Epilogue
Ben
One Year Later
Roman tugged on the corners of my bow tie. “There. It’s straight. Now, stop touching it.”
I shoved my hands behind my back before they could betray me. Being strangled to death by silk wasn’t my preferred way to go, but this was the third time Roman had fixed it. Even he was losing patience, though he was really trying to hide it.
Adrian rolled his eyes. “You didn’t have to wear a bow tie if you hate it this much.”
I glanced at myself in the full-length mirror, smoothing my lapels. “I’m only getting married once, and I look damn good. Besides, Mazzy’s going to lose her shit when she sees me.”
Nate cracked open the door and stuck his head in. “Hey, Benny. Someone wants to talk to you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is she pretty?”
He looked down, the soft smile he only got for one person taking over his face. “Oh yeah. Beautiful.”
“Then you better let her in.”
Nate swung the door open, and in waltzed a giggling Katty in a fluffy lavender dress that matched her glasses.
She gasped, her hands flying to her cheeks. “Daddy, you’re so fancy.”
I held out my hand. “Come here, sweetheart. Let me see your dress.”
She ran to me, throwing her arms around my legs.
At almost six, she was still a pip-squeak.
I could have picked her up with ease, but she had recently declared she was a big girl and only consented to being carried when she was especially tired.
It about killed me, but at least she was still a hugger.
I crouched down, took her hand, and spun her in a circle.
Her curls had been tamed and pinned into some kind of half updo with a baby’s breath crown on top.
The skirt of her dress was full, almost reaching her ankles, with a satin sash tying around her middle and little puff sleeves on her shoulders.
“Wow,” I breathed. “Did you pick this dress out?”
She nodded. “Mommy helped.” Her eyes rounded. “Wait until you see her dress. She’s so pretty, Daddy.”
I covered my ears. “La-la-la, I don’t want to hear anything. It has to be a surprise.”
Giggling, she tugged my hands. “I’m not gonna tell you anything. You have to wait and see.”
I checked the time on my watch. “Only a few more minutes. Are you ready to help Mommy walk down the aisle?”
“I’m ready.” She placed her tiny hands on my cheeks. “Are you ready to get married?”
“So ready, sweetheart.”
“Declan said his parents got married before he was born, and that’s how it’s supposed to be.”
I sighed. Unfortunately, Declan was still Katty’s best friend, even after they’d graduated preschool and started kindergarten. The kid had a lot of opinions, most of which I strongly disagreed with. Mazzy continued to tell me I couldn’t be mean to a six-year-old, but some days…
“What’d you tell him?”
“I told him you got lost for a while, but when you found Mommy again, you said, ‘I gotta marry her right away,’ so that’s what happened.”
“That is what happened.” I kissed her velvet cheek. “There’s no right order to do things. A lot of people might think Mommy and I did things backward, but I think everything’s working out exactly how it was supposed to.”
While I’d never get over missing the beginning of Katty’s life, I wasn’t sure we’d be where we were now if I had been there from the beginning.
I’d like to think Mazzy and I would have found our way to each other, even back then, but I couldn’t keep living in a past I couldn’t change, and I was more than happy with our present.
Nate held out his hand. “All right, kiddo. Your mom is probably wondering where you are, and Daddy needs to get to the altar so we can get this show on the road.”
Katty slipped her hand into Nate’s. “Bye, Daddy.” She waved at Roman and Adrian. “Bye, Uncle Rome! Bye, Uncle Ade! See you soon!”
Adrian tossed his arm around my shoulders. “You’re one lucky man, Benny. You know that?”
A year ago, I was sure I was going to lose this.
Only in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d be waiting for my own wedding to start.
But once Mazzy and I had cracked ourselves open to each other, revealed our faults and fears and helped each other through them, our relationship had been as natural as breathing.
Mazzy made life easy and so fucking fun I always made her go to sleep first so I wouldn’t miss even a second of her.
“Yeah.” I looked from Roman to Adrian. They’d kicked me in the ass when I’d needed it, and stood beside me when I was finally headed in the right direction. Through it all, they’d always been there. “I know it.”
My eyes had been stinging before I caught sight of Mazzy Belle Emerson. The moment the doors at the end of the aisle swung open, revealing my bride, there was no holding back the tears.
This woman…
I’d known she’d be beautiful today, but I hadn’t been fully prepared to see her in a wedding dress. My brain short-circuited. Fully unplugged itself. Static. Gone.
Because—holy hell.
She was glowing, and not metaphorically. Actually glowing. The sunlight hit her dress, and the lace lit up like some kind of celestial, floral explosion designed specifically to destroy me. The dress hugged her curves in a way that made it difficult to function. I swore. I almost had to sit down.
Then she looked at me.
My chest tightened, my eyes blurred, and I instantly felt like I’d forgotten how to stand upright. I tried to swallow and nearly choked on my own spit. It was the perfect moment for my body to betray me.
Roman squeezed my shoulder. “Breathe.”
“I don’t think I can. Look at her,” I croaked, not even blinking. I didn’t want to miss a single step she took toward me.
“I see her. She’s beautiful. But you have to breathe, or you’re going to pass out.”
She was halfway down the aisle, taking careful steps over the rose petals Katty had scattered. Aunt Barb was with her, her arm hooked with Mazzy’s, standing in for a father she’d never stop missing.
Her eyes found mine again, and the wobbly smile she gave almost dropped me to my knees.
“That’s the love of my life,” I whispered.
This I knew for certain. When everything else was up in the air, Mazzy was my constant.
After taking the Mountain Lions to another championship, I was officially retired.
It was strange and didn’t quite fit me yet, but I’d get there.
After our honeymoon, I had shoulder surgery to tackle and, eventually, my knee.
In a lot of ways, I was falling apart, but I’d never felt more stable.
The unknown wasn’t scary anymore, not with my girls beside me.
When Mazzy reached me and I could touch her hand, I was finally okay. I leaned in, inhaling the scent that had become my home. “Mazz…” I whispered. “You’re perfect, baby.”
She tipped her head back, giving me the most dazzling smile. “I love you in a bow tie.”
I brushed my lips over hers. “I just love you, period.” Then I went back for seconds, having zero self-control when it came to this woman.
Aunt Barb cleared her throat. “You have to get through the ceremony before you do that, Bennett.”
Letting go of Mazzy, I grabbed Aunt Barb and gave her a big bear hug. She grunted, but I was almost sure she hugged me back.
“Thank you for taking care of her when I couldn’t.”
“Well. Of course.” She was flustered when she pulled away from me, straightening her blouse and looking anywhere else but at me. She liked me, I knew it. “Now you’ll take care of each other.”
I took Mazzy’s hand in mine, and a sense of rightness settled over me.
Exactly the right place. Exactly the right time.
Exactly the right person.
“Always.”
There was no one else I’d rather do this life with. No one but Mazzy.