Epilogue
Aidan
“Is this right?” I ask Charlotte, leaning closer to her as we stand in front of the mirror, making last-minute adjustments. “I should’ve gotten a clip-on tie.”
She raises an eyebrow, her hands reaching up to my throat to adjust my tie.
“I think so. I’ve never tied a bow tie before.
” Turning away from me, she reaches up to her golden-brown locks and shakes them out.
Whiffs of soft lavender and vanilla drift up to me, and I practically drink it in.
Two years together, and she still smells beautifully intoxicating. Blood courses right to my groin.
“How long are we staying at this thing?” I ask.
“We can leave after cake,” she replies. “Xander told me there’s going to be a quiet room in the library so you can escape from everyone.” She gazes up at me with her wide blue eyes. Heat simmers through my veins, running thick with desire and need.
Damn. I love this woman.
“He’ll probably end up joining me halfway through.” I grab her elbows and pull her into my arms, tipping her mouth up to mine, kissing her hard. Charlotte lets out a laugh as our bodies press against each other. “When do we have to leave?” I breathe into her. “You’re stunning.”
She swats me away. “We’re leaving now.”
I groan, closing my eyes and tipping my head back. “By the time we get back, we’re going to be so exhausted.” I bring my face back down to hers to kiss her again, softer this time.
“There’s always tomorrow,” Charlotte says with a husky voice. “It’s supposed to rain, and Sarah’s manning the store. We can read, drink tea, and do other things. Nicole’s got a new scone flavor I want to try,” she teases. But I know she means lingering in bed and making love.
“That would be nice.” I step back from her, my body growing chill at the lack of warmth.
“When we get married, I don’t want any of this big wedding shit.
No speeches.” I pat the pocket of my suit, where my best man’s speech is folded neatly and tucked away.
“No crazy outfits.” I pull at the collar of my tux and grimace.
“Definitely no people. Well, just a few. Like my parents and your mom.”
My stomach flips over itself after the words come out. We’ve been together for two years, and we’ve discussed marriage. She told me what kind of ring she wants, and I bought it. It’s been sitting in my bedside table drawer for a week.
We agreed on a formal proposal when we first discussed the topic of marriage.
I want to do it. Charlotte deserves a romantic surprise, but the anxiety hits me like a freight train.
What if it’s not perfect enough? What if something happens and I drop the ring?
What if when I drop the ring, lose it, and we spend hours trying to find it, only to accept that it’s lost forever?
What if someone eats it? I haven’t gotten it insured yet.
Charlotte pouts and fingers the lapels of my jacket. She smiles. “But you look so hot in a tux.” She twirls in her navy-blue dress, the skirts flaring from her hips. “When will I ever get a chance to wear something as beautiful as this?”
“Uh, aren’t we invited to another wedding later this year?” Shoving one of my hands in my pockets, I sit back and take her in for a moment. Stroking my jaw in contemplation, I finally reply, “Fuck, Charlotte, you are making this very hard for me.”
She steps closer and rests her hand on my chest. “Good. Now, let’s go.” She whirls past me in a trail of lavender and vanilla. I dutifully follow her. I’d follow her anywhere.
Ten minutes later, we’re on the road. Charlotte is in the passenger seat, reading over her maid of honor speech.
We drive past golden fields of ripe wheat and thigh high stalks of young corn.
Even with the windows up and the A/C on, the whirring of the afternoon cicadas drowns out the rest of the world.
There’s nothing quite like a summer in Maryland.
At a stoplight, Charlotte sets down her speech and shifts in her seat to face me. I glance over at her, flashing a smile. “What’s up?”
She taps the paper with her fingers a moment, biting on her lower lip.
“I know I said I wanted the whole proposal thing, but how would you feel if we just decided that we’re getting married without all that?
It only means that we’ve decided to marry each other.
Technically, we’re already engaged.” She studies me.
The light turns green, and I press my lips together, bemoaning the fact that I shouldn’t at her while I’m driving.
She continues, “You’ve been on edge ever since I signed for that mysterious package.” She casts me a knowing look. “Are you ok if we just start planning a wedding? You don’t have to formally propose if you don’t want to.”
I nod, slumping with relief against the seat and letting out a dramatic sigh.
“I would love that.” My chest expands as I take in air and then contracts as I let it out.
Finally, I say, “I’d rather get to the part where we marry instead of spending time and money on a bunch of pomp and circumstance. ” I glance over at her.
Her mouth opens, and she tilts her head to the side. “We’re getting married?”
“We’re getting married!”
She shifts in her seat and scratches her neck. A giggle bubbles out of her. “This feels more like us.”
“Starting to plan a wedding on our way to our friends’ wedding? Sounds about right.” Reaching for her, I plant a kiss on her palm. “I’d kiss you properly to celebrate, but I’m driving.”
“I don’t want to spend this wedding, or ours, dead.”
“That certainly would ruin our weekend.” I hold onto her hand though as we drive.
She runs her thumb in circles around my knuckles.
“I meant every word about having a low-key wedding though. Maybe a courthouse wedding and a nice dinner out with my parents and your mom? EC Diner has some great desserts.”
“We can go there for breakfast before.” She lets out a sigh. “We have to invite our friends.”
I nod. “Alright, close friends and family, but no one else.”
“Can we invite the Lisas?” she asks, and out of the corner of my eye I see a pout forming. “And Johnny and his wife? Oh, we can’t forget the Bennetts either. Or my book club. Not to mention Mayor Harrington could officiate. We could have the ceremony in the town square instead.”
I let out a half-groan, half-sigh. This is what I get for falling for the beautiful, extroverted small town bookshop owner.
I drum my fingers on the steering wheel.
“How about this? We have a private ceremony and a nice dinner with our close friends and family.” I hold up a finger when I see her opening her mouth to speak.
“Then we’ll have an open house at the bookstore where people can help us celebrate. ”
She ponders it for a few seconds. “I like it.” She chuckles and rests a hand on my shoulder. “We could put this together for August.”
I grimace. “Summer just started. Can we swing that?”
“Yeah, I know we can.” She pulls out her phone, I assume, to look at her calendar. “How about July 31st? You’ll have enough time to rest before the school year starts.”
I grin. “July 31st it is.”
She squeezes my fingers. “Nicole will make the cake. Ivy will do the flowers.”
“It won’t be a cake. It’ll be a tower of scones or croissants,” I counter. “Do you think Liam can do the coffee? Or would he rather do the music?”
Charlotte chuckles. “I’ll ask.”
We continue planning as we drive through the countryside.
Warmth spreads through my body as I imagine the rest of our lives together, now in a crystal-clear picture.
Our lives won’t change much once we exchange rings and vows.
We’ll live above the bookstore like we have since I moved in a year and a half ago.
Our mornings will be soft and easy while we talk in the kitchen over steaming hot drinks in colorful mugs.
Our afternoons will be spent in the bookstore, catching up on the events of our day.
We’ll have cozy evenings in our living room surrounded by small, fluffy animals.
“When do we tell the others?” I ask once we’ve planned out the entire event.
“Tomorrow,” Charlotte remarks. “I don’t want to steal the spotlight from the happy couple.” In my periphery, I see her studying my profile.
“Do I have something on my face?” I inquire, raking a hand over my stubble.
“No. Your face is perfect,” she replies. Her voice softens. “I was just thinking. Do you think we would’ve ever fallen in love if our county hadn’t threatened to close the library?”
A light chuckle escapes me. “Who knows? I had the biggest crush on you, but I was too nervous to act on it.”
“You had a crush on me?” she asks, the pitch of her voice rising. “When?”
I nod. “From the moment I met you.”
“I had the biggest crush on you,” she muses. “I gave you free bookmarks as flirting.”
“You give free bookmarks to everyone.”
“Those are marketing bookmarks. They’re different. I gave you the fancy bookmarks that cost money.”
“You should’ve given me one of those penis bookmarks. That would’ve sent a message,” I say with a chuckle.
She snorts and lifts her shoulder in a shrug. “Maybe something else would’ve thrown us together. Maybe we would’ve finally gotten the nerve to talk to each other.”
“Nicole and Xander would’ve gotten tired of us and locked us in a room until we finally declared our feelings,” I interject. “But it doesn’t matter. We’re together now. I can check you out without hesitation.”
Before we can say anything else, I pull into the winery that is serving as the wedding venue and park the car in a spot that’s decorated with a sign that says, “Best Man/Maid of Honor” in swooping cursive letters.
The winery is decorated with radiant flowers and a potted plant at every corner.
I take Charlotte’s hand and bring my lips to her palm, letting them linger on her soft skin. “Can I kiss you before we go in?”
A smile spreads across Charlotte’s face. “Yes.”
I kiss my future wife.