EPILOGUE Sophie Summers
April’s Birthstone
Eight Weeks Later
“Wow, Sophie. You look incredible,” Cassie breathes as I step into the room.
“Thank you,” I say, and I twirl for everyone in the room.
When the options are getting married at seven months pregnant after the season is over or getting married before I start to show even though it’s during the season…we opt for the latter.
I suppose we could’ve waited and tied the knot after the baby arrives, but I didn’t want to wait another second. I just want to be Miller Banks’s wife.
And so it’s during the bye week that we decide to move up our wedding.
Miller is off for ten days—from the moment the game ends on Sunday night until the following Wednesday, and since Tuesday is the common denominator for the football players we’d like attending our wedding, we opt for the first Tuesday in November.
It’s not traditional to get married on a Tuesday, but the Venetian happened to have an opening that day, so we moved our original date.
It feels like everything fell into place just how it was meant to be.
Cassie’s words continue to play in my head— what’s meant to be will be .
And each passing moment makes this feel more and more inevitable.
I wasn’t the girl who doodled Sophie Banks in my notebook in high school. But I sure as hell am the girl doodling that now.
We agreed not to find out the gender of the baby until he or she is born, and I’m not sure why I agreed to that since a part of me is dying to know. We’re trying to figure out names now, and so far, I’m drawing a complete blank for either gender.
I’m sixteen weeks pregnant, and my flat belly isn’t really all that flat anymore.
I don’t have a bump yet, but my boobs are bigger, and I feel pretty bloated.
I chose a dress that made me feel gorgeous—a sleeveless, flowy empire waist with a gorgeous lace applique along one of the layers.
And it makes my boobs look like utter perfection—something I’m sure my future husband won’t be complaining about.
Speaking of my future husband, I’m still sitting here in awe that this is really happening. Cassie, Grace, Ava, Desi, and Jolene are all in the room with me now, and they’ve really become like actual sisters to me.
Chris and Marie are attending the wedding, and my parents are here. Miller’s parents are here, too, and Missy Nash, who is basically a second mom to Miller at this point, and she’s here with a date…Steve, Grace’s dad. I guess things are public now.
And that’s it.
We’re keeping it small and intimate. Family only.
I didn’t even invite Brooke, my old friend from Cactus Valley High School.
I haven’t spoken to her in months, and it just made me realize how very much it was a friendship of convenience.
We worked together in the same place, so we were friends.
But now my best friends are literally my family as I marry into this huge group that’s filled with women I respect, admire, and adore .
So they’re all standing up with me today, just as all of Miller’s brothers are standing up with him. Cassie is my matron of honor. Tanner is his best man, and he also has Lincoln, Grayson, Spencer, and Asher with him.
But all that matters is that today we will be vowing forever to each other.
I was so scared that getting involved with Miller was going to spell the end of such a long, important friendship. Instead, that friendship became the foundation on which we’ve built literally everything.
People always say they’re marrying their best friend…and I am, too. Literally. I can’t honestly remember being closer to someone else in my life than I am with him, and even more so now that we’ve added the side of intimacy.
We’ve gone through growing pains, and that only tells me that we’re strong enough now to handle anything that comes our way. We both realize it’s communication that’s the key—especially when we’re forced to spend time apart because of circumstances beyond our control.
The season has been incredible so far. Watching Miller play football was always exciting, but knowing he’s stepping off the field and coming home to me takes it to another level entirely.
Jamie, the wedding planner, pops into the room where I’ve been hidden away getting ready the last few hours.
“Are you ready?” she asks.
“I’m definitely ready,” I say confidently. I thought I’d be a nervous wreck when a wedding planner told me it was time to walk down the aisle, but that’s not the case at all. I know I’m marrying my perfect match, and I know he will continue to show up for me in all the ways that matter.
“Miller wanted me to give you this,” she says, and she hands me a small box.
I open it and find a gorgeous diamond bracelet inside with a little note from Miller .
“April’s birthstone is the diamond, so this is for you in honor of our baby. Our future starts now, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. I love you. See you at the other side of the aisle.”
Tears heat behind my eyes as I pull the bracelet out and show it to the women in the room with me.
“He’s just the sweetest,” Jolene murmurs.
“His note says it’s because April’s birthstone is a diamond,” I say, my voice breaking as Cassie helps secure it onto my wrist.
It’s absolutely gorgeous, and I couldn’t be more excited about the future we have before us as well.
The ladies line up, and they start their walk down the aisle. My dad joins me, and he nudges my shoulder with his.
“You look beautiful, Sophie.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“I’m so proud of you. You chose well with that one, and we’re thrilled to welcome him into our family.”
I smile. I half expect him to say something like how just because his marriage ended in divorce doesn’t mean mine will, but he doesn’t mention it. We already talked about that, anyway.
The doors open, and it’s my turn to walk.
I see Miller standing at the other end of the aisle, and my face breaks out into a smile as I watch him looking at me. He wipes his eyes as if the very sight of me brought tears to them, and I close my eyes and take a deep breath as I memorize this moment.
A pianist plays a slowed-down version of Ed Sheeran’s “Photograph” as I start my walk toward Miller, and he starts to chuckle as he recognizes the song.
It’s true that loving can heal, and it’s true that love conquers all. My belief in that wavered for a minute, but then Miller Banks showed up for me the way he has the entire time I’ve known him, and that was the end of the wavering.
Nothing will ever make me waver from him again .
“We are gathered here today to witness the joining of Miller Matthew Banks and Sophie June Summers,” our officiant begins, and the rest of the ceremony is a blur.
He says something about having loved me half his life. I say something about how the love of my life was right in front of me the whole time.
We both wrote down our vows, and we’ll share them again later since this is all a blur at the moment. We’ll read them. We’ll frame them. We’ll live by them for the rest of our lives.
All I know is that twenty minutes later, I’m wearing a ring Miller slid onto my finger, and he’s bending me backward and kissing the hell out of me because I’m officially his wife .
Because it’s Miller, of course he has a plan to give us a moment for just the two of us.
We walk down the aisle with huge smiles on our faces as the photographer walks backward capturing every second, and instead of stopping to greet our guests, Miller grabs my hand and pulls me into the room where he got ready.
We take a moment before we’ll be rushed by our bridal party and our families.
He leans his forehead to mine. “I love you, Sophie Banks,” he says, and a thrill darts along my spine as I hear my new name for the very first time.
“I love you, my husband,” I murmur, and our lips crash together.
He pulls back and doesn’t hide the fact that he’s ogling me. “You’re gorgeous. That dress…”
“I have big plans for you to get me out of it later.”
“Later?” he whines.
I raise my brows. “We do have a party to get to. But maybe we can sneak out halfway through—once everyone’s drunk and dancing. No one will notice.”
He grins. “Deal. ”
He kisses me one more time before we head back to our wedding party, and we do make good on that deal a couple hours later.
I married my best friend today, and soon we’ll have a baby together. We might’ve known each other for the better part of half our lives, but it feels like today is truly the start of our happily ever after.
* * *
What’s next in Lisa Suzanne’s football world?
A whole new family!
Get ready for the brADLEY LEGACY with the first book featuring San Diego’s newest wide receiver, Madden Bradley.