Epilogue
COURTNEY
Iswear I’m not spoiled, but there are times when living in a billion-dollar family has its perks. Having one hell of a location for an event is definitely one of them. Whatever time of year, good weather or bad, we can always pull off a formal event like a wedding.
And today’s perfect.
Outside, snow blankets everything, a beautiful white coating that shines and glistens, giving the evening a silent seriousness befitting a wedding. But the chilly cold is held back by the warmth inside.
The great room has been transformed, with Abi’s flowers turning the space into a beautiful paradise of roses in shades of ivory, blush, and creamy white. I did notice, when I did my walkthrough, that Abi added tufts of baby’s breath into the rose arrangements.
Why? Because Abi.
But somehow, that little touch of macabre weird is what makes it even better. A sign from my sister of all the things we’ve gone through together, coming out the other side okay, even closer.
Erica, the wedding planner, bustles around everywhere, taking all the stress off me and happily putting it on her own to-do list. She’s been a godsend, following the guidelines Kaede and I gave her to a T, filling in any gaps without bothering us and ending up with something more stunning than I could’ve ever come up with.
It’s allowed Kaede and me to stay focused, on work and also on our new niece, Carly.
I bounce her in my arms, getting all my snuggles in while I’m still in my robe because once I’m in my wedding gown, it’ll be too risky to hold her.
She’s a spit-up champion, somehow finding milk to puke even when she hasn’t eaten in hours, which is why she’s not dressed yet either.
For now, she’s in her Aunt Abi-approved rainbow unicorn onesie.
Later, she’ll have a cute smocked dress with the rings tied to the ribbons on her chest. It’s Violet’s job to make sure they stay out of her mouth until they’re on mine and Kaede’s fingers.
“She’s going to be stealing hearts in no time. It’s a good thing she’s got us to look out for her,” Abi says, looking over my shoulder and dangling a little toy for the infant to play with. “She’s beautiful.”
“She’s already stealing hearts, and she is,” I agree.
“And I think one of us will be the crazy aunt encouraging her to do all kinds of misdeeds. And I’ll be the one lecturing her on a 401(k).
Ross will be the true boss keeping tabs on his girl.
” We coo and play with Carly’s toes, trying to get her to smile without puking. “Where’s Violet?”
Abi rolls her eyes, pointing with a thumb toward the bathroom. “Guess. She’s still got a bladder the size of a shot glass.”
“Where did she put her bouquet?” I ask, worried Erica will come back and see it out of place. She’s so detail-oriented, she might lose her shit because that’s already checked off the to-do list.
Abi points to the table right next to me.
“Oh. Good.” I breathe again. “Thank you for them too. You outdid yourself because they are gorgeous.”
Abi smiles, but it looks a bit frayed. I know doing the bouquets and centerpieces was a big job for her, not because there are so many but because she put such high expectations on herself to deliver something truly special while still doing all her other client jobs too.
But even with that, she’s seemed so stressed lately, even skipping out on the last two yoga dates we made.
“What’s going on, Abi?” I ask, adjusting Carly in my arms. “You’re stressing way too much over this.”
“Oh, work stress, I guess,” Abi admits. “You know how that is. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s a moving target.
I’m working my ass off to get the last of the business loans paid off soon.
I can almost taste it. Soon, it’ll be all mine, free and clear.
And that’s so exciting, like a weight off my shoulders, but it’s a little scary too. ”
“You’re a fu—a superstar,” I tell her, quickly editing myself. Little ears and all. “I admire what you’ve accomplished and that you did it all without any of our family’s money, on your own two feet. You are a total badass.” I mouth the last word so I’m not a potty-mouth influence on Carly.
“Thanks, Court.”
Abi’s words are right, but she still looks exhausted. I don’t get a chance to ask her any more questions because the door to my room opens and Mom comes in, Violet right behind her. Violet nearly runs over Mom. “It’s okay, Carly. Mommy’s here!”
Abi, Mom, and I look at each other, fighting back giggles. Violet makes it seem like Carly is having a meltdown, but she’s chilling happily in my arms. It’s Violet who’s going through baby withdrawal.
Carly gets passed over, and as Vi coos with her daughter, Mom helps me with my final zip-in to my wedding dress. “You look so gorgeous, honey. And just between you and me, I’m glad you and Kaede decided to keep the wedding small, not like your brother’s.”
She huffs, remembering the craziness of Ross’s wedding, but the smile breaks through because how can you top that?
“Okay, let’s do the list since you love checklists so much,” Abi says. “Something old?”
I touch the ivory comb in my hair, one passed down from Grandma to Mom and now me. “Check.”
“New?”
I pat my hip, touching the brand-new white lace panties that are part of the lingerie set that is going to blow Kaede’s mind tonight.
“Borrowed?”
I touch the ring on the middle finger of my right hand, knowing how much it means. “Donna let me borrow her wedding band from when she married Kaede’s father. It’s a way for him to be here for Kaede, to honor how much he loved Donna and his son.”
“Oh, that’s . . .” Mom starts to speak but sniffles instead. “Excuse me.” She turns away, and Violet hands her a white chocolate candy, eating one herself too.
“And blue,” I confirm, lifting the hem of my dress and my right foot to show off the pale blue soles of my bridal heels. “Checklist complete. I’m just ready to be Mrs. Courtney Andrews-McWarren.”
Yeah, I’m hyphenating. Kaede and I talked about it, and he suggested it first. I’ve worked my ass off to be more than my last name, but the truth is, I’m the next generation at Andrews, and I want to honor Dad’s work for the company by carrying it on as an Andrews.
Kaede had more than understood, and was in fact really proud of how far I’ve come with making peace with my name and what it stands for. I am too.
We go downstairs, and I wait by the doors, watching Vi and then Abi disappear through them to walk down the ad hoc aisle in their floaty blush-pink dresses.
It’ll be my turn next, and I hold Dad’s elbow proudly. We pause at the door, and Dad gives me a kiss. “So, what’s up in Courtlandia?” he teases, though his voice is a little rough.
I smile, appreciating that more than he’ll ever know. “Oh, a little of this, a little of that. You know how it is.”
He smiles, though he’s looking a bit teary. “I’m proud of you, Courtney, and I . . .”
He gets a little choked up, and I jump in to save him and my makeup. “Thank you, Dad.”
“Let me finish. I have always been proud of you, my little chip off the old block. You have this way of seeing the best in everyone around you, and then you work your internal beep-boop-beep analyzing magic and learn from it in a way not many can. You morph people’s best into something even better and send that into the world.
You’ve done it at work for years, but I’m most proud to see you do it with that man waiting for you at the end of the aisle.
He’s a good man, and I’m proud of you for seeing it and following your heart.
Listen to it, honey. Your heart will never lead you wrong. Except at work—all brains there.”
The tears that were threatening to flow are kept back, just barely, by the small laugh at Dad’s parting words. I think he’s done as much ‘feeling’ for the day as he can.
And he’s right. I am more like him than maybe I ever realized, but I’ve got a lot of Mom in me too, and I’ve seen how she handles Dad when he gets lost in his facts and figures. If Kaede and I can both do that for each other, I think we’ll be just fine.
We go down the aisle to the instrumental strains of Again, probably the most beautiful Janet Jackson song ever, and the small crowd of thirty people all stand for us.
Donna and Earl are on the front row of Kaede’s side, and behind them are several people from One Life—Stacylynne, Kayla, and AJ.
On the left side, Jillian and Archie are sitting together, sobbing openly, and Archie’s boyfriend is stoically handing out tissues like Tic Tacs. Jillian’s husband seems grateful.
Most important, though, is Kaede, who looks nervous as I join him in front of the fireplace we’re using as an altar.
Erica had nearly orgasmed when I told her that we were having a winter wedding in front of a roaring fire, deeming it ‘glorious’.
Now, I can see what she meant as the orange of the flames dance, the tiny white lights sparkle, and the flowers add a touch of softness.
Kaede swallows thickly. “Did you think I was going to run on you?” I whisper, smiling. “They’ve been holding me back from trying to get to you sooner.”
“You look beautiful, Court. And no . . . I just totally forgot my lines,” Kaede whispers back. “I’m blanking.”
“Use the notecard in your jacket pocket,” I say with a smile, having thought of everything. Well, that was actually Erica’s tip because apparently, freezing when the moment hits is pretty common.
“I love how smart you are.” I’m not going to correct him this time.
The ceremony starts, and everything’s running smoothly. When it’s time for vows, Kaede reaches into his pocket and pulls out the small-font version of the vows he worked on for weeks.