Epilogue
LINC
Pearson Airport, as usual, was crowded. I waited by the glass doors, cart at the ready for Emily and Hayley’s plane to land.
I’d volunteered to pick them up. It would give us some time to catch up with one another, and I knew Sunny already had a lot on her plate.
She was in Mission Cove, preparing for their arrival, working at the bakery, and overseeing the details of our wedding.
I grinned to myself thinking the words.
Our wedding.
In less than seventy-two hours, Sunny would be my wife. My body hummed in anticipation. Sunny Webber. Lincoln and Sunny Webber.
I chuckled out loud. My mind was channeling a teenage girl it seemed, writing our names with a flourish on a small notepad.
Shouts of my name drew my attention, and I glanced to the left just as two bodies collided with mine.
I hugged the two women close, smiling at their enthusiasm.
When Sunny had told them I was back, they had been skeptical and cautious.
We had spoken several times since that first call, and I enjoyed their funny texts, feeling as if they were including me in their lives now.
When I called to tell them I wanted to marry their sister, they had been enthusiastic.
When Sunny informed them we were moving ahead with our plans, the squeals had been loud coming through the speaker of my phone.
I stepped back, looking at Sunny’s sisters.
The last time I had seen them in person, they were still kids, and now they were all grown up.
FaceTime wasn’t the same as seeing them in front of me.
Emily was twenty-two, and Hayley was twenty.
They were both small like Sunny, had the same dark eyes, but Hayley’s hair was more auburn and curlier, while Emily’s long, straight hair was brown.
They were pretty, excited, and as happy to see me as I was to see them.
We got their luggage, both of them chatting away as we headed to the car.
“We’ve never flown first-class before,” Hayley gushed. “What fun!”
Emily was more subdued, but her eyes danced as she nudged me with her elbow. “It was. Thanks, Linc.”
“Stick with me, kid.”
We got to the car, and I loaded in the luggage and we headed to Mission Cove.
“Is Sunny okay?” Emily asked.
“She’s good. We’re keeping things pretty simple. Vows, dinner, some nice music. Only very close friends and family.”
“Why a Tuesday evening? Why not the weekend?”
I chuckled. “The bakery is busy on the weekends. Tuesday and Wednesday are the quiet days. We get married Tuesday, I get to take her away overnight, and she plans on being back in the bakery Thursday in time to prepare for the weekend rush.”
Hayley glanced up, shocked, from her phone. I met her eyes in the rearview mirror. “No honeymoon?”
“In the fall.”
“Why?”
“Because I know how crazy the bakery is right now, and I don’t want her stressed out.
All I care about is marrying her. I don’t care if I’m standing beside her on Saturday morning making coffee for customers or if we’re staring at some ruins in England.
As long as she’s my wife and with me, I’m good. ”
“You make the coffee?”
“I make damn good coffee. I’ve even got those leaf things down pat.”
Hayley shook her head, going back to her phone. Emily stared at me. “You’re a good guy, Linc.”
I squeezed her hand. “Thanks.”
Ipaced the floor, anxious and uptight. Abby walked into the room, and I paused. “Wow.”
She laughed, patting her hair. “I know. I’m rocking it.”
Abby and Gerry were my attendants. Abby insisted on wearing a tuxedo, and she was, indeed, rocking it. Her hair was swept up, the pink streak bright against the blond. Her blouse was a pale pink, and her cummerbund and bow tie matched her hair. She was quite adorable.
Gerry and I were in more traditional colors, the cummerbund and ties in a soft green that Sunny had picked out. Our tuxes were all in a dove gray, keeping to the light colors Sunny preferred.
Gerry looked at his phone and smiled. “The girls are good. Your bride is quite anxious for this to start.”
Sunny and her sisters were at her apartment, Cindy with them, making sure all was on schedule, and the limo would pick them up and bring them here.
Sunny would wait in the small tent I had installed for her, and we would meet at the pretty trellis set up between our trees.
Gerry offered Abby and me the use of his house so Sunny didn’t have to worry I would see her beforehand.
Our gathering was small—fewer than twenty people, but it was what we wanted. Most of the town knew we were getting married and offered up congratulations and even dropped off small gifts at the bakery but allowed us our privacy.
Once we said our vows, we would have pictures taken, return to the enclosed tent for dinner, and after, there would be dancing.
I didn’t plan on staying around long once the dancing started.
Abby would make sure the party continued without us.
I was going to whisk Sunny away. I had a penthouse suite waiting in Toronto, and I didn’t plan on leaving it until we returned to Mission Cove.
But I needed to make her my wife first.
I hadn’t seen her since yesterday. She insisted it was romantic and would add to our wedding night.
As it was, I hadn’t been able to do much more than sneak in a kiss or two since her sisters arrived.
They were staying in her apartment, so I went back next door to Abby’s.
Sunny and I barely had a moment alone and I was slowly going crazy.
When she reminded me of the tradition yesterday morning when I went to get my coffee, I wasn’t pleased.
It seemed silly since we’d basically lived together for weeks, but the pleading look on her face forced me to smile and agree.
I kissed her and returned to my office. Abby worked for a while, then announced she was going back to the bakery. I tried not to be jealous of the fact that Abby still got to see her, but I failed. Sulking, I worked for a while, not looking up when the door opened.
“Forget something, Abby?” I asked.
“Not really.”
I snapped up my head at the sound of Sunny’s voice. “Aren’t we breaking tradition?” I asked, then kicked myself for bringing it up.
“You looked so sad when you left, and I realized you had forgotten when we talked about it a few days before.”
I sighed. “I was probably so busy trying to get you somewhere alone so I could kiss you, I would have agreed to anything.”
“You have me alone now.”
I held out my hand. “Get over here.”
She placed a bag on my desk, and I didn’t have to ask what was inside. It would be biscuits and jam to drown my sorrows in after she left.
But for now, she was here, sliding on my lap, smiling at me.
I took full advantage.
I grinned at the memory, then glanced at my watch. “We should head down, right? The photographer wants some pictures, and I need to be out of the way before Sunny arrives.”
Gerry chuckled. “Anxious, kid?”
“You have no idea.”
He smirked. “I think I do.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “You deserve this. You really do. Now let’s go get some pictures taken and get this show on the road.”
“Hell yes.”
The sun was still bright, shining on the rippling water behind me.
A light breeze blew, lifting the long tendrils of the weeping willows I stood between as I waited for Sunny.
Beside me stood Abby and Gerry. Across the flower-strewn aisle were Emily and Hayley, both dressed in soft green.
Cindy sat in the seat of honor—adoptive mother of the groom and bride.
She dabbed at her eyes constantly, blinking even harder when I winked at her.
My anxiety was gone. All I felt was the rightness of this moment. Knowing Sunny was close, and soon, we would say the words and she would be mine—to have and hold for as long as we lived.
My breath caught as she appeared, walking toward me.
She didn’t rush, and I took a moment to drink her in.
Her beautiful hair was swept up, tendrils framing her face and brushing her neck.
Her dress was simple—something she’d bought on a day trip into Toronto.
Ivory, lacy, and delicate. It floated around her like a feather, and as she grew closer, I had to smile.
There were bows at her shoulders, holding up scallops of lacy froth on her arms. Tiny, elegant bows that beckoned and teased. Exactly what she had planned.
Little minx.
I met her dark gaze, the love and happiness shining in her eyes for all to see. Unable to stop myself, I stepped forward, meeting her partway down the aisle.
She beamed as I held out my hand. “Walk with me, Sunny?”
Her grip was tight. “Always.”
I tucked her hand over my arm, and we finished the walk together.
The perfect start to our life together.
A FEW MONTHS LATER
I woke, my hand instantly reaching out for Sunny. Even after being together and married for months, my first reaction in the morning was to make sure she was real.
This morning, the bed was empty, although the sheets were still warm. I sat up, looking at the clock in the unfamiliar room. It was barely past five, dawn breaking outside the windows.
Sunny stood on the small balcony of our honeymoon suite, staring at the view.
I had no idea why she was awake. We arrived yesterday in England and spent the day touring to ward off jet lag.
Then as tradition, I spent most of the night making love to her since it was technically the first night of our honeymoon, and that was how it should be.
She should be exhausted and curled up beside me, not outside looking at the view.