Epilogue
One Year Later
I laughedas Brody dragged Cam out onto the dance floor. Like me, Cam hated dancing, but Brody declared that she would dance with him at their wedding and he refused to back down.
She gave in, probably because there was no place she would rather be than in his arms, but it was with an eye roll and a sigh. But I still noticed the way that she melted against him and nestled her head into the curve where his neck and shoulder met.
Ben put his arm around me. "Care for a spin around the dance floor?"
I laughed again. "You're hilarious."
"I'm not kidding," he said, pulling me toward the open area in the center of the party barn.
Yep. That's right. My best friend and her man were having their reception in a party barn. I thought Ben's parents were going to have a coronary when they found out, and I was right. They'd done everything they could to try and talk Brody into scheduling the wedding and reception at the country club. Like hisfirstwedding.
When that failed, they'd gone after Cam, who sweetly explained to them that considering how his previous marriage had gone, they preferred to start their marriage differently.
Then she stood her ground. And finally stopped taking their calls.
I'd secretly hoped they'd boycott the wedding, but it was futile. No way in hell would Mr. and Mrs. Murphy let it be known that they refused to come to their oldest son's wedding to the town's ice cream queen. The humiliation would be too great.
So they were here, with sour expressions on their faces, and sitting like statues at the parents' table.
"Ben, if you value the safety of your feet, you won't do this," I warned him, my voice low.
"Are you threatening to stomp on my toes?" he asked.
"No, I'm telling you that I'm a horrible dancer and that I've been known to accidentally break bones because I have no rhythm and I can't follow a lead worth a damn."
Ben laughed and pulled me around in front of him so my body was pressed against his. He arranged my hands so that one rested on the back of his neck and he clasped the other against his chest. "Then we'll just stand here and sway together."
ThatI could do. In fact, it would be a beautiful memory for my collection.
That's right. I collected memories now. I had very few good ones of my childhood, and most of the best ones from my adult years featured Cam.
And now Ben.
I never wanted to forget how much I loved and needed him, so I made a point to focus on moments like this. The moments that made up a beautiful life.
I breathed in his scent, memorized the warmth and strength of his chest beneath my hand, and the soft yellow glow of the fairy lights strung above the dance floor in a delicate web.
"So I take it you don't want dancing at our wedding?" he asked.
Then he grunted when I stomped on his toe.
"Shit," I whispered. "I'm sorry. That was an accident. But you can't say I didn't warn you."
"That you did," he replied.
He'd started doing this a few months ago, randomly mentioning marriage and wedding plans. It took me a while, but I finally understood he was trying to get me used to the idea. I was doing a lot better with my reactions because the first time he'd brought it up, I'd nearly choked to death on a garlic knot. At least this time, I'd only maimed him a little.
"I'm not really a traditional kind of woman."
"So no dancing?" he prompted.
"Do we have to have a wedding?" I asked.
Ben stopped swaying and I realized how that sounded.
