“I still think it’s very romantic,” Annie said.
The candlelight flickered between them, casting a warm glow on her exquisite face.Those eyes, those lips, everything about her was perfection.
“The whole thing’s a disaster,” he grumbled, sitting back.“I want the best for you, Annie.”
“You’re going to have to let go of that.”The side of her mouth tilted.“Besides, the best for me is...you.”
His face cracked into a smile and within seconds, he was on his knees next to her, kissing her hands.“Yeah, well.I’ll take any disaster, as long as I get to be with you.”
“Works for me.”
She tilted her head down and he raised himself to meet her kiss.
Epilogue
On a blooming Saturday in June, Sheila and Russell wed.The day could not have been any more magnificent.Annie stared at the blue sky as she got out of her car.It was the perfect weather for the knee-length yellow dress she’d picked for the occasion.
When Miles had picked her and the twins up for the short trip to the church, he mimed his heart jumping from his chest.
“You look like the sun,” he said.
Annie looked down at herself.“Sweaty and cancer-causing?”
He didn’t miss a beat.“The center of everything.”
He looked impossibly broad and handsome in his navy blue suit.She had to fight the urge to leap into his arms and smother his face in kisses when she first saw him, settling instead for a kiss on the cheek.
The twins spun around her, chasing one another and yelling in the church parking lot.She narrowly rescued Noel from splashing into a murky puddle as Miles swept a whining Leon into his arms.
“Got you!”he said.
“No!”Leon raised a hand to deliver a slap, but Miles promptly blew a raspberry into his arm and sent him into giggles.
Sheila had asked if Leon and Noel wanted to be the ring bearer and flower girl.Noel was thrilled, practicing with baskets of fake flower petals at home, but Leon declined to participate after seeing several example videos of what his duties would be.
His talking had wildly improved.He’d graduated from speech therapy, so Annie knew he meant what he said.When they got into the church and joined the hurried rush of the wedding party, Annie left to prepare to coach Noel down the aisle, while Leon went off happily with Miles and Bella.
They stood in the back, greeting the arriving guests who gushed over Noel’s adorable white dress and floral headband.Noel relished the attention, smiling her biggest smile and clutching her flower basket with tiny hands.
As much as it wasn’t Leon’s scene, it certainly was Noel’s, and she basked in every moment.Annie thought her heart might burst from cuteness.
Sheila was hidden away, but her impressive fleet of bridesmaids appeared and whisked them into a side room.Included were Sheila’s daughters Eliza, Mackenzie, Shelby, and Emma; Russell’s daughter Mia; and Sheila’s sisters Addy and Kara.
Russell had an equally impressive wall of groomsmen at his side at the end of the aisle: his son, Lucas; Jacob, Mia’s boyfriend and Annie’s longtime friend; Joey, Russell’s private pilot and Eliza’s beau; and Rick, Addy’s boyfriend.There were three other men Annie wasn’t familiar with, but judging from their absurdly handsome faces, they were probably fellow movie stars.
Five minutes before they were set to begin, Sheila entered the room.Annie gasped.She wore a silk organza gown in ivory, with a high neck and cascading ruffles running down the dress, giving a romantic, petal-like effect.Her hair was pulled back in a loose braid, a white flower behind her ear.
“You look like a dream!”Annie said.
Sheila grinned, a glint in her eye.“Thank you, Annie.How about we get this show on the road before we start losing people?”
“You got it.”Annie nodded, leaving Noel in Margie’s care for a brief moment, quietly slipping to the front of the church.Leon spotted her immediately, a grin spreading on his face as he waved.She waved back, unable to contain her smile.
The music began and Noel started her march, her expression serious, throwing petals forward, backward, and adding flourishes until she reached the front.
“That was wonderful,” Annie whispered before whisking her to their seats next to Miles, Bella, and Leon.
Russell stood tall, tears in his eyes as the bridesmaids made their way down the aisle, holding bouquets overflowing with peonies and wildflowers.
