Epilogue
Shane
One Year Later
I shift from foot to foot in my dress shoes that match my tuxedo, anxious for the ceremony to begin. Above me is an arch of white flowers, and in front of me, the long aisle I am waiting for Talia to walk down.
We opted for a small wedding, although Talia still wanted some of the formalities of a traditional ceremony, and I can’t wait to see my bride in her wedding gown.
“You okay?” Tate, also formally dressed, asks.
I stick a finger into my collar, hoping for room so I can breathe more easily. “I’m fine. I just want her beside me already.” I want to make Talia my wife. Have her take my name. Move into the house we bought.
Start a family?
We’ve begun talking about it.
Suddenly music begins, and I suck in a shallow breath.
This is it.
Tate puts a hand on my shoulder. “Breathe, man.”
I do just that, then turn. Other than Tate, we don’t have a bridal party, just her brother as my best man and Jonah walking her down the aisle.
Jonah, who stepped up in the last year to get his wife back.
His house was riddled with bullet holes, so he used the renovation time to move back to civilization and court his ex—who was only too happy to enjoy him acting like a normal human being.
He shaved his beard, cut his hair, and agreed to some therapy and meds for his paranoia, although he insists after Talia’s situation, he really did have good reason to be careful.
The curtains that block my view of the door shift, and Talia steps forward on Jonah’s arm. At the sight of her, my breath catches in my throat.
Talia stands in a fitted white dress, lace on top, what looks like satin below that clings to every dip and curve of her perfect body. And as she moves, a long train follows her down the aisle. I’ve never seen a more breathtaking sight.
She joins me, placing her hand in mine, a radiant smile on her face.
And around her neck is the locket I bought her not long after she came to see me at McKay-Taggart.
Not that it could replace the one she was forced to throw away, but I hope, with the small picture of her mother I placed inside courtesy of Tate, that she’ll find some measure of peace.
She cried when she unwrapped it, when she opened it and saw the treasured contents, and again when I hooked it around her neck. She hasn’t taken it off since.
“You’re gorgeous,” I mouth to her.
I wish I could say I remember every word spoken by the minister, but I can’t take my gaze or focus off the vision in front of me. She is radiant, her cheeks flushed, her eyes shining with happiness.
I am fully aware when it is time to say I do.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” the minister says.
Now that I can do, I think, and seal my lips over hers, treating her to a wedding kiss neither one of us will ever forget. After we break apart, I gaze into her eyes for too brief a moment. Then we are being congratulated by our select guests.
But I want a minute alone with my wife. I pull her aside, to a corner of the room, keeping her hand in mine.
“Hello, Mrs. Landon.”
She grins. “Hello, Mr. Landon. I’m glad we have a minute. I wanted to talk to you this morning, but it’s bad luck for you to see me before the wedding.”
I kiss her cheek. “I’m here now…and forever.”
“Well, that’s a good thing,” she says, biting down on her bottom lip. “Because remember that conversation we had about having a family someday soon?”
“Yes?”
She draws a deep breath. “Well, that day is now.” She smooths her hand over her flat stomach, but her meaning couldn’t be more clear.
“You’re pregnant.”
“Mmm hmm.”
“We’re having a baby.”
She nods. “We are.”
I let out a loud whoop of excitement, then pick her up and swing her around, my excitement palpable.
“I’m glad it’s good news,” she says with a grin.
“Hell, yes. It’s not every day a man gets married and finds out he’s going to be a father all in one day.” I couldn’t be more thrilled.
This woman is mine to love, cherish, and protect. Forever.
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