Epilogue
Paige's heart expanded, causing it to ache in the best way possible, as she looked around the table at the smiling faces staring at her.
Marisol and her parents had totally hit it off over Sunday dinner. It was such a relief to have everything out in the open. Paige looked forward to introducing Gabe and his family to Ben and Amy and their kids later this evening when they joined them for dessert.
Mom had been great about including Grace in the conversation, even though most of it centered around the wedding. Paige had even caught her mom making notes on her phone whenever Grace expressed her tastes and what she would do if she was the one getting married.
Paige looked at Gabe to her right.
"Don't look at me. This is your decision, mi amor. I'm done trying to please people.” He squeezed her shoulder.
"You're sure you're good with any date I pick?"
"Any date. Although I think you mentioned something about wanting your cousin, Damon, there."
"Yes, we should find out when he's supposed to deploy before we decide on a date."
Damon had said he was leaving this fall, which was only a few months away.
It was longer than Paige wanted to wait, but it took time to plan a wedding.
Marisol seemed to be handling the new meds well and was doing as good as could be expected, so there was no rush.
But Paige had never felt so sure of anything in her life, and she was anxious to embrace it.
She picked up her phone, then paused. She hated ignoring everyone while she talked to Damon.
Mom picked up on her hesitation. "Why don't you and Gabe go into the sitting room to call Damon while we visit?"
"Good idea." She looked at Gabe to ask if he'd like to join her, but he was already standing, ready to pull back her chair.
Less than a minute later, they were settled on the loveseat in her parent's sitting room, Gabe's arm tucked around her.
She lifted her phone, but Gabe gently turned her face toward his. "Damon can wait a minute. I've been dying to do this since I arrived two hours ago." Then he lowered his lips to hers.
She dropped her phone and placed her hand on his chiseled chest before sliding it up into his hair. He'd gotten a haircut earlier this week and there wasn't much there to play with, so her hand soon found its way back to his chest.
He took the time to explore her mouth, in a slow, languorous kiss that simultaneously made her feel like melted butter and utterly energized before ending the kiss.
She sighed and sagged into him. "I will never get tired of that."
"Me either." He leaned his head against hers as he caressed her arm.
"I meant it when I said I'm fine with whatever date you choose for our wedding, but I definitely like the idea of a short engagement.
" Ever since Gabe's talk with Dr. Stoker earlier this week, he'd been eager to press forward with their engagement.
Dr. Stoker had chastened Gabe for initiating physical contact with a patient outside the office, regardless of the pretense.
But he didn't believe Gabe had crossed any ethical lines concerning his professionalism inside the office.
For propriety's sake, however, he agreed it would be best for Gabe to cease treating Paige. Thankfully, he’d agreed to take her on and decided two visits per week were sufficient.
Dr. Stoker had also told Gabe if he was serious about this relationship, he should commit to it and get married soon. It wouldn't look good for Gabe to trifle with a patient only to end it down the road.
She admired the ring Gabe had placed on her finger again Tuesday evening, with even more sweet words of how much he loved her and wanted her by his side forever. It was all so surreal.
Loving Gabe was effortless. And felt so right.
Paige's phone rang on the couch beside her, making her jump. She picked it up to see a video call from Damon coming through.
Smiling, she answered. "Hey, I was just going to call you."
"What the heck, Paige?" The way Damon had his elbows propped on the table in front of him made his shoulders look bulkier than ever.
Her eyes widened at Damon's greeting.
"I just got off the phone with my mom, and she said you're engaged?" Damon glared into the phone. "When were you going to tell me?"
"I did tell you last Sunday. You were the first one I told, remember?"
"I know, but I thought you were keeping it a secret. From the way you talked, everything was up in the air."
"It was." She shrugged and grinned. "But it's not anymore. And it's not a secret. The whole town knows I've been sneaking around with the new physical therapist." She giggled when Gabe groaned at her choice of words. "Damon, may I introduce you to my fiancé?"
"It's about time."
Gabe snuggled a little closer as Paige angled the phone toward him. "It's nice to meet you, Damon."
"I can't believe you, man." Damon's voice turned hard as he peered into the phone at Gabe. "What gives you the right to take advantage of my favorite cousin?"
"W-what?" Gabe stiffened beside her, a slight tremor in his voice. "I swear I haven't taken advantage of Paige."
Damon continued to glare at Gabe for a long moment. "Good. In that case, it's nice to meet you." Then his lips turned up in a broad grin.
Paige burst into laughter as Gabe let out a heavy exhale.
"Sorry, man." Damon shrugged one shoulder. "Ben's a big teddy bear, like Uncle James. He's too nice to play the tough big brother, so it's my job to let you know: if you break my cousin's heart, I will rearrange your face."
"Noted." Gabe relaxed as he shook his head. He turned to her. "Do all your family members delight in scaring the stuffing out of the men you date?"
"Wait until you meet my cousin, Robert." Paige blinked innocent eyes at him as Damon snickered. "He's the county sheriff."
Gabe gulped, and Paige and Damon laughed again.
Damon sobered first. "Consider yourself warned, man. Robert will give you a hard time, but he's usually joking."
"Usually?" Gabe's wide-eyed response set off more laughter.
"So, when's the wedding?" Damon asked.
"We’re still deciding on a date. When do you deploy?" Paige's voice was somber. A heavy, sluggish feeling filled her chest. She always worried about Damon when he deployed, fearing that one of these times, he wouldn't come home.
Damon scratched his jaw. "It was supposed to be the end of October, but they just bumped it up a month."
"So, you leave at the end of September?"
Damon nodded. "I get two weeks leave before deploying, but I have to be back on base no later than forty-eight hours before deployment."
Paige consulted her calendar. "So, we should get married around Labor Day." She looked at Gabe.
"Works for me." He shrugged. "That's only two weeks after school starts. Will you be able to take time off for a honeymoon that early in the school year?"
"It would have to be a short one." Paige winked. "Or we could get married before school starts."
Gabe's eye widened. "In…five weeks?"
"You get married that quickly with rumors already circling that you're slinking around with the new physical therapist, people are going to think you're pregnant." Damon's words made both Paige and Gabe gasp.
"Labor Day weekend it is." Paige said with finality.
They talked to Damon a little longer before saying their goodbyes. After the call ended, Paige turned to Gabe, his face inches from her own.
"Do you think your mom will make it until Labor Day?"
"I hope so.” He laced his fingers with hers. “The important part is that she got to meet the woman I plan to spend my life with.”
While Paige had been praying so earnestly by the river on the ranch Monday afternoon, she’d also prayed for Gabe and Grace to be comforted. God was answering her prayers.
Gabe didn’t struggle to talk about losing his mom as much as he used to. And he seemed to have found a measure of peace and acceptance.
“I would love for her to be there, though.” Paige squeezed his hand.
“Me too.”
She planned to include Marisol and Grace in every step of the wedding planning, including dress shopping.
Marisol might not still be here when Grace got married, so Paige was determined to make sure she got to see her daughter in a wedding dress.
She just needed to figure out how to convince Grace to try on dresses with her.
Gabe played with her hand, caressing each of her fingers, sending ripples of warmth radiating up her arm.
"I think we should plan the wedding for the beginning of September.
If my mom takes a drastic turn for the worst, we'll elope, inviting our parents, of course.
Then we'll celebrate with a reception in September with our family and friends. "
"Elope? I like the sound of that." Paige gave a broad smile.
She'd been doing a lot of that lately, because she was so happy. She'd spend the rest of her life with a grin on her face as long as Just Gabe was by her side.