Epilogue
On a blooming Saturday in June, Sheila and Russell wed. The day could not have been any more magnificent. Annie stared at the blue sky as she got out of her car. It was the perfect weather for the knee-length yellow dress she’d picked for the occasion.
When Miles had picked her and the twins up for the short trip to the church, he mimed his heart jumping from his chest.
“You look like the sun,” he said.
Annie looked down at herself. “Sweaty and cancer-causing?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “The center of everything.”
He looked impossibly broad and handsome in his navy blue suit. She had to fight the urge to leap into his arms and smother his face in kisses when she first saw him, settling instead for a kiss on the cheek.
The twins spun around her, chasing one another and yelling in the church parking lot. She narrowly rescued Noel from splashing into a murky puddle as Miles swept a whining Leon into his arms.
“Got you!” he said.
“No!” Leon raised a hand to deliver a slap, but Miles promptly blew a raspberry into his arm and sent him into giggles.
Sheila had asked if Leon and Noel wanted to be the ring bearer and flower girl. Noel was thrilled, practicing with baskets of fake flower petals at home, but Leon declined to participate after seeing several example videos of what his duties would be.
His talking had wildly improved. He’d graduated from speech therapy, so Annie knew he meant what he said. When they got into the church and joined the hurried rush of the wedding party, Annie left to prepare to coach Noel down the aisle, while Leon went off happily with Miles and Bella.
They stood in the back, greeting the arriving guests who gushed over Noel’s adorable white dress and floral headband. Noel relished the attention, smiling her biggest smile and clutching her flower basket with tiny hands.
As much as it wasn’t Leon’s scene, it certainly was Noel’s, and she basked in every moment. Annie thought her heart might burst from cuteness.
Sheila was hidden away, but her impressive fleet of bridesmaids appeared and whisked them into a side room. Included were Sheila’s daughters Eliza, Mackenzie, Shelby, and Emma; Russell’s daughter Mia; and Sheila’s sisters Addy and Kara.
Russell had an equally impressive wall of groomsmen at his side at the end of the aisle: his son, Lucas; Jacob, Mia’s boyfriend and Annie’s longtime friend; Joey, Russell’s private pilot and Eliza’s beau; and Rick, Addy’s boyfriend.
There were three other men Annie wasn’t familiar with, but judging from their absurdly handsome faces, they were probably fellow movie stars.
Five minutes before they were set to begin, Sheila entered the room. Annie gasped. She wore a silk organza gown in ivory, with a high neck and cascading ruffles running down the dress, giving a romantic, petal-like effect. Her hair was pulled back in a loose braid, a white flower behind her ear.
“You look like a dream!” Annie said.
Sheila grinned, a glint in her eye. “Thank you, Annie. How about we get this show on the road before we start losing people?”
“You got it.” Annie nodded, leaving Noel in Margie’s care for a brief moment, quietly slipping to the front of the church. Leon spotted her immediately, a grin spreading on his face as he waved. She waved back, unable to contain her smile.
The music began and Noel started her march, her expression serious, throwing petals forward, backward, and adding flourishes until she reached the front.
“That was wonderful,” Annie whispered before whisking her to their seats next to Miles, Bella, and Leon.
Russell stood tall, tears in his eyes as the bridesmaids made their way down the aisle, holding bouquets overflowing with peonies and wildflowers.
The bridal march rang out, and they rose to their feet. Sheila appeared, grinning and eyes brimming with tears, with Patty at her side to give her away.
That was all it took. Annie wasn’t particularly good at keeping her own tears in at weddings, but this time she started her weeping early, before Sheila had even made it to her groom.
Miles leaned in, planting a kiss on her cheek and squeezing her hand. Annie squeezed his hand back, but she couldn’t chance looking at him at the risk of completely losing it.
Once seated, Annie recovered some semblance of control. Patty’s golden retriever Derby served as ring bearer, and he barreled down the aisle, stopping and sprinting, soliciting back scratches from obliging guests and causing outbursts of laughter.
When they said their vows, Annie’s tears returned, streaming down her face. Her heart was overfilled with happiness, and gratitude, and joy. She had been so endlessly, blissfully happy these past months.
She could hardly believe it was real. Miles was an absurdly attentive boyfriend, helping with daycare pickups, making dinners, and surprising her at work with flowers or coffee – anything for an excuse to see her.
Bella was more than thrilled by their relationship, insisting on babysitting the twins, whom she referred to exclusively as “my baby brother and sister.”
With Roy’s new payments, Annie was able to move out of her mom’s place and into a rental house one street over. It gave them a bit of breathing room without taking them too far from her mom or Miles.
Still, it ruined Miles’ plan. “I wanted to lure you into marrying me by offering my big, empty house for your liking.”
Annie grinned at him. “There will be time for that.”
There was no need to rush. She had no doubt they would have the rest of their lives together.
Once Sheila and Russell sprinted down the aisle and out of the church, Annie could finally stop crying. The mass of people, which included surprisingly fewer celebrities than expected, made their way to Saltwater Cove for the reception.
Margie had pulled out all the stops: fresh flowers everywhere the eye could see, their sweet fragrance in the air.
Craft cocktails awaited the guests as they walked in, and waiters passed endless hors d’oeuvres of Dungeness crab, smoked salmon crostini, and seared scallops.
Inside the barn, the tables were set with crisp white linen, gold flatware, and gold chairs.
The walls were draped in floor to ceiling satin, and in the center stood a glittering champagne tower.
The bride and groom arrived by seaplane, laughing as they wobbled onto the dock to their cheering guests. They proceeded to the outdoor dance floor for their first dance, the live band playing Head over Heels by Tears for Fears.
Annie stood at the edge of the dance floor, trying to hold Noel and Leon back, when Sheila’s mother Marilyn approached.
“Wouldn’t be my choice for a first dance song,” she said glumly. “But I suppose Sheila likes the song after Russell serenaded her with it.”
She was dressed in a white, floor-length gown. Annie suppressed a smile. “I think it’s romantic.”
“You know,” Marilyn added, “I’d suggested to Sheila I would’ve made a great flower girl, but she decided to go with your little one instead.”
Miles opened his mouth to respond, but Annie held up a hand. She was all too familiar with Sheila’s mother through Eliza.
“The flower-grandma is very chic,” Annie said brightly. “Maybe you’ll get your chance with Eliza.”
A smile spread across her face. “Maybe I will!”
The evening was filled with more magic – a fleet of food trucks, marshmallow toasting on fire department approved gas fireplaces, and portrait artists painting the guests.
Annie disappeared for an hour to put the kids to bed, and Clara volunteered to stay with them so she could return to the party.
Miles, of course, went with her. He took the responsibility of keeping her safe very seriously, hardly ever leaving her side.
It wasn’t totally necessary. A month after the fire, Chief Hank arrested Alex.
He crumbled quickly, saying he had no idea Annie had been inside the building.
He’d wanted to send a message and asked for leniency because he was the one who had initially called the fire in once he’d realized his mistake.
With Alex in jail, there was no other danger to her, but Annie didn’t care what excuse Miles used. She loved every minute with him. He made every aspect of life easier. It wasn’t just that he added to her life; he verifiably completed it. It felt like she’d been waiting for him all this time.
The quiet moments with him, steady at her side, made her grateful for everything she’d gone through in the last year – with Roy, the fire, everything. It had led her to Miles, and she wouldn’t change a single thing.
As the sun set, Margie called Sheila, Russell and their guests to the shore. The sky burned orange and red, and against the stunning backdrop, a white boat appeared in the distance.
From inside, Lottie’s trainers waved. Sheila and Russell looked at each other, accusation in their eyes.
“My idea,” Mackenzie confessed, beaming.
Moments later, a black fin broke the water. Lottie broke the surface, blowing a breath nearby.
The crowd cheered, and once again, Annie fought back tears. She knew Lottie was still taken for “walks,” but she had never expected this. Apparently, neither had Sheila or Russell, the two of them clinging to each other and staring in wonder.
Lottie disappeared, and it was so quiet that all they could hear was the gentle sound of water at the rocky shore.
Then Lottie exploded from beneath the surface, slamming into the water with a cascading splash. The guests erupted into cheers again, and Lottie, apparently reverting to her old training, leapt from the water repeatedly, splashing and celebrating.
Miles pulled a tissue from his pocket and handed it to Annie. She wiped away the tears, then stood, leaning her back against Miles’ broad chest.
She could never have imagined how wonderful life could be. She could never have imagined this.
Annie closed her eyes, memorizing the moment.