Epilogue #2
“I… You… You’re kidding, right? This is a prank?” Ellie let out a slightly hysterical laugh. “A crazy, elaborate prank. There’s no way this is real.”
She pinched her arm, whispered “ouch,” and stared at the yacht in frozen shock.
“It’s real,” I assured her, squeezing her shoulders. “And it’s ours now.”
“He gave us his yacht?” Ellie shook her head and took a step back, bumping into me. “Nope. No way. This is way too much. I wouldn’t even know what to do with it!”
I wrapped my arms around her waist and planted my chin on top of her head. “We’ll start by taking our honeymoon on it. Then we’ll take it out every summer. Share it with our friends. Bring our future children on it. There’s plenty to do with it.”
Shocked silence lingered for a moment before Ellie promptly burst into tears, catching me off guard. She turned in my arms and buried her face in my chest to hide.
I rubbed a soothing hand against her back. “Don’t cry, Darling.”
“I swear they’re happy tears,” she insisted, muffled against my chest. “And it’s my wedding, so I can cry if I want to.”
Breathing a laugh, I held her close until the tears slowed and her breathing calmed. And then I held her for longer, because she was my wife and this was the first moment we’d had alone all day.
“Hey, Cade?” Ellie eventually whispered.
“Yeah?”
One last sniffle escaped. “Do you think Sunshine Cuddle Cats could host a cat cruise on the yacht?”
My hand froze against her back. I didn’t know what a cat cruise was, but what I could imagine didn’t sound good. I cleared my throat. “We’d need to look into the legalities. It sounds like an insurance nightmare. And the logistics alone…”
I rattled off every excuse I could think of, but I already knew how this would end.
If Ellie wanted a cat cruise, I’d make sure she got the best damn cat cruise there was.
Ellie insisted on staying put and staring at the yacht’s new name, so that was what we did for the next twenty minutes. I didn’t mind. It was a beautiful night, and I had my cuddly wife in my arms.
Eventually, a few stragglers moseyed down the gangway, with Grandfather breaking away from the pack to join us.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he said as he approached, “but I wanted to give one more congratulations to the happy couple.”
Ellie peeled away from me and launched herself at him—almost bowling him over in her enthusiasm.
“Thank you!” she cried, squeezing him tightly. “I can’t believe you gave us your yacht.”
He hugged her back with a chuckle. “It’s a great deal for me, too. I get to enjoy the benefits without any of the maintenance or property taxes or docking fees. I’m happy to let Cade’s financial manager handle all that.”
I let out a wry laugh, and Ellie wiped her tearstained cheeks.
“We’ll have your cabin ready for you anytime you want to use it,” she promised. “You can live there if you want to. You’re always welcome—”
I cleared my throat and wrapped an arm around Ellie’s waist. “Maybe not until after our honeymoon, though.”
Like I’d been hoping, Ellie’s face turned a pretty shade of pink as she jabbed a finger into my side. “Cade.”
I wasn’t sure who was more amused between me and Grandfather.
“I appreciate it, Ellie. And I’ll be happy to take you up on that very kind offer,” the old man said, smiling before turning to me. The sharp arch of his brow spoke volumes. “You better be taking a decent amount of time off for the honeymoon.”
I grinned. “You don’t have to convince me this time. My phone is off for the next three months.”
“Attaboy.” A smile crinkled the corners of his eyes. “I’m off, then, but tonight was wonderful. I haven’t danced like that since I was a young lad. Let’s get dinner when you both get back, yeah? Ring me.”
We said our goodbyes, and Grandfather had barely walked off before Harrison rushed down the gangway. He hopped onto the dock, wobbled a bit, then jogged over to us.
“Did Grandfather seriously give you the yacht? He only gave me and Madison the house in Aspen.” He paused, then his drunken eyes lit up. “I’ll trade you Aspen for it.”
I laughed. “No deal. There’s nothing you could offer me that I’d want for it.”
He looked toward the ship and opened his mouth to argue—before stopping abruptly as his eyes took in the new name.
“Ah. I see.” He scowled at the ship, shaking his head. “God, I can’t believe my older brother turned into such a sap. You know I used to look up to you, right?”
“Get lost, Harry.”
“You get lost,” he shot back just as Madison reached us and grabbed his arm.
“Harry, I asked you to wait for me,” she said through a clenched smile, before turning to us with a roll of her eyes. “I need to get this one to bed, but congrats, you two! Seriously gorgeous wedding, and everything went off without a hitch. I loved every second.”
The girls hugged, and Madison stumbled off with my brother as I pulled Ellie into my arms again.
She leaned her back against my chest with a sigh, gazing at the ship. “I know he just gave us a yacht, but are you still planning to get revenge on your grandfather for pretending to be you on Sunshine Cuddle Services?”
A hint of a smirk touched my lips. “There’s nothing to get him back for. I already won, Darling.”
She turned in my arms with a laugh, tilting her head back so I could see the sparkle in her eyes.
“My name’s not Darling anymore,” she reminded me, resting her hands on my chest. “I’m Ellie Westbrook now.”
I hummed, unable to resist leaning down to press a kiss to her soft, exposed neck. “I may have a vested interest in your new name, but you’ll always be my darling.”
Her answering grin outshone the sun and stars and all the little twinkly lights combined.
“I don’t know how you ever claimed not to be a sweet guy.” Ellie laughed. She wet her lips, dropping her gaze to where she tapped her fingertips against my chest. “Um… Now that the guests are gone, are you ready for bed?”
Her sudden shyness made me grin. “I’ve been ready since they announced us husband and wife.”
That was all the warning she got before I scooped her into my arms, earning a laugh as she clung to my shoulders.
With the stars shining down on us and an ocean breeze brushing past, I carried my wife back aboard the yacht so we could get a head start on making those chubby-cheeked babies.
Thank you so much for reading Ellie, Cade, and Whiskey’s story!