, she was the one calling the shots.
There was a knock on the door of her room, and Jessa went to answer it. Alone, Lily sat staring at the mirror. Would Nate think she was beautiful? He told her often she was. He took care of her like he always had, and never let her doubt that he loved her.
So why didn’t he just propose already?
“Lily?”
Shocked to hear his voice, Lily turned from her makeup table, gripping the front of the dressing gown she wore. Her eyes widened when she saw the man who had dominated her thoughts so much lately standing there. “Nate? What are you doing here?”
He looked so handsome in the black tuxedo he wore.
As a groomsman for Will, he also wore a dark green bow tie that matched the dark green of the dresses the bridesmaids were to wear.
Even though he’d once made her promise he wouldn’t have to wear a tux at their wedding, he had been willing to wear one for Will’s.
He smiled at her, and her heart skipped a beat.
“You look beautiful,” he said as he moved to stand in front of her. “As always.”
“I need to get dressed. You shouldn’t be here.”
“Here is exactly where I should be,” Nate said. He brought his hand from behind his back as he lowered himself to one knee.
Lily’s mouth went dry as she realized what was coming. Finally! “Yes!”
Nate lifted an eyebrow, amusement sparkling in his eyes. “You’re supposed to let me ask you the question first.”
She reached out to cup his face in her hands and looked into his eyes. “Okay. Ask me.”
“Lily-belle, I love you so much. I can’t imagine living my life without you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
There was so much emotion in his eyes that Lily’s breath caught. Oh yes, this man loved her as much as she loved him. “Yes. Oh, yes.”
Nate reached for her left hand and held it in his own. “This is not the same one I proposed with last time. That one got burned in the fire, but I hope you love this one just as much.”
She looked at it, trying desperately to keep the tears from flowing over and ruining her makeup.
“It’s beautiful. I love it because you gave it to me.
It’s perfect.” Then she looked up at him and pinned him with a determined look.
“But I’m not waiting very long for you to set the wedding date this time.
I want to take a page out of Will and Amy’s book and get married sooner rather than later. ”
Nate stood and drew her to her feet as well. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips. “How about we take a page out of Will and Amy’s book and get married today?”
Lily stared at him, shock coursing through her. “Today?”
“Knowing that stress often aggravates your MS, Amy suggested that we have a double wedding, but not put any pressure on you to plan it.” Nate held her hands tightly in his. “Are you okay with that? If not, that’s fine. It will just be Will and Amy’s wedding, and we can do ours on a different day.”
Lily shook her head. “No. Today is perfect.”
“Then let’s go to the chapel so you can get dressed.” Nate turned toward the door and called out, “Jessa?”
Jessa came back into the room, a wide smile on her face. “Congratulations!”
“You knew about this?”
“Of course! We’ve been busily planning it. We even snuck your dress over to the chapel while you were taking a shower earlier.” Jessa pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Ready to go?”
Violet, Laurel and Cami were waiting for her in the foyer of the chapel. After hugging her, Laurel said, “Let’s get you into the room and into your dress. The guests will be arriving soon.
Nate grabbed her hand and pulled her close. He kissed her softly before releasing her. “Meet me at the altar, Lily-belle.”
“I will.”
Inside the bridal room, Lily immediately sought out Amy. Her soon-to-be sister-in-law wore a white gown with a lace overlay that skimmed her curves and then flared out at mid-thigh. Her blonde curls hung long and loose under the headpiece and veil she wore. She was positively beaming.
“I can’t even begin to thank you for this.”
Amy’s smile widened. “Are you sure you’re okay sharing your wedding with me?”
“That’s the question I should be asking you,” Lily said. “I’m still in shock.”
“I wanted this. After the rough roads we both traveled to get to this point, I think it’s only fitting we share this final step.”
“You need to get dressed,” Cami said. “Unless you want to walk down the aisle dressed like that.”
“Never!” Lily gave Amy a quick hug. “Thank you, again.”
Heart pounding, Lily allowed her sisters to help her into the dress that was still as perfect as it had been three years earlier. “How is this even possible? We didn’t apply for a wedding license or anything.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Jessa said. “Today you will be married before God, and next week Nate said you guys will make it legal.”
As Cami drew the zipper up her back, Lily asked, “Will we have to wait until then to…you know?”
Everyone in the room burst out laughing.
“I would imagine that’s up to you and Nate,” Cami said. “But in the eyes of God, you will be married today.”
Married! Lily could hardly believe it. This had been planned perfectly for her. All the joy but none of the stress that might have debilitated her or prevented her from enjoying her wedding day.
“Are you happy?” Nate asked as he came up behind her. He ran his hands down her arms.
“Yes. So very happy.” Lily turned from the large glass window and slid her hands behind his neck, interlacing her fingers. She went up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his in a lingering kiss. “I can’t believe how you planned all of this. That you knew to get this place for us.”
“It took some doing, but your sisters were more than willing to help me out.”
After their church wedding, Nate had whisked her off to Vegas for a legal ceremony and then after one night there, they’d caught another flight bound for Switzerland and the chalet she’d rented during her time in London.
Lily was positive she was going to wake up and find it was all a dream. It was all just that perfect.
“Just tell me you’re not upset with me for waiting to propose and then making you share your wedding day.”
Lily leaned against him, relishing the feel of him in her arms. The steady beat of his heart beneath her ear. “I’m so very much not upset. I couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect. If I’d had to plan a wedding, I probably would have had to sleep for a week afterward.”
A corner of Nate’s mouth lifted. “Well, that wouldn’t have been any fun, now would it?”
Warmth spread up Lily’s cheeks. “No, no fun at all.”
Before she realized his intent, Nate had slipped an arm under her knees and swung her up. He laid her on the big rustic bed she’d spent so many nights alone in and settled down next to her. “We’ve got two whole weeks here. Think that’s enough time?”
“It’s plenty. And when it’s over, I will be more than ready to go home and start our new life together.” She slid her hands into his hair and pulled him down for another kiss, deeper, longer, sweeter this time. “I love you, Nate.”
“I love you too, baby. For now and forever.”