Chapter 34
A few months later…
When I married Claire, I was nervous. I wanted everything to be perfect for her that big day. But today, as I guide her into my truck, I chew on my lip and experience, and even worse case of anxiety. As odd as it may sound, today has me more nervous than our rushed wedding day. I wanted our wedding to be one she’d always remember. After all, in her line of work, she’ll be exposed to many weddings and numerous brides.
In the months since we’ve been a Mr. and Mrs., I know she’s content with how we got hitched. Even though she is a participant in the wedding industry, she seems to rely on a sage piece of advice that she heard at Lauren’s wedding.
Better to have a solid, wonderful duration of a marriage than a perfect single moment of one wedding day.
Since our marriage started, we’ve both kept that in the forefront of our minds. Each and every day, we strive to help each other be the best version of ourselves that we can be, and today is a huge example of that.
“I don’t understand why I need to be blindfolded,” she complains in the passenger seat as I drive away from my condo. The construction on our house will start in a few months, and I’m excited about the next phase of our lives. This current upcoming change in her life will keep her preoccupied from the house-planning part.
“To keep it a surprise.”
She crosses her arms and smiles. “But I’ll figure it out. There are only so many roads to turn on, and I’ll follow it with the mental map in my head.”
“What mental map?”
She swats at me playfully. “You’re never going to let me forget how I got lost that first time I drove here.”
I chuckle, smiling at the memory of her buying an SUV and promptly getting lost with the help of navigation. “It’s just the big-city girl in you,” I tease.
“I think you’re doing a fine job of converting me into an outdoorsy one.”
“Yeah,” I joke back, “you’ve only worn heels on walks a few times lately.”
This easygoing banter between us helps me forget about how nervous I am, and as we joke and tease each other like always, I start to feel smug. It won’t be a complete surprise. I showed her that shop space months ago when I sort-of proposed. That day, I told her the retail place in Breckenridge could be hers, no matter what.
Since then, she’s asked about when she can move things into it. I stayed consistent, hedging her questions and stalling her curiosity about how the space would be turned into her dream bridal shop. All winter long, I worked on renovating it into what she needed. Many times, she pointed out pictures of what she’d like, and I arranged for help from Marian, Lauren, and Aubrey.
Marian and Jason did get married, the day after Christmas. It was a quick, small thing at the BB, more a formality than a ceremony, but we paid for her to go to Denver and tour a shop. Marian knew what dress she wanted, not a bridal gown; otherwise she would have gone with Claire. Instead, they used the trip as a ploy to tour a shop and take pictures for me. I worked off them and relied on the notes they jotted on their phones when that dress owner asked Claire what she thought of her space.
Claire hasn’t been idle, either. Since the vlogger at Lauren’s wedding reached out for the designer details, Claire got busy setting up her LLC for her business and letting her internship in Paris know she wasn’t going to be there. With her receiving the money from her trust fund, she was able to go about it properly, making a real business before she moved into the space. So many steps were completed from home, all those behind-the-scenes details like formatting a website, structuring her bookkeeping, and even interviewing employees she might bring on board to help her.
While she’s been aware I’ve been working on her shop, she has yet to see the finished product. Until today. She’s impatient to start filling the orders she’ll have to concentrate on. Much of her work was done by talking with clients on video calls and sketching. She explained that the majority of the design process happens before any needles are used to sew. Once the image is finalized, it’s a quick process of making the dress.
I park at the curb, thrilled I can do this for her. “Do you know where we are?”
She pouts, blindfolded and with her arms crossed. “No.”
I laugh and she gives into a giggle, too. “Oh, I’m hopeless. I’ll just have to rely on navigation forever.”
I exit the truck and open her door. “Nah. You can rely on me,” I say as I guide her to the sidewalk.
She leans into me, kissing me, but since she can’t see, she misses her mark of my face and smacks her lips on my bicep.
“Okay, ready?” I take her hand and lead her inside the shop space. Inside, I see that everyone is set up like we’ve planned. Without their help, I would have really struggled to keep my nosy wife out of here while I got it all ready. Lauren and Aubrey helped to distract her. Kevin helped pick up deliveries and bring them over. Dalton and Caleb got their hands dirty, too, cleaning and building alongside me and Jason. It’s been a team effort, and I’m so proud to call them our friends.
We enter, and at the entrance, I take the blindfold off Claire’s face.
She gasps and gazes with a wide-eyed expression as she takes it all in.
“Oh, my goodness.” She swallows hard and walks around, clutching my hand so tight. “This is…This is…” She lunges back to hug me. “This is amazing!” She frames my face and kisses me hard as our friends cheer and welcome her in.
Dalton pops a bottle of champagne, and we all join in celebrating. Claire can’t get enough of it all. She goes to each of us, hugging and thanking us for making the place sparkle like this.
“Look.” Lauren leads us toward the front, where the tall windows will allow plenty of light in. “Just think of all this space you can decorate.”
“Dress forms there.” I point out.
“And shelving here to display more layers,” Lauren adds. She was instrumental in this design, too.
“You can do seasonal rotations,” Aubrey says.
“And in both windows!” Claire exclaims, eyeing the other side. When I brought her in here before, a wall was blocking the floor-to-ceiling window to the left. Now, both sides of the front door have windows for people to see inside.
We sip champagne and go through the main room, eyeing all the racks we’ve bought for her to hold dresses.
“I can’t wait to fill them all up,” Claire says. “Bridal and bridesmaid gowns…”
“And mother-of-the-bride gowns,” Marian says with a wink at Aubrey.
I frown, wondering about that angle of teasing, but Claire doesn’t stay still. She has yet to let go of my hand, and she leads me back through the store.
“I could have two counters for checking out,” Claire says as she sets her champagne flute down and runs her hand over the smooth marble countertop.
“I’ve got a couple of part-timers at the school who would love some more work,” Aubrey says.
“And right in town, too,” Kevin adds.
“You did this for me?” Claire asks as we move to the far back, where her extensive studio awaits.
“We all helped,” I say, not wanting to downplay or disregard everyone’s efforts.
She smiles at me, and I feel like a king with the love shining in her eyes. “This is where you were all those times you claimed to have a random poker evening, wasn’t it?” she accuses sweetly.
Jason laughs. “And the ‘boys’ night’ at the pub.”
Caleb joins in, patting my back. “And those times we called him and needed help with a leak or whatnot.” He winks at Claire, and she rests her cheek on my shoulder.
“And here is where you can work,” I say with a dramatic lift of my arm as I gesture at the wide-open area. All her sewing things are set away, thanks to Lauren helping me arrange them. And thanks to Aubrey for telling Claire she needed help at the school with an after-hour craft club. It kept Claire occupied while Lauren and I could transport her things from home to here. Marian drove with Jason to Denver to get the last of the fabrics, too. Not only are the sewing machines and accessories waiting for Claire’s magic back here, but a beginning stock of fabrics are available, too.
“I’m stunned,” Claire admits with tears in her eyes. “I…My gosh, this is my dream come true!”
I hold her close and kiss the top of her head as she wipes her eyes dry. I know they’re happy tears, but still, I want to make sure this really is everything she’s ever wanted.
“Did I do a good job?” I check as everyone checks out the final product of hard work.
“A good job?” Claire rolls her eyes and smiles before she pulls me down for a deep kiss. As she draws back from the kiss, she continues, “It’s more than I ever imagined it could be. You’ve made the last of my dreams come true, Sawyer. Thank you.”
I tilt my head to the side. “The last of your dreams?”
She nods and kisses me again.
“What was the first?”
“You.” She leans up, staring at me with all the desire and compassion she gives me daily, and touches her lips to mine in a tender yet hard press. I grip her back, wishing we could really christen this place in another way.
“Finding you and knowing you love me as hard as I do you. You’re a dream come true, Sawyer.”
I sigh against her and hold her in my embrace, memorizing her words for the rest of my life. As long as I live, I’ll never ever lose sight of the way it feels to know I’ve made her this happy. She will never have to wonder if I’ll support her. I’ll prove it to her, with love, every chance I get.
“So this is why you didn’t want to talk about building our house for so long,” she teases.
“We’ve got time.”
“Yeah.”
“And you said you like my condo.”
She smiles sweetly. “I love it. But sooner or later,” she says as she trails a finger down my shirt, “we might want to consider expanding.”
A family. I feel like she’s finally found one in all of us here, namely me, but I grin at what she really means. We’ve only talked about it a couple of times, but it seems we’re in sync, both eager to start our own little family.
“A brand-new, family-friendly house is coming up next,” I promise.
“I love you,” she says as Dalton and Aubrey approach.
“I love you, too,” I reply.
Dalton grins at us, and Aubrey sighs at the fairy lights interspersed within the gauzy lacework at the ceiling.
“This is remarkable,” Claire says. “Thank you both. I know you’ve all helped, and I appreciate it so much.”
“Now you can start having real customers here,” Aubrey says.
“I can’t wait!” Claire bounces on her feet. “I mean, I’ve already started talking with several brides, but I couldn’t officially do anything until I had a workspace.”
“Well, can I be your first official customer then?” She lifts her hand, showing us both a sparkling gemstone atop an engagement ring.
“Aubrey!” Claire lunges forward to hug her.
I grin, already in on the secret since Dalton told me he bought a ring over a year ago for her. He was waiting for the right moment, and it finally came.
“Another toast!” Marian calls out, hoisting the champagne in her hands.
We all congratulate Aubrey and Dalton, and carry on into the evening celebrating all the happiness and love we’ve managed to find.