Bonus Epilogue #2
I made it to the bench, and Max swiped his fingers over it to ensure it was clean. At his nod, I lowered myself, with Veronica adjusting my dress out of the way as much as possible.
“Do you need me to get anything for you, Harper?” Veronica asked.
I shook my head as I took the water bottle from Max. “Just this for now. Thank you.” I sipped it gratefully, carefully, not wanting to set my stomach off again.
“I’ll give you two some time,” Veronica said. “If I can get you anything, text me. I’ll be over there.” She nodded toward the side entrance then stepped away.
Max squatted in front of me and gazed up into my eyes, his concern twisting my heart.
This wasn’t how this day was supposed to go.
It wasn’t exactly how my life was supposed to go, but I knew we’d figure it out eventually.
First though…today. Right now. Poor Max.
“I’m okay,” I said, managing to smile. “Well, super embarrassed that you had to hold my dress so I didn’t yak all over it.”
“Are you coming down with something? Do we need to push back our start time? What can I do, Harper?”
Good questions, those. The only one I had an answer to was the first one.
“I’m not coming down with something.” I glanced around to ensure we were still alone, thankful that the bushes mostly blocked us from view of anyone going in the main entrance. I patted the bench next to me. “Sit with me?”
“I swear to God if you’re jilting me—”
That made me laugh. “Are you serious right now? I’m not jilting you.”
Max sat next to me.
“I need breath mints,” I said. “Or a tube of toothpaste. A toothbrush would be good.”
“We’ll get you all of them. First tell me what’s going on.”
Again I breathed in deeply, both to stave off nausea and gather my courage. I reached for his hand, took comfort in the strength of it as he entwined our fingers.
“I’m pregnant,” I said quietly.
I dared a glance at Max’s face, worried he’d be frowning. His mouth was gaping open, then his lips tilted toward a smile. A disbelieving, shellshocked smile.
I could so relate.
“Harper.” He wrapped his arm around me, pulled me into his side, tilted his head to mine, and just…held me.
I rested my head against his shoulder and grasped his other hand. “I know this isn’t what we planned.”
He laughed quietly, joyfully. “Not what we planned but I don’t care. Harper,” he said again, and I felt him shake his head. Then he stopped, straightened. “Are you okay with this?”
My throat clogged up with all the emotion and overwhelm I’d been wrangling with since first thing this morning when I’d found out, so I merely nodded and fought to keep the tears in check.
It was definitely a cry-worthy moment, but I didn’t want to ruin my makeup.
Emerson had spent so much time getting it perfect, and it was almost time for photos.
Which meant we didn’t have the luxury of sitting and talking about this for hours, not now. After today, we’d have the rest of our lives though.
“How long have you known?” Max asked.
“I just figured it out this morning. I’ve been super tired, but I figured that was normal with all the stress of planning and preparation.
The last two days, I woke up feeling nauseated, and then I realized my period is late.
Like, I can’t remember when my last one was.
Dakota went to Runner and picked up a test for me first thing. ”
“So she knows?”
I nodded. “She’s the only one. I wanted you to be the first, but I couldn’t just pop into the Country Market on my wedding day and buy pregnancy tests.”
Max laughed, and God, I loved that sound. The familiarity of it, the security of it.
“I need to hug you properly but…” His voice trailed off as he gestured to my gown. “Your gorgeous getup doesn’t make it easy.”
“Plus I need breath mints.”
“I’ll text Dakota. If she doesn’t have any, she can get some.”
“We sell them at the store.”
He typed into his phone, slid it back into his pocket, and stood. “I don’t care about breath mints. Come here, my beautiful wife-to-be.”
I let him help me up, feeling only a trace of dizziness, then fell intentionally into his arms.
“I love you,” he said quietly. “Like, crazy love you, Harper.”
“I love you too, Max.” We held each other for a few seconds.
He trailed kisses along my jawline, then said in my ear, in the sexiest voice, “We’re gonna have a baby.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, smiling and yet again fighting off tears, merely nodding.
He ran his hand down to my belly, and we stood there, taking everything in.
This was hands down the best day of my life.
“Incoming,” Dakota sang out, intruding on our moment.
I straightened, dabbed at my eyes, and held out my hand for the mints.
“You told him,” she whispered knowingly as she handed me a tin. I popped one in my mouth.
Max nodded and wiped his eyes, and let me tell you, that got to me even more than everything else. This man…he was everything to me.
Dakota hugged her brother, told him congratulations, and sniffled herself. “You two are going to kill me with the feels today,” she said as she stepped back.
“You haven’t told anyone?” Max asked.
Dakota rolled her eyes. “No. I won’t. Even if it is killing me.” She held up a little bottle. “I brought you this.”
“Peppermint. Amazing.” I took it from her, unscrewed the lid, and sniffed the essential oil we carried in our store. “It helps with nausea,” I told Max. “The trick will be stashing it on me somewhere. This dress doesn’t have a lot of room in it.”
“That dress hides nothing,” Max said in a growl, “and I love it.”
Dakota made a sound of disgust, then moved closer to me. “Put a drop on your finger and dab it at the base of your nostrils. Ongoing peppermint action. I’ll keep the bottle on me. Maybe I can stuff it in my flowers.”
“You’re the best.” I did what she said and inhaled deeply, starting to feel a little steadier. “Thank you.”
“It’s time for pics. Let’s go.” Dakota headed off around the side of the building, toward the area on the shore set up for our ceremony.
Max caught my hand and pulled me into his arms again. I took another mint, then slipped the tin into his front pocket. Only then did I dare to stretch up and press a kiss to his lips.
Before he could react, I said, “Let’s go get married, Max.”
Max
Hours later, I barely remembered our wedding ceremony because I’d been so lost in Harper’s beauty and thoughts of our future, our family, our life.
We’d made it through all the photos and the aperitifs with Harper going through mints like crazy, not so much to freshen her breath—she’d brushed her teeth—but because she swore on the power of peppermint, both in the mints and under her nose. It’d worked so far.
At dinner, she’d assuaged some of my concern by eating heartily, confessing quietly to me that she’d barely eaten all day before that, which might’ve contributed to her nausea earlier.
My brother, Levi, had the whole crowd in tears with laughter during his best-man speech.
As everyone tried to recover, my sister had elicited even more sniffles, her maid-of-honor speech going sappy and emotional instead of funny.
If I had to plan a wedding again with those two, I’d pass out tissues beforehand.
Harper had changed from her sexy long gown into a short, backless, sequined reception dress that did nothing to calm the fire inside of me and the need to get her alone so I could peel it off her.
That was my wife—she could turn me on in a potato sack, but she loved to dress in clothing that showed as much as it hid. I fucking loved it.
Now, finally, we stood face-to-face, hands entwined, and I rested my forehead against hers as we waited for our song to start for the bridal dance. The first notes of “King of My Heart” played, and I pulled her body into mine.
“Wife,” I said to her, still unable to believe there could be so much bliss in that one word.
“Husband,” she replied with a musical laugh.
The song was faster than a lot I’d heard for the first dance, but it fit us perfectly, especially the part about our love being secret at first. She claimed the title fit, and I assured her she was also the queen of my heart.
I loved the way she moved, whether it was to music or not, to an upbeat song or our medium one, as she swayed those hips just so.
“You’re good at dancing,” I said as I smiled down at her.
“So are you, sexy husband.”
“So much for it taking two to tango, huh? For us, it’s three.”
We shared a secret look as the song played on, the rest of the world fading away from my awareness.
“How much longer do we have to stay at our own wedding for the sake of propriety?” I asked her.
Harper’s answer was slightly breathless. “I’m not sure, but I know it has to be longer than the first few dances.” She feigned an innocent look. “Why do you ask? Are you in a hurry for some reason, Mr. Dawson?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Mrs. Dawson,” I growled.
My beautiful wife laughed, and I challenged myself to make her laugh every day.
“I’m pretty sure,” I said as the song continued, “that peppermint will be an aphrodisiac for me until the day I die.”
“I’m pretty sure,” she flipped right back, “I’ll do everything in my power to ensure you don’t need an aphrodisiac for the rest of your life.”
I took in the mischievous sparkle in her eyes and pulled her body even closer. “It’s working so far,” I said, “and I’m feeling good about the next fifty years.”
She looked up at me with so much love in her gaze. “So am I.”