Epilogue
A ria couldn’t believe how fast the days passed until their wedding and her standing in front of the full-length mirror in her old bedroom at her parents’ ranch, staring at herself in her gown. It was a wish when she bought it and a dream come true today. She loved it.
“Nick is going to pass out when he sees you in this dress.” Her mother smiled from behind her. “You are breathtaking.” Tears gathered in her mother’s eyes.
“Don’t cry, or I’ll start crying.” She blinked to hold back the tears and smoothed her hands over the full lace skirt. The sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves made her look and feel like a princess. With every move she made, the skirt swished.
The door flew open behind her and Stacy ran in ahead of Lyric and Melody. “It’s time! It’s time! It’s time,” she shouted.
Aria turned to them and got a bunch of oohs and ahhs.
“That dress…” Lyric said. “I see why you had to have it.”
“It’s perfect,” Melody agreed.
“You’re so pretty, Mommy.” Stacy looked up at her with pure joy.
Even now, weeks after Stacy had started living with them, hearing Stacy call her that made her heart melt and her throat choke up.
Three days after she’d started living with them, Aria and Nick went into her room to say goodnight and she asked them if it was finally okay to call them Mom and Dad. She and Nick had both choked up and said yes.
Then, right before they walked out of her bedroom, she’d said, “See you in the morning, Mom and Dad.” They’d both teared up and gone back and hugged their little girl one more time.
Aria would never forget it.
“You look beautiful, too.”
Stacy’s pale pink satin dress with flutter sleeves and a full skirt made her look like the young lady she’d turned into over the last weeks. She’d been twirling around in it since she put it on and couldn’t wait to be their flower girl.
Since Mason and Nick were brothers and she and Lyric were sisters, she and Nick decided to just have them stand up for them.
Lyric wore a dusty-rose-colored dress with flutter sleeves like Stacy’s dress, a V-neck, and a full asymmetrical skirt that showed off her baby bump.
Nick and Mason had chosen to wear black suits. Simple and timeless.
“Ready?” her dad asked as he walked into the room, then stopped short when he saw her in her gown. “Oh.” He shook his head. “Oh, wow. You look amazing, sweetheart. He’s not going to know what hit him.”
Her blush heated her cheeks. “Let’s go. I’m more than ready.”
Nick and Mason arrived at the very cool glass-topped cabin Jax’s wife Layla used as a studio when she stayed at the ranch to paint her masterpieces. Now, the Wildes used the open cabin space for wedding ceremonies and a honeymoon getaway, depending on how they decorated it.
Today it was decorated with green garlands with pinecones and white roses, pink floral bouquets lining the aisle between the guest chairs, and large lanterns filled with white candles. The whole space felt warm and inviting, especially with the large tree branches overhead as the forest surrounded them.
Nick loved it as much as Aria did. She’d told him about Jax and Layla’s wedding as well as the many others she’d helped her mom and dad set up for guests at the ranch. It turned out better than she’d described to him.
“You ready?” Mason asked before they stepped inside.
“I’ve been ready almost since the day I met her.” Nick walked up the steps and greeted his mom and dad.
“We’re so happy for you,” his mom said, hugging him close.
Nick kissed her cheek, then turned to his dad and hugged him.
His dad put his hand on Nick’s shoulder. “You’re making a beautiful family, son.”
Stacy had his dad wrapped around her little finger. His parents didn’t know what it was like to have a daughter. His three cousins were all boys, too.
“I can’t wait to expand it, too.” Nick would give Aria the year she wanted, then he wanted to work on the next Wilde Gunn addition.
His father squeezed his shoulder again. “That’s what the honeymoon is for.”
His mom swatted his dad’s chest. “Take your time, Nick. Enjoy being together for a while.”
“We will. We want to give Stacy some time to settle in with us, too.”
“I’m looking forward to spoiling her while you’re away.” His mom would happily rain affection down on her the whole time.
He hoped Stacy was ready for all the attention.
More likely she’d talk her uncle Jax into letting her ride her pony again. She’d had her first riding lesson yesterday. He and Aria hadn’t wanted to miss her first time up on a pony, knowing she was going to have this whole next week to help out her grandparents and Jax on the ranch.
“She’s going to be in great hands with all of you. Just be careful not to overwhelm her.”
His mom nodded her understanding. “We’ll take it slow and easy. Now go say hello to your aunt, uncle, and cousins.”
Nick made his way over to Mason, who was between his cousins, Lincoln, Hawk, and Damon.
Hawk came forward first. “Congrats, man. I’m happy for you.” He actually looked it.
“Thanks for always helping out when Mason and I need you.”
“I’m always there for you and the family, bro.” Hawk and his brothers truly were like brothers to them.
Lincoln and Damon both gave him a hug and slap on the back, congratulating him.
“None of you brought a date? What’s with you guys? You can’t work all the time,” Nick teased, knowing he’d been guilty of doing just that. But not anymore. Now he made it a point to be home for dinner. Weekends were family time, unless something truly urgent came up.
Damon groaned. “I’m hardly ever in one place long enough for one date, let alone a follow-up.” Damon traveled around the globe promoting the Gunn Brothers Distillery brand.
Lincoln rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to hear any complaining from the guy who gets texts from every area and country code around the globe asking if he’s free tonight. They don’t even know you’re not even in the same time zone as them.”
Damon grinned. “I hardly ever know what time zone I’m in. But I can tell you where to find the best-looking women in over twenty countries.”
Hawk smacked his younger brother on the back of the head. “Don’t brag when you can’t even remember the name of the last girl you slept with.”
Aunt Donna glared at her boys, then shushed them. “We’re here to celebrate Nick and Aria. This is not some bar where you get to boast about your conquests.”
Damon snickered. “It’s not boasting if it’s true.”
Aunt Donna shook her head at her boys. “One of these days a woman is going to knock you off your feet, like Aria did Nick. Then you’ll know what real love feels like and what it’s like to be with someone who matters.”
“Listen to your mother, boys,” Uncle Mac admonished. “She speaks the truth. You’ll see.”
“Nick had to go and bring the first grandchild into the family,” Lincoln complained with a note of lightheartedness to it. “Lyric and Layla are delivering two more soon. Mom and Dad are just hoping for some grandbabies of their own.”
Nick grinned. “Not my fault, boys. I fell in love with the kid the way I did Aria. Best thing to ever happen to me, those two.”
“She’s here,” Aria’s mother, Robin, announced as she stepped into the room.
“It’s time.” Lincoln gave him a nudge toward the front.
Mason walked up with him to their position and gave him a hearty pat on the back. “No going back now.”
“I only want the future I know I’ll have with her.”
Judge Kerrich stood beside them, ready to perform the ceremony. “It starts right now.”
“Thank you for doing this for us, Judge. I appreciate you taking the time.”
“This is one of the nicer things I get to do in this job. I like making families, especially for good people like you and the Wildes.”
Judge Kerrich was a good friend of Aria’s father. They’d known each other since grade school. The judge was kind enough to preside over their wedding and sign off on the adoption after he’d had a conversation with Stacy earlier in the day.
Was he getting special treatment because he was an FBI agent and he had this family connection? Yes. But the judge had made it clear, too, that Stacy had been through enough in her short life and if the one thing she wanted was for him and Aria to be her mom and dad, then the judge was going to make that happen so that she could move forward with her life as a Gunn.
She and Aria would belong to him now.
He couldn’t wait.
And he didn’t have to, because Jax escorted Robin to her seat in the front row beside Layla. Melody and Fox sat behind them. Several of Aria’s friends filled out the rest of that side.
His parents were right up front on his side, along with his aunt and uncle behind them, with his cousins. He’d invited several of his buddies from work with their partners, too.
These were the people who mattered most in their lives.
“Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Kina Grannis from the movie Crazy Rich Asians , one of Aria’s favorite movies and love songs, started playing and Nick fell into the sultry tune and beautiful lyrics.
It was the perfect song for them, because neither of them had been able to help falling in love with the other. It was inevitable and meant to be and all those things Nick had always thought were too sappy for him until he felt it all.
She made him feel, like he’d never felt before.
The song eased him into taking in this moment and what it meant to marry the woman he loved. She was everything. His whole world. Today was the luckiest day of his life.
For more than one reason.
His sweet little Stacy walked up the steps at the back in her pretty pink dress, a joyous smile on her face, carrying a white basket filled with pink rose petals. She walked into the room and called out, “Hi, Dad,” lighting up his heart.
She walked forward in the patent leather sandals with a little heel that she’d loved so much because they were so grown up and tossed handfuls of the petals out in front of her as she walked up the aisle to him.
His heart melted. “Good job, sprite.”
Stacy beamed and took her position opposite him.
He and Aria wanted her to be part of the ceremony, because today they became a family of three.
Lyric stepped into the room in her beautiful pink dress, looking radiant with her baby bump. She held a bouquet of pink roses and smiled as she walked down the aisle, timing the end of her walk to the music.
Mason whispered behind him, “That’s my beautiful angel.” He called her “angel” all the time. And even though they’d been married for some time now, you’d think they were still newlyweds.
Lyric took her place beside Stacy and then the music changed to the traditional wedding march.
Nick held his breath, waiting to see her.
She didn’t disappoint. The second he saw her face, she smiled so big, her cheeks pinked and her eyes lit up, seeing him. And then he saw the dress as she stepped into the room, and wow, she blew his mind. All he could do was say, “Gorgeous.”
She must have read his lips because her smile went up to megawatt.
Her father walked Aria to him. Her mother had tears in her eyes as Aria passed her. His mom and dad both looked overwhelmed with joy.
And then she was right in front of him.
Her dad put her hand in his and said, “Take care of each other.” Then he went to take his seat beside Robin.
Nick stared into Aria’s eyes and felt every beat of love coming from his heart. “You’re stunning.”
“I’m going to say this one last time, since I only got to say it for a few weeks, but my fiancée is gorgeous.”
Their loved ones all laughed.
“Let’s turn that into husband and wife, shall we?” Judge Kerrich asked.
Aria handed her flowers to her sister Lyric.
Nick held his hand out to Stacy, who moved in between him and Aria and held both their hands. They made a circle. Unbroken. A family.
“You look so pretty, Mommy.”
Aria bent and kissed Stacy on the forehead. “So do you, my sweet girl.” Aria turned to the judge and nodded for him to go ahead, then her beautiful blue gaze held his with so much love, sincerity, and certainty, he knew she was thinking the same thing he was. We’re forever.
“Love is magical. That chemistry combined with kismet brings people together. In this case, love brought Aria and Nick together. And that love expanded when Stacy came into their lives. Because of love, they will become a family here today.”
It felt like Nick blinked and the I dos were done and he had a platinum band on his hand and Aria had a diamond eternity band around hers. The best part, he was kissing her again and again as everyone clapped.
“Can I say it now, Daddy?” Stacy tugged on his pant leg.
He reluctantly broke the kiss with his wife . “One second, sprite. We have one more thing to do.”
She looked at him, confused, because they hadn’t practiced this part. Even his new wife didn’t know about this.
Nick took Aria’s hand and kissed the back of it right above her new ring. “Our first wedding gift is the one we both want more than anything.”
Aria eyed him curiously, but didn’t say anything.
Nick turned to the judge. “If you’ll do the honors, please.”
Judge Kerrich held up the papers so everyone could see them. “We have just witnessed the union between Nick and Aria, but there is someone else here who wants very much to be a part of their union. Isn’t that right, Stacy?”
Confusion filled her eyes. “What?”
“Do you, Stacy Elizabeth Cabot, want Nick and Aria Gunn to be your forever mom and dad?”
She nodded her head over and over again. “Oh, yes. I do.”
“Do you, Aria and Nick, want Stacy to be your daughter?”
Nick squeezed Aria’s hand.
Tears fell down her cheeks. “This is happening right now?”
Nick nodded. “I asked the judge if he’d make an exception and allow us to become a family together at the same time.”
“That’s why we had the surprise home visit?”
Nick squeezed her hand again. “Yes. Though I knew it was coming.”
Despite the tears, she smiled at him. “You did this.”
“I’d do anything for you and her.”
Judge Kerrich leaned in. “Do you want Stacy to be your daughter?”
Aria, his kindhearted wife, looked at the judge and spoke the truth. “She already is.”
Stacy’s wide smile matched Aria’s.
“We do,” Nick answered the question for both of them.
Judge Kerrich went on with the little ceremony they’d planned to make this special for Stacy. “And will you love, honor, cherish, and keep safe this beautiful child? Will you be the light that outshines the dark? Will you be the parent, teacher, and protector she deserves?”
“We will,” Nick and Aria said in unison.
Judge Kerrich put his hand over Nick and Aria’s joined hands. “Then from this day forward, you will be a family, a bond that shall never be broken, a place that you shall always be held in each other’s hearts.” He looked past them to their guests. “I present to you, Nick, Aria, and Stacy Gunn.”
Judge Kerrich signed the papers.
Their family and friends clapped and cheered, many of them brushing away their own tears.
Nick picked up Stacy, wrapped his free arm around Aria, and held his girls close.
“So that’s it, she’s ours?” Aria asked, stunned.
Nick looked into Stacy’s pretty green eyes. “You’re ours, sprite. Forever.”
She threw her arms around both of them. “I love you so much.”
“We love you, too.” Aria held her close, her eyes locked on him, and he saw everything she didn’t say out loud to him. She loved him. She thanked him for making this happen. She adored their child. She couldn’t wait for them to start making a million memories together.
Nick released Aria for a moment and pulled out the silver chain from his pocket. He held it up in front of Stacy. “Mommy got a brand new ring today for our wedding. So I thought maybe you should get something special, too, for your adoption day.”
She grabbed hold of the small silver disc with the three gems on it with her new initials—SG—and today’s date.
Aria grinned. “Nick, you put all our birthstones on it.”
Stacy’s smile kicked up a notch. “That’s so cool. I love it.”
Aria took the chain and put it around Stacy’s neck.
“So a little piece of us will always be with you.” Nick kissed her cheek.
Aria kissed him. “You’re incredible.”
Stacy hugged them both tight and it was perfect.