Epilogue
EPILOGUE
GEORGE
FOUR MONTHS LATER, FEbrUARY
I stood at the edge of the bridge deck on Now, Voyager as I did on every journey, surveying the wide expanse of blue.
Only this time I was wearing my military dress uniform and hat, waiting for my fiancé.
I glanced around at the railings decorated with garlands of white roses and freesia and the makeshift aisle down the center of the deck.
Set against the backdrop of sunshine and wispy clouds, it was the perfect Caribbean afternoon.
Rows of our closest family and friends in their finest suits, dresses, hats, and fascinators, sat chatting and snapping photos.
I was beyond excited, pacing back and forth, until music began to play and everyone on board stood at attention.
Today was the culmination of months of work.
Rafe and I had meshed our lives together much the same way and in a manner that suited us.
He took on new clients, but scheduled his jobs around North America, only a short plane ride away from our home base in Tortola.
When I was back in the Mediterranean in the summer, Rafe would fulfill his client contracts in Europe.
There would still be weekends and sometimes weeks apart, but it worked for us.
And now we were taking another new step together.
This past week had been unlike any other, filled with our closest family and friends, and memories that Rafe and I would cherish for a lifetime. He wasn’t kidding when he said everyone would need a day to recover from the party the night before.
We started the week off with an engagement celebration including a live band, then the stag party with local dancers brought on board, and last night, the rehearsal dinner. And it wasn’t over.
Today, the best was yet to come.
“Please tell me you’re not thinking of abandoning ship.”
I turned to face my best man, Oscar, and shook my head. “Never. I just can’t wait to see him.”
Oscar smiled, his grey eyes full of mirth. “Never thought I’d see this day, but I’m so happy for you, George. You and Rafe. It’s very clear you’re made for each other.”
I smiled so wide my face hurt. “Every day gets better and better. And today I finally get to call him my husband. I just…” I paused, gathering my emotions. “I wish my mum and dad could be here to share this day.”
Oscar nodded and bit his lip. “I know. But me and Simon are here, and we’re your family too. Forever. And now you’ve got Rafe’s as well.”
I blinked back the tears in my eyes. “All right. That’s enough for now. I need to keep it together so I can get my vows out.”
Oscar slapped me on the back. “You’ve got this.”
Simon and Rebecca walked down the makeshift aisle first, accompanied by three very special guests—Luna, Stella, and Ginger.
Rafe dressed our fur babies with navy sailor scarves and white collars and leashes.
Everyone cooed and snapped photos of our adorable trio.
Simon passed Ginger’s lead over to Rebecca, who took her seat with the dogs as Simon moved to stand beside Oscar and myself.
“Wait until you see him, mate. You’re going to be gobsmacked,” Simon winked at me.
Rowan and Andrew walked down the aisle next, hand in hand, then moved to stand opposite me.
The music tempo slowed. Conversely, my heart rate jumped.
Then my Rafe came into view, his mum on one arm and his dad on the other.
With his golden hair left loose, he’d dressed in a stunning white suit with an overlay cape and a navy shirt.
I bit my lip to prevent myself from crying, but it was futile.
Tears tracked down my face as he grew closer, then all I saw were his indigo eyes and the tears that followed.
When he finally reached me, I greeted his mum with a kiss and shook his dad’s hand.
Then it was just me and Rafe.
Before taking his hands, I reached up and wiped his tears with my thumbs. His smile was my undoing, as he did the same to me, wiping my cheeks and mouthing ‘I love you,’ to which I whispered, ‘I love you more.’
“They’ve already started with the love talk, folks, and we haven’t even got to the vows,” Oscar joked.
Rafe and I reached for each other’s hands and held on tight.
My nerves eased. I was ready.
“Family and friends, we are gathered here on this beautiful day to celebrate the marriage of George and Rafe. George and I have known each other for decades, having met in the navy as young men, along with our friend Simon. The three of us became the best of mates. In calm seas and in rough, our friendship has never wavered. So it is a great honor and a privilege to be here today as the officiant at George and Rafe’s wedding. ”
Oscar then asked Rafe and I, each in our turn, to speak our vows.
I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts.
Finally, I spoke.
RAFE
I couldn’t stop staring at my husband-to-be.
“Rafe,” George whispered. “Six months ago, my life changed forever and entirely for the better. Prior to that point, my relationship with you could best be described as tenuous. There was an unfortunate series of miscommunications, to which your family can attest…”
Chuckles echoed around me as I smiled at him.
“…Despite many missteps and errors, I made one last attempt at reaching a truce by asking you to dine with me. Thankfully, you said yes. I didn’t realize at the time that I’d been waiting my entire life for that one evening with you.
The next day, I sent you a note that read ‘there is beauty in new beginnings.’ That was true of our relationship then and it’s true today, as we embark on our new life together as husbands.
Falling in love with you has made me appreciate the beauty in every day.
In comforting touches and lingering glances.
In heated debate and lighthearted banter.
In the first light of the morning and in the silence of the night, as we lay in each other’s arms.”
My tears overflowed again, and George blinked through his own but continued.
“Rafe, I loved you then, I love you now, and I will love you always.”
I didn’t know how I was going to speak after that.
“George,” I replied as I took a deep breath. “Falling in love with you has been the one adventure I never expected and can’t imagine my life without. And loving you is the greatest gift I’ve ever been given. One that I will never take for granted. You’re my first, my last, and my only love.”
Rowan stepped forward to pass us the rings.
George had mine made by the same jeweler, but I hadn’t seen it until now. Instead of white diamonds, mine had a beautiful band of blue ones. More than the appearance, it was the feel of the ring on my finger that made me happy, as happy as George looked as he placed it on my hand.
We recited the rest of our vows, until death do us part.
“I now pronounce you husbands. You may kiss your groom,” Oscar commented.
We reached for each other, and George pulled me in quickly and dipped me, dropping a heated kiss on my lips that signaled the honeymoon was just beginning. The sound of claps, whistles, and hollers all around us had me smiling against his lips. With one more kiss, he gently pulled me back up.
Our guests stood and clapped as we took the dogs from Rebecca, all five of us making our way down the aisle together.
We took more photos outside and then entered the lounge for cocktails and canapés.
Meanwhile, the outdoor deck was re-organized, with chairs on the periphery and room in the center for dancing.
We handed off the dogs to Jana so they could get a rest, and finally had a private moment together in our cabin.
“Do we have to go back out there?” I asked as George helped me detach the heavy cape from my suit. “I want to be alone with my husband. Who, by the way, looks bloody gorgeous in this uniform. I can’t wait to watch you strip off every piece,” I replied as I tugged on his lapels.
George brought me in for a possessive kiss.
He pulled back reluctantly and gave me a thorough once over. “We’ve plenty of time for that on our honeymoon,” he replied and gave my arse a playful swat. “For now, you have husbandly duties to attend to, including our first dance.”
“Put me to work, Captain,” I replied and winked.
We re-joined the outdoor reception, Oscar picking up the mic to welcome us back. “Let’s all give a round of applause for Captain and Mr. Bernard!”
Photo flashes and shouts echoed around us, but I was only focused on George in my arms. We stood in the center of the deck for our first dance as a married couple. As we began to sway, I recognized the song as the one that had been playing the first night we had dinner and danced together.
Settling in as close as I could get to him, I was floating.
“Thank you for the most wonderful week of my life. I love you.”
“I love you too,” he replied and kissed me soundly. “More and more with each passing day.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
JARED
I had a strange kind of pang in my chest as I watched Rafe and George share their first dance as husbands. I wasn’t a romantic by any means, but even I had to admit I was moved by their vows and the way they looked at each other.
Truthfully, I didn’t know if love like that existed in the real world. Or at least in my world. I was never looking for happily ever after. That was for the movies.
Sex I understood. Love, not so much.
I’d grown up in foster care, after my mother died from an accidental overdose when I was ten.
Prior to her passing, she was either high or looking to get high.
Either way, there was no love in her gaze or her manner when it came to me, her only son.
All her thoughts were occupied by her addiction.
After she died, and with no other family, I was tossed back and forth like an unwanted guest from home to home until I was eighteen.
My only experience with love was my first mentor, who took me under his wing when I was a twenty-two-year-old film student.
And even that was friendship more than anything else.
“I thought Rowan’s wedding vows last year were over the top, but George’s proved to be even more cringeworthy. I’m stifling the urge to vomit, and it has nothing to do with the motion of this ship,” Aiden remarked as he sat down beside me for dinner.
Shocked gasps and dirty looks from other guests had me stifling a laugh.
No one could enter a scene like Aiden Barstock.
If he wasn’t a lawyer, I would have offered him an acting role. He had that rare kind of presence that you couldn’t ignore. Even if you didn’t like what came out of his razor-sharp mouth.
I’m sure he was something to witness in a courtroom. A sleek lion in a three-piece suit, barely restrained and ready to pounce.
And lately, whenever his hazel eyes turned on me, I had the strange urge to run. But I still wanted him to catch me even though something inside told me that I wasn’t prepared to be caught.
“Are you all right?”
The question startled me out of my musings, and I turned to the second source of my recent discomfort. Alex Sheffield, my bodyguard, who sat on my other side.
Most people that met Alex were intimidated by his size (wasn’t that the point of a bodyguard?) and found his brusque manner discomforting.
I thought he was anything but. He gave me a sense of safety and security that I’d never felt in my entire life.
While he knew a lot about me, the reverse didn’t hold true.
And my natural curiosity needed to be satisfied.
“I’m fine. Just hungry,” I finally replied.
I wasn’t thinking about food at all.
“I’m sorry to ruin the mood, but we need to talk with Aiden after dinner. There’s been another threat,” Alex whispered in my ear.
He stared at me, and I tried not to fidget or panic. My public work had its pitfalls, and attracting unwanted attention was one of them.
I forced myself to make polite small talk with everyone at our table, but I was distracted by the earlier comment and most of all, by the men on either side of me.
I was caught between a rock and a hard place. You take your pick about which man was which.
Not only that, but I felt like an actor starring in my own drama.
And I had absolutely no idea what scene was coming next.
The End