“I love you too, baby. And I’m never letting you go.”
Epilogue
One Year Later
Summer
The moment I step into the dress, the world goes still.
“Mommy, you look like a queen!”
Mia twirls next to me in her little white princess flower girl dress. A tiara rests on her head because, well, she is a princess.
The fabric sighs as it settles around me, soft and cool against my skin, lighter than I expected, like stepping into a breath of air. The bodice fits as though it were sewn onto me. Delicate lace climbs over my torso in swirling floral patterns, every petal and vine stitched with care. It traces up to my collarbone, wrapping around my shoulders, forming sleeves sheer enough to feel like a whisper yet detailed enough to make me feel… ethereal.
It is an A-line, fuller than simple, with just enough weight at the hem to let it glide instead of cling. When I turn, it follows with a gentle delay, swirling in slow motion, like it is part of a dream trying to hold on to me.
The train trails behind, long but not heavy, fanning out in soft waves. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and almost do not recognize the woman standing there.
My hair falls in loose curls around my shoulders, my cheeks flushed, my eyes wide, hopeful. And the dress, this dress, makes me look like the version of myself Ethan has always seen. Loved. Protected. Fought for.
I touch the lace over my heart, and for a moment, I have to steady my breath.
I have never looked like this. I have never felt like this.
Beautiful.
Penny, my maid of honor, is taking pictures while dabbing her eyes. Lily has a hand to her heart as she gushes over me. My sister, Karen, is here with me as one of my bridesmaids. She never married Thomas and is now dating an architect. She brought him in when she decided to rebuild her life far away from our toxic parents, moved to L.A., and in the process, he helped restore her heart while restructuring her home. I visited her in L.A. to thank her, and that visit sparked a reconnection. Slowly, we are piecing together the sisterhood we lost long ago.
“You look beautiful,” Karen smiles at me in the mirror and places her hand on my shoulder.
“Ethan sent this for you,” Grace, wearing a blush-colored bridesmaid gown, hands me a box.
Cassie is dabbing her eyes next to her. She has bloomed into a gorgeous woman since she and Grace went to college, but her shyness is still there.
I open the box and find a pink wildflower.
On it, a note.
Ethan has given me these for over a year, every single day. Somehow he found a wildflower somewhere and paired it with a quote that made him think of me.
I open the note, and tears immediately fill my eyes.
I smell the flower and gently set it down. It is time to marry my soulmate.
Ethan
The wind settles just enough for the chimes on the porch behind us to fall quiet. The sky is that wide Wyoming crimson at sunset that always makes me feel like God is leaning close, watching. My palms sweat inside my gloves, and my heartbeat does not so much beat as quake through me.
Asher stands beside me, my best man. His wife, Leona, sits in the front row while their baby boy, Liam, sleeps in her arms. My mama is here too, sitting proudly in the front row, her hands folded in her lap, smiling like she has never stopped believing in me.
Cas elbows me once, gentle, grounding. Dex and Jude stand steady beside him, Jace on the end with his usual smirk as he scans the crowd in search of tonight’s conquest. They are all lined up next to me, holding me upright. My brothers, my whole damn backbone. Behind them, my men from the firehouse stand tall, part of my crew, my family, my team.
But when the music changes, everything else disappears.
I look up.
And see Mia proudly walk down the aisle, her smile radiant as she throws wildflowers around, a detail Summer and I had agreed on.
