Epilogue
“S weetness, come here.” Colton doesn’t wait for me to move, probably doesn’t expect me to. In a few long strides, he’s at my back, his arms encircling me.
“You done with work?” I ask as I place one last silver pearl on the wedding cake.
Our wedding cake.
His cheek caresses my temple and he takes a deep breath. “Done for today, and so are you. Done for the next couple of weeks.” Our wedding is tomorrow, and we’re flying to Paris the following day for our honeymoon. “I don’t think you can make that cake any more beautiful, Sweets.”
It stands on the prep table that’s under the large window facing the valley. The landscape is lush now, full trees lining the blue ribbon of the river as it meanders lazily through the village.
Colton presses his face into my neck and takes a long inhale, then stops abruptly. “Is that…?” He steps to my side and crouches slightly. With astonishment in his tone, he asks, “Are these race cars?”
I smile. “M-hm.” In the intricate details of the white cake, I carved a racetrack lacing around it. It could be mistaken for a vine or a ribbon, but up close, there are race car cutouts I shaped from white modeling chocolate. They are barely there, only for us to see.
“And the A frame!” Colton exclaims, pointing to a shape high up.
I turn the cake around for him to see the other side. He squints. “Avalanche?”
I nod. “Look at the bottom.”
“Ah, man, that’s me carrying you off Devil’s Pass after you fell!” His eyes are misty as he scrutinizes the cake. “And that’s the garage, and Sweetness Delivered!” he adds, pointing to the white-on-white shapes hidden amid the piping of simple flowers that cascade down the cake.
He turns and stands to his full height, pulling me into him. His heart beats loud and fast in his chest. “I can’t believe my luck. That you’re marrying me. So fucking talented, Sweets, and kind, and loving.”
He kisses me, then steps back to look at the cake. “You sure you’re gonna be okay cutting into that masterpiece?”
I lift my face to him. “I can’t wait.”
Colton turns me in his arms again and draws me in another long kiss. “Did I ever tell you that you give my life meaning?” he says when we come up for air.
My heart stutters. Colton’s been expressing his feelings more and more—we both have. We’ve made the conscious decision to tell each other how we feel, and it now comes naturally to us. “Not in so many words.”
“Well, you do. I used to believe my purpose on this earth was to help keep people safe as far as driving around in their cars. And that’s still the case. But helping you get the life you want and deserve has topped that now.”
“Colt…”
“It’s true, sweets. You have something to offer the world, and I was literally put on your path to help you achieve that. End of discussion.” He boops my nose right as the front door chimes despite the Closed sign.
“That’ll be Chris and Skye,” I say. “Help me with this?” I ask Colton. He’s already opening the walk-in fridge, and I delicately place our wedding cake on the middle shelf.
“Aunt Kiara!” Skye screams happily as she rushes in.
A huge smile splits my face as the little girl encircles my waist in her arms. I twirl her around and pull her slightly off of me. “What did you just call me?” I say, knowing the answer.
“You’re marrying Daddy’s cousin which s’posedly maybe makes you only a cousin, at least that’s what Caroline says, but I already call Uncle Colton uncle and Aunt Grace aunt so I can call you Aunt Kiara, right? Tech-ni-cly I should wait until tomorrow but I can’t.”
She has no idea how happy she’s making me right now. “You absolutely can and should call me Aunt Kiara. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
She sighs deeply. “I call Uncle Justin uncle but he’s not a real uncle, and same for Uncle Craig and Aunt Lynn. But you’re a real aunt.”
I tilt my head. Actually, there is a remote connection between the Kings and Alex, but I’m not getting into the family trees right now. I’m just soaking in the happiness of making a connection with this little girl. We were both adopted by Emerald Creek in different ways, and although we’ve experienced that the love of a found family can run way deeper than that of your blood family, we’re always looking at ways to cement these new ties. Calling someone aunt or uncle does that.
Maybe it’s why it came so naturally to me to call Shannon and Dennis, Mom and Dad. That’s how they feel to me, and now that I’m marrying Colton, I feel… entitled to it.
“I’m honored to call you my niece, Skye. I think it’s freaking cool.”
She high-fives me.
“You know what else is cool?” I ask her.
“What?”
“You’re free labor now,” I joke.
“Nu-huh. I called dibs on that,” Chris chimes in as he drops a pink backpack at our feet.
But Skye claps her hands. “I get to make cakes with you?”
I wink at her father and answer Skye , “Anytime you want, honey.”
Chris chuckles. “I should go.”
Alex is near her due date, and Chris’s concern is clear. “How is Alex doing?”
“Feeling very big, but no contractions yet. Hopefully we make it tomorrow. You sure you’re good with Skye?”
“Of course! We’re doing a mini bachelorette of sorts at your sister’s. It’ll be fun. And then Grace will have her over for the night, right?”
Two hours later I step down from the massage table at A Touch Of Grace. All the neck and shoulder tension from working on the cake is gone. Between Colt’s attentive love and the pampering, I feel like I’m walking on clouds.
The rest of the Bitch Brigade is there. Haley is pouring bubbly, Skye is admiring her manicure and getting a trim of her locks. All my female friends are there, including Alex who decided to join us for a foot massage, my soon-to-be sister in law Grace, and of course Willow.
I take her in a quick hug. “Boo, you know this wouldn’t happen without you, right? I’m so stinking proud and happy to call you my friend. Never stop the crazy, m’kay?”
“Me? Not a chance,” she smiles.
Willow
I couldn’t have hoped for a better day for Kiara and Colton’s wedding. Under baby blue skies, a slight breeze comes up from the river, cooling down the sun’s warm embrace.
The wedding is taking place at the park that slopes from The Green down to the Emerald Creek, so the whole town can attend and celebrate. Ethan, Nathaniel, and Autumn directed a team of helpers to erect an arch now covered in flowers. Rows of foldable chairs delineate an aisle. Cassandra walks down it now, greeting everyone by name as she prepares to officiate the wedding.
“Alright, time to line up!” Ms. Angela says to the small group huddled in a tent. Kiara waits in her pink VW van, turned into an airconditioned bridal room by Colton and currently illegally stationed at the top of the park per Declan's orders. She's with her uncle Bill, who will walk her down the aisle, while Colton is with us in the tent, waiting to go last.
“The best man and the maid of honor first,” Ms. Angela calls, and I take Chris’s arm.
“Alex and Noah next.” Alex stands from her chair.
“You gonna be okay, pancakes?” Chris asks her. As we turn around to check on her, my gaze involuntarily crosses Noah’s, and a twinge of want pinches me. Days like this, it’s hard for me to forget the crush I’ve held for him, even though I’ve long come to terms with the fact that he barely registers who I am, and if he does, I’m a hard pass.
After Alex and Noah come Grace and Ethan, followed by Chloe and Justin. The men are wearing dark suits and white shirts, the women dresses in assorted pastel shades. Kiara wanted us to choose whatever we wanted to wear, so we coordinated the colors and picked the shapes that would suit us best. Alex and I went for a mid-length wrap (light green for Alex and light blue for me), Chloe is super classy in her soft yellow A line, and Grace is radiant in a sparkly light pink full-length gown. If I may say so myself, we look spectacular without taking any attention away from Kiara.
We make our way down the grassy expanse, joy filling the air as Luke strums a mellow tune on his electric guitar and croons softly, and I quickly forget my mini heartache. But Cassandra opens the ceremony with some heartfelt words on love and commitment, and before long I’m fighting the urge to look at Noah.
Then I feel more than hear Alex stifling a gasp, and I’m brought back to more important questions. I know she doesn’t want Chris to be worried and she really wants to be here. But now I’m worried about her. I can feel her struggle to not show her discomfort, and I’m upset at myself for believing her when she said she didn’t need a chair for the ceremony.
I dash out of my station as maid of honor, nearly trip in the soft grass, grab an empty chair, and plop it behind Alex before anyone has a chance to realize what’s happening.
She lets herself fall into it with a sigh of relief. Chris narrows his eyes on her, worry painted on his face. “I’m fine,” she mouths and squeezes my hand as a thank-you.
Next to him, Colton wipes away a tear as Kiara says her vows in an assured voice, and I find myself tearing up too.
On Chris’s other side, Noah pushes his glasses up his nose and narrows his eyes on me. I let my gaze fall down to my feet, trying not to register how good he looks in a suit.
Noah looks good in anything , my internal devil whispers, and I shut her up. We’re not doing this anymore.
I take a deep breath as Colton says, “I do”. Kiara’s bottom lip trembles as she answers, and it’s the most beautifully shattering thing to see—the way these two are brought to their knees for each other. Being the maid of honor is as close to a happily-ever-after as I can get, so I soak it all up as their bliss radiates into me.
Once Cassandra pronounces them husband and wife, Alex holds my hand to stand up and leans over to me. “I’m going to step ahead of you to get to the tent sooner and walk down with Chris.”
“Yeah-yeah-yeah, of course,” I say, taking a step back to let her in front of me as Kiara and Colton saunter away to the tune of Luke’s electric guitar.
Chris wraps an arm around Alex and leans in for a kiss. “I’m fine,” she assures him under her breath. “Just need a comfy seat.”
“Ready?”
I whip my head around, startled by the voice at my ear. Noah is extending his arm to me. Of course he is. We swapped places in the line. Now I’m paired with him.
“Let’s go!” I quip, falling into step, but avoiding his touch.
He takes my arm and laces it with his. As he sets us at a regal pace behind Chris and Alex, I try to forget his touch and focus on my friends’ happiness.
Which I manage to do during cocktail hour, until dinner when Luke prompts the wedding party to join Colton and Kiara on the dance floor.
Chris declares he’s staying with Alex, Justin dances with Chloe, Ethan with Grace, and I’m left staring across the table at Noah.
He’s frowning, looking at his phone, then looks across the room to his siblings, having fun at another table. Something passes through his gaze, and in an instant I feel selfish for only thinking about the silly little feelings I’ve had for him when he’s dealing with a lot at home.
But I’m already up and standing in front of him, so when he looks up at me, I say, “We don’t have to do this.”
“Do what?” he asks, looking genuinely puzzled. Then he glances beyond me to our friends dancing around the newlyweds. “Oh, sorry.” He springs to his feet and once on the dance floor, takes me in a firm hold, his gaze not exactly on my eyes but not exactly off me either.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
Framed by those familiar glasses, his gaze registers surprise as it falls on me, stirring something deeply nostalgic inside me. “You notice everything, don’t you?” he asks.
I’m not sure what he means by that, and I sure as hell am not having a conversation with Noah while dancing with him. This would require eye contact and other dangerous things. I need to snap out of the feeling of Noah’s arms, his inebriating scent, and the burn of his gaze.
So I just shrug lightly at his question and focus my attention on the married couple looking at each other, then let my gaze drift to the wedding cake while Noah sways us to the music. It’s displayed in a corner of the dance floor, on a rotating table that Lucas made especially, as a surprise. I’ll have to check it out later, as Kiara insisted on making it entirely on her own.
“Everything good with you?” Noah asks, without having answered my question.
Well, let’s see. Mom’s cancer is back, the insurance is denying her claims, and I'm considering moving back in with her so she’d accept money disguised as rent. “Everything good,” I lie, looking him in the eye, my mouth tight in a fake smile.
He frowns slightly. “That’s good to hear.”
I try to pull my gaze from his, but I feel tethered to him. Pretty sure there’s something he wants to say but doesn’t know how to. So I jump in. “Anything I can help with?”
“Maybe,” he answers right away.
My stupid heart babooms. “What is it?”
He looks around and leans dangerously close to me. “I can’t tell you here.”
I giggle. “Is it illegal?”
He tilts his head. “Some people might object to it.”
That can’t be. Noah is a color-inside-the-lines person. A rule stickler. Hell, he’s a rule setter. Now I’m definitely hooked. “Then I’m your girl,” I say a little too fast.
He twirls me in an underarm pass. “You should wait until you know what it is,” he says as he brings me back into his fold.
“I trust you,” I answer. “Besides, how bad can it be?”
Famous last words.
Willow and Noah’s story is coming next in How To Fake A Husband!