Epilogue
“Ouch,”Liza cried. “I will never get used to being a human pincushion.”
Riley giggled as she watched Liza fit a wedding dress she’d designed on a beautiful young bride with golden locks who was glowing with happiness. That was the part of the wedding industry that Riley loved the most, seeing brides glow and cry with joy.
Taylor rushed out of the backroom, bubbly and full of energy. “I can’t find the lace you were talking about, Liza.” When she spotted Riley, she waved. “Riley, so good to see you.”
Riley hadn’t had a chance to see Taylor since arriving in town three days ago. Taylor seemed to have gained some weight, and she’d cut her long blond tresses. The bob-style cut suited her.
Six long months had passed since Riley had been kidnapped, and three months had gone by since Liza and Haley had testified at Stefano’s trial. He had been convicted and was spending many years behind bars. Bart had been sent to prison with no chance of parole. He’d gotten a worse sentence than Stefano since he’d committed murder. As for Leo, he had been slapped with a short sentence for kidnapping Riley, as had Mr. Gansett.
Haley had gone into hiding. Riley had never gotten a chance to meet her and probably never would. Liza had said that Haley had left the country and no one would ever find her.
“Take a break,” Liza said to the bride.
The shop was set up with refreshments for client’s waiting guests. The bride-to-be pulled out her phone as Taylor poured her a glass of water.
Liza came over to Riley, her hair up in a ponytail. “Hey, bestie.” She kissed Riley on the cheek. “Where have you been?”
“On the phone with my former assistant all morning.” Riley had recently sold her wedding business in Boston to one of her assistants. “I was also trying to find an apartment in town, and I had to sign more papers for this place.” She’d bought the bridal shop four months ago, and one week ago, Riley had packed up and moved from Boston to California.
Liza crossed her arms over her chest, angling her head. “You’ll stay with me. I told you that.”
“You mean stay with Josh and his dad.” Riley would’ve loved to do that, but with Liza living with them, Riley was afraid the house might be too crowded.
Liza huffed. “They want you to stay there.”
Riley knew that, but if Josh and she were going to build their relationship, which they kind of had been via phone for six months, she wanted a little space to breathe sometimes.
Rather than hash it out with Liza, Riley changed the subject. “So the sign people will be here today.”
Liza’s attitude shifted instantly. “I can’t wait to see it.”
Riley wasn’t surprised. Liza had been dying to get the name on the outside of the building. They’d decided on the name Hidden Gem. Liza had suggested it because she thought every bride was a hidden gem. Riley couldn’t have agreed more. Brides were special to her and, with her care, bloomed into beautiful flowers on their wedding days.
The bell on the door dinged.
Riley turned to find the man who made her insides all giddy walking in with an ear-to-ear grin and eyes only for her. Her chest rose and fell the closer he came, and when his arms went around her waist, Riley melted into a puddle of mush.
“It’s time for our dinner date,” he said in a husky tone.
Riley reached up on her toes and whispered in his right ear. “Let’s skip dinner and take a walk on the beach.” She wasn’t hungry anyway.
“Anywhere you are, I’m there. The beach sounds perfect.” His hot breath on her neck gave Riley goose bumps.
They said goodbye to Liza and Taylor and made their way down to the beach through a public entrance not far from the Hidden Gem.
By the time they dug their toes in the sand, the bright-orange sun was sliding down below the horizon.
Josh interlaced his fingers with Riley’s as they walked along the edge of the frigid water. The breeze was in their faces, and the sounds of the ocean played a soft tune.
They were close to the cliffs behind his house, when Josh came to abrupt halt.
“What’s wrong?” Riley asked.
His hard gaze roamed over her. Normally, Riley would blush and shy away at the way he was looking at her, but if she were reading him correctly, he had something to tell her.
“Is your dad okay?” she asked.Please say yes.In one of their many conversations, he’d told her that his dad’s ALS hadn’t gotten worse. But maybe something had changed in the last month, although Riley didn’t think so since she’d seen Mr. Bandon only yesterday. He had seemed as happy as he’d been the morning she’d met him.
