48. Finn
Waves crashed up against the shore. Seagulls cried overhead. Children on vacation giggled with their families down the beach.
The last twenty hours had been a complete blur. Finn had hardly slept. He didn’t know if he could try anyway. Today, his life would officially start at his favorite place in the world, with his favorite people.
While Lucie and Sabrina were running around trying to find the wedding dress, Charlie and Finn were on a mission of their own—hunting down rings, a tux, and making a frantic last-minute stop to the courthouse to get the marriage certificate before the doors closed.
The wedding party consisted of Lucie, Sabrina, Charlie, and the minister.
Finn promised Lucie that if she wanted a big wedding, he would give her all of it.
Down to the last rose petal and salad fork.
She was everything he’d ever wanted and so much more than he’d ever dreamed.
They could have gotten married in jeans at the courthouse, and he would have been happy as long as he got to call Lucie his wife by the end of the night.
Finn stood beneath an arch Sabrina had made at the last minute. The arch was full of peonies, hydrangeas, and various roses in shades of blue and pink. The four of them had timed the wedding so that the setting sun cast a warm glow on the beach at the ceremony.
Everything was perfect. Sabrina had taken the Maid of Honor role seriously. Maybe in another life, she was a wedding planner. Who knew.
Finn was sure angels took commissions because the only prayer he had said in years was for a pink sky for Lucie as she walked down the aisle, and pinks and oranges painted the sky.
The minister shifted on his feet in the sand, with Charlie on Finn’s right.
Finn’s fingers brushed over the rings tucked safely in his pocket.
It had taken nearly all day, and four ring shops, to find a ring perfect for Lucie.
The second he saw it, he knew, just like the first moment he saw Lucie, that it was the one.
A beautiful marriage of diamonds and sapphires nestled in a gold band that matched a ring he found for himself.
Sabrina sent updates about Lucie’s side of things, how they had found a dress. Finn had begged for a photo of it, but Sabrina said it was bad luck, and Finn didn’t even want to tempt the fates with one iota of bad luck near Lucie or their wedding day.
Waves crashed up against the surf, lulling him with that familiar rhythm. Neverending. Eternal. Salt coated the air.
Charlie tapped him on the shoulder and passed him a letter.
“Lucie told me to give this to you. Said it was important,” Charlie said, fixing his cufflinks.
In swirling handwriting, it was addressed: To your Sweetheart.
It wasn’t Lucie’s handwriting.
Finn’s eyebrows furrowed together.
Reverently, Finn opened it.
“It’s from her mom,” Finn breathed, holding the paper like it was made from million-dollar bills.
Finn read it over again and tucked it safely inside his coat pocket.
“Wow,” Charlie breathed.
When he turned, his breath was stolen away. Light formed around Lucie like a halo. Her wedding dress flowed around her as she moved, catching the golden light.
“Wow,” Finn whispered.
Finn had never seen anyone so beautiful.
Charlie passed him a handkerchief. A tear had rolled down Finn’s cheek. When was the last time he cried? He couldn’t remember.
Lucie was smiling at him like a ray of sunshine—forget a ray—she was the whole damn sun—and he was the lucky son of a bitch she was smiling at.
His heart thumped wildly against his tattooed chest. She looked like a goddess in her dress and long veil. A flower crown rested atop her beautiful auburn hair. The light hitting it just right made it look as if she were made of fire—his brave, fierce woman.
When she reached him, he brushed away her tears with his thumb and took her hands in his.
Finally, her voice broke through, clearing the fog in his head.
She smiled through the emotion, her voice soft as she whispered, “You look—wow. I mean?—”
“Better than the cowboy romance you were reading about?” Finn grinned at her. He had taken a peek at the book she had left on his nightstand, and it had given him a couple of new ideas.
Red rushed to her cheeks, and he followed it down the straps of her dress.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let it go to my head,” he said, giving her a wink. “But you . . .” Finn took her all in, letting her presence breathe life into him. “You look absolutely ravishing.”
Lucie’s head shot to the side to the minister. “Can we start now? I don’t want to wait anymore.”
With the minister guiding them, they exchanged vows.
Words that felt like they’d been etched into his soul long before he’d met her.
He didn’t know if it was destiny or fate or guardian angels, but whatever forces brought them together, he owed them his soul; Lucie already owned it. Every piece of him belonged to her.
When the minister finally told him he could kiss his bride, he practically jumped at her.
When he leaned down to kiss her, her taste of wildflowers enveloped him. Charlie, ever the one to lighten the mood, let out a small whoop as the officiant declared them husband and wife. Charlie took out his camera, immortalizing the moment.
“We need to check this off your bucket list,” Lucie laughed, going in for another kiss.
“I made another one last night,” Finn whispered against her neck.
“Ooo, what’s on it?” Lucie gasped, feigning being scandalized.
He pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket, with more dreams penned in black, letting her read the list.
She blushed again.
“I can’t wait to do all these with you,” she said, folding it and tucking the list into her dress for safekeeping.
Finn dipped his bride, raised his fist in triumph, and kissed her again for good measure.
He won the lottery when he met Lucie Nightingale; no gambling required.
The minister left after Sabrina and Charlie signed as witnesses, leaving the friends to dance the night away.
After dinner, catered by their favorite 24/7 diner, Charlie proudly pulled out a small, two-tiered lemon-flavored wedding cake.
He had spent the whole night making it. Charlie said that every moment in his life led up to that moment.
And he was right. It was a masterpiece. Sugar flowers and delicate piping decorated the outside.
“Your first taste of the sweet life together,” Charlie grinned as he placed the cake on a picnic blanket they set up.
After Lucie and Finn cut the first piece, his bride picked up a bite of cake and placed it onto her tongue. Before she could, Finn gently grabbed her hand, brought it to his mouth, and licked the remaining frosting from her fingers.
Her blush traveled from her cheeks down to her chest. His eyes greedily watched it disappear. More than he needed air, he needed to hold her close to him.
“Will you dance with me, Mrs. Vega?” Finn said, jumping up and offering his hand to his wife.
His wife.
Hell. Yes.
Lucie placed her delicate hand in his, and he pulled her up.
“Ooh, I like that, Mrs. Vega,” she said as if tasting the name. She bundled a corner of her dress in her hand and danced, sashaying to the music from the speaker and the rhythm of the ocean.
Lucie lifted her head off his chest, her doe eyes blinking up at him. His knees almost buckled; she was stunning, and he would never tire of looking at her.
“Any regrets?” Finn asked as he watched his friends twirl beside them. He waited for that familiar pang of jealousy to hit between his ribs, but it was quiet. He pulled Lucie closer and breathed in lavender scent.
“None. Today has been absolutely perfect,” Lucie said. Panic flared. “Why? Are you okay?”
Finn chuckled and kissed the top of her head.
“Luzita, I have only had a few perfect days, and all of them have been spent with you. But today has been my favorite.”
Lucie kissed him, and he wanted to propose to her again.
After the third slow song, Sabrina grabbed Lucie. “Okay, we’re all very glad you’ve found each other and can’t stop making goo-goo eyes, but you’ve had enough time. We are celebrating tonight, and this music sounds like it’s for a funeral. I’m stealing her.” Sabrina changed the song.
As dance music drifted over the sand, Lucie and Sabrina twirled in the sand, laughing like the world was theirs. Finn stood off to the side at the picnic blanket with Charlie as he flipped through all the day’s pictures on his camera.
“Pay up.” Charlie held out his hand.
“For what?” Finn scoffed, taking another sip of his soda. He’d promised himself after meeting Lucie that he’d never touch another drop of alcohol.
Charlie motioned his head to Lucie. “I told you that you were going to fall.”
“Fall?”
“Trip, backflip, grand jeté, whatever you wanna call it. But I bet you were going to fall in love this summer, and you fell hard.” Charlie held out his hand.
“Yes, I did,” Finn sang.
Finn happily slapped the worn, torn five-dollar bill they’d passed back and forth more times than they could count. It was the first bet he was happy to lose.
He glanced over at his friend, something in his heart tugging.
“Do you ever think about marrying Sabrina?” Finn asked, watching the women kick the waves, giggling.
Charlie looked away, a quiet smile tugging at his lips as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a diamond ring, glittering in the moonlight. “Got it the same day as the locket,” he confessed. “Been carrying it for weeks, just waiting for the right moment. But somebody stole my thunder.”
Finn nodded. Good, his little sis deserved the best.
“Well, don’t wait, Chucky. You never know what will happen,” Finn said, jutting his chin.
Charlie shrugged and smiled. “We’ve got plenty of time,” he said, his gaze drifting to Sabrina, dancing with Lucie just a few yards away.
He watched her for a long moment, his smile softening, before looking back at the diamond ring and pocketing it.
Sabrina looked over at them. Charlie raised his camera to his eye and took a photo.
Sabrina’s gaze narrowed at the pair of them, wondering what they were conspiring about, before going back to singing with Lucie.
“Being around you is making me sappy,” Finn admitted, chugging the rest of his drink.
“Welcome to the club,” Charlie said, slapping his hand on Finn’s back, while they watched the women they loved the most in the world.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I miss my wife,” Finn said, getting up and dusting the sand off his tuxedo pants.
Together, Finn and Charlie walked over to where Sabrina and Lucie were spinning around barefoot in the sand.
The night air was warm and thick with the scent of salt and sweetness.
Finn slipped his hand into Lucie’s, pulling her close as the music played on. Kissing her on her forehead, a peace filled his veins that no matter what came next, they had each other.
It wasn’t a grand wedding. There weren’t hundreds of guests: no towering cakes or fancy decoration. But there, underneath the setting sun with the people they loved the most in the world, it was everything they had ever dreamed of.
Finn closed his eyes, feeling Lucie’s warmth against him.
“I love you, sweetheart,” Finn said. He would never get tired of saying that to her. He was going to make sure that she knew it every day.
They had everything they needed, right here.
“I’ll love you forever,” Lucie said, twirling.
“I will love you much longer than that,” Finn promised, pulling her back.
As the first stars blinked awake in the evening sky, they both knew they had found their home.