epilogue
Sage
Three months later…
The house is too quiet since Charlotte and Charlie left, so I turn on the television for background noise.
They asked me to move in with them, but that’s their home, not mine. It was a gracious gesture, but I have to learn to live on my own now.
Today is their wedding day, and we were up late last night decorating the house. Charlotte wanted a small ceremony in their backyard and Caleb moved mountains to make it happen in only three months.
No one deserves such happiness more than Charlotte. I smile as I grab my purse and head out the door.
There are several cars in the driveway as I pull up to the house. Although I’m in my red bridesmaid dress, I’m wearing sneakers. So, I grab my heels, my makeup bag and run up the steps to the front door.
The white hydrangeas we planted earlier are in full bloom and look stunning against the freshly painted black doors and window sills. Even the roses have picked up.
I open the door without knocking as I knew it would be unlocked. “Good morning!” I call as I walk in.
Caterers, servers, event coordinators, florists, musicians, and even the minister are already here. Caleb gave us carte blanche to plan this wedding, and we hired as much help as we could.
“Cindy, bring that tray over to the front. We need to serve champagne as soon as the guests arrive.” She turns and sees me. “Oh, no. They’re already here.”
I shake my head. “No need to panic. I’m the Maid of Honor, not a guest.”
The woman puts a hand to her chest. “Thank goodness.” Then she turns to her team. “We got lucky, people. Let’s get a move on.”
I scurry past the minister who’s talking with Charlotte’s parents and climb the steps to her bedroom.
When I open the door, I find Charlotte dressed in her white gown, a sweetheart neckline and princess cut tulle down to her ankles. Jane’s applying gloss to her lips.
“Wow, Char. You look gorgeous.” My eyes water and I fan them dry.
“Don’t cry,” warns Charlotte. “Or you’ll make me cry.”
“Okay, okay, I won’t,” I lie and keep fanning myself.
“Stop it, you two or I’ll have to fix her eyeliner. ”
Jane’s teacher-like voice hits that chord, and we both settle down. “Where’s Kitt?”
“Austin has her,” says Charlotte. “He’s so sweet with her, always carrying her around.”
“He better not get any ideas,” says Jane, waving the lip gloss at Charlotte like a pistol.
Charlotte puts her hands up. “Well, it’s not my fault Kitt is so cute. She’ll make anyone want to have a baby.”
“Well, then definitely keep her away from me,” I tease, and they both laugh.
Jane’s smirk remains on her face, and she looks up at me. “You know, it’s too bad Casey won’t be at the wedding today. His surgery was yesterday, and the doctor won’t let him leave the hospital. I swear you two would be the perfect match.”
“Don’t tease me like that. You know I have the biggest crush on Casey.”
“Fate just has other plans, I guess. There must be someone else that’s meant for you.”
“I don’t think there’s anyone meant for me. I think I’ll have to bash someone over the head and drag him to the altar.”
They both laugh, as I intended, but I’m not kidding. I haven’t had a simple life so far, so I don’t expect love to be easy either. And doesn’t that suck?
“In the meantime, does Caleb have any cute friends coming to the wedding? ”
Charlotte claps her hands. “Yes! I think there are quite a few coming.”
“Well, then, that’s a wedding present for me.”
Someone knocks on the door, and I answer it. “Is the bride ready? The guests have started to arrive.”
“We’ll need a few more minutes.”
“Okay.”
But before I can close the door, Charlotte’s mother steps around the event planner. “Can I come in?”
“Of course,” I say and open the door wider.
She covers her mouth with her hands. “Oh, Charlotte, honey. You are so beautiful.”
“Oh, no. Don’t you get her started now.”
I put my arm around her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Tanner. Jane’s been like that with everyone.”
“How’s Caleb, Mom?”
“Oh, he’s great. He looks very dashing in his black suit and white shirt.”
“Does he look nervous?”
“No. But I can never tell with him, you know. I’m afraid I was wrong about him. I thought he was aloof because he thought himself too good for us, but he just has it all together. He’s a good man, Charlotte. I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you, Mom,” Charlotte’s voice cracks and my eyes widen, expecting Jane to threaten Charlotte’s mother with a mascara wand or something. I grab a tissue and rush it over to Charlotte. “Here, stick this in the corner of your eyes.”
Jane raises her eyebrows at me, and I mouth. “It’s all good.”
“Alright,” says Jane. “Let’s get this wedding started.”
I pull out a blue garter from my purse and smile at Charlotte. “You almost forgot something blue.”
She smiles as she pulls the garter up her bare leg.
“Honey,” says Charlotte’s mom. “Didn’t you wear stockings?”
I nudge her mother. “Wait until you find out she’s not wearing any panties.”
Her eyes widen in horror and Charlotte laughs. “She’s kidding, Mom. Of course, I’m wearing panties.”
I waggle my eyebrows because I think she might be lying, but she waves me off. I’ve seen the way Caleb looks at Charlotte any chance he gets. I would be envious if I wasn’t so darn happy for them.
“Okay, I’ll head down and make sure everyone takes their seats.” I rush over and kiss Charlotte on her cheek. “I’ll see you downstairs. Oh, Char. This is the last time you’ll ever be Miss Tanner.”
Charlotte inhales sharply and covers her mouth. Jane points at the door and shouts, “Out!”
I scamper away because despite her sweet exterior I wouldn’t want to mess with Jane .
I slide on my heels and smooth down my snug red satin dress, before walking down the steps, slowing down my breaths and resetting my head space. I’m the maid of honor. It’s my job to greet the guests and make sure the wedding goes smoothly.
Many of the guests are now seated in the backyard on the white chairs placed in rows. The minister is outside, too, standing beneath the flower arch.
I find Caleb near the kitchen. He’s talking to a man just as tall as he is, but his complexion is darker and his hair is curlier up top. His side profile is striking, with a chiseled jaw and a diamond stud in his ear.
Well, hello there.
I saunter up to them, ensuring my heels click against the white porcelain tiles. As expected, they both turn in my direction. The stranger smiles, his grin widening slowly as I smile back at him.
“How’s Charlotte?” asks Caleb.
“Don’t worry, she’s not getting cold feet,” I say.
He exhales, like he has anything to worry about. Charlotte is just as much in love with him as he is with her. I tilt my head in his friend’s direction and raise my eyebrows.
“Oh, uh, Sage, this is Teoscar Guerrero. Teoscar, this is Charlotte’s good friend, and Maid of Honor, Sage Summers. ”
I blink, completely stunned that I hadn’t recognized him. The Teoscar Guerrero. Wow. “Hi,” I say, completely star-struck now. He looks so different without his baseball cap and sunglasses, but I should have recognized those butt cheeks.
My gaze travels down, but I quickly shoot it back up to his eyes. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” he smiles, and his white teeth are straight and perfect.
“I didn’t know Teoscar is your friend or I would have hounded you sooner,” I say to Caleb without taking my eyes off of the baseball star.
“He didn’t know I was coming. It’s a surprise.”
“Oh, really?”
Caleb’s eyes light up and he shakes his head. “I thought I blew it when I turned your agent down to meet at my office.”
“I heard Charlotte was rushed to the hospital. I would have not respected you if you met me instead of running to her side.”
“Well, I appreciate that. And I can’t tell you how excited I am that you’ll be joining the Lions next season. I can feel it. This will be our year. I’m on a roll already.”
“Yes, you’ve been lucky enough to get the girl and the player. It was quite the coincidence we were both at the resort at the same time. ”
“I’ve got to be honest, Teo. It wasn’t a coincidence that I was in St. Kitts. I came for you.”
He winks at Caleb and smacks his arm. “I know. You may have come for me, but you stayed for her, and that says a lot about you and the type of man you are.”
“So, you’re a romantic?” I ask him, smirking at his smiling face.
He waggles his eyebrows. “Definitely.” His eyes roam from my gaze down to the top of my cleavage. I should be offended, but I’m not. I did the same to him earlier.
Jane comes down the stairs and ruins any other opportunity to continue flirting. “The bride is ready,” she says. “Everyone to their places.”
Teoscar extends his elbow toward me. “Can I walk you to your seat?”
“I’m walking down the aisle, but I can take you to your seat.”
I hold my bouquet with my left hand and wrap my right one around his biceps as we walk through the patio doors leading outside.
The sun peeks from behind the clouds and shines on the white carpet in the middle. Teoscar takes my hand and kisses the back of it before finding a chair near the back.
When everyone is seated and Caleb is standing at the altar, I turn around and give Jane the thumbs up. When she nods back, I signal to the violinists to begin the wedding march.
I wait for the first chord, and then walk slowly down the white carpeted aisle, bouquet in hand.
All our friends are here, including Frankie, Billy, Dean, Austin, and the kids. Jason is here, too, surprisingly. He’s not left town yet, which must be a record for him.
My gaze lands on Charlie, standing next to Caleb in his three-piece suit. I was there when Caleb asked him to be his best man. Charlie damn well made us all cry when he threw his arms around his neck. Charlotte had to leave the room to collect herself. Poor Caleb had no idea what he had done to get us all so emotional.
He mended her broken heart. We had all tried to put the pieces back together, but it never stuck.
Sometimes, even when you think life will never be what you imagined, someone shows up and makes it so much better.
I stand opposite Charlie and turn my head toward the house. Charlotte’s parents walk her down the aisle. Her mother wipes a tear from her cheek, but her dad walks stoically beside her.
Charlotte isn’t crying. Her smile is too big when she sees her son and soon-to-be husband waiting for her at the altar .
Kitt gurgles in Austin’s arms in the front row, and I inhale, breathing in all the energy and emotions of the day. There is so much love around us, it fills my chest. The smiles are genuine. We are all happy for Charlotte, who never once complained about her lot in life, to finally have her happily ever after.
It gives me hope that one day, we all will, too.
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