Bea found us a Justice of the Peace who would come to the house on short notice. My mother called every relative I’ve ever had and invited them, and Ethan made sure they could all fly here on his jet. Aden arranged the catering, of course, as well as finishing up the last few rooms so we could host out-of-town guests .
The house is beautiful, sparkling in blue and silver and warmed with rich wood, filled to the brim with love and excitement .
Bea rushes into the room, dragging the bustle of her silver bridesmaid dress behind her. She shakes her bouquet at me .
“Hurry your ass up!” she demands. “You are going to be in labor before the ceremony is over. Come on !”
“Oh, I can take another minute,” I smile .
I stare into the mirror, trying to commit everything to memory. My mother gave me her veil, and it flows over my hair, pale as an angel’s wing. Ethan’s mother loaned me a diamond choker that’s literally too blinding to stare at directly. And for something blue, Bea made me a garter by hand, stitching it with pearls and crystals and a satin, sky-blue ribbon .
The dress is amazing. Ethan brought Vera Wang to the house, the real Vera Wang. The actual human being. He gave her two rooms and three assistants, and they worked day and night for four days to make this dress .
This gorgeous, gorgeous dress .
I don’t want to say I look amazing, but I look amazing. Ivory silk swaddles me, somehow making me look slender and stately while not hiding the fact that I am ever so pregnant. Pregnant with twins is hugely pregnant. And yet, I don’t look like a parade float. Vera Wang is a frickin’ magician .
“Your minute is up!” Bea insists. “You are gorgeous! Let’s get married !”
There is a string quartet in the dining room, and as soon as I hit the top stair, they begin playing Pachelbel’s Canon. I have to hold my breath to keep from giggling or crying or expressing whatever emotion threatens to erupt from me next .
Thoughtfully, Bea walks ahead of me, presumably to make sure that if I fall down the stairs she’ll break my fall. I will crush her first, instead of rolling into the guests. She’s a good friend. I’m lucky to have her .
Slowly we walk down the stairs, my stairs. In the house that we share. My hand slides along the smooth, waxed banister, the way it will slide year after year, maybe for the rest of our lives. As I round the corner and head toward the back of the house, I think about how many times I’m going to walk down this hallway. Thousands of times. Making breakfast, doing laundry, chasing our children .
Everything starts now, and I don’t want to forget a moment of it .
The French doors to the conservatory are wide open, and I see over a hundred people in the wide, enclosed space. Ferns and rose garlands hang from the ceiling with white lengths of satin twisted around the trees, all lit with fairy lights. The white carpet extends to the far end, where a handmade vine arch stands, crafted by the same farmer from Shelter Cove who provided us with our first breakfast .
My heart flutters in my chest, and I feel the twins swimming around each other, fluttering too. They must know how exciting this is. They can probably sense my joy, my nerves, my anticipation .
Ethan’s smile is so wide and sincere, it brightens the room. And I step onto the white carpet, everyone turns to face me, but I can’t see any of them. Only him. Only this man that I wanted for so long, who I wanted before I even knew what it was to want a man. To love a man. Here he is, right in front of me .
The Justice of the Peace wraps a length of ribbon around our clasped hands, murmuring the sacred words, promising a life together as good as we can make it, if we both swear to do our very best .
Does he
?
He does .
Do I ?
You bet I do .
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife,” he says finally. “You may now kiss your bride !”
In front of everybody, Ethan reaches forward, taking my cheeks in his strong hands. He pulls me to him, smiling, kissing my lips with a tenderness that takes my breath away. I shudder with delight, feeling the twins shuddering within me .
We turn back to the crowd, lifting our clasped hands above our heads in triumph. The room erupts in applause and I look from face to face. My parents, so happy. Bea, grinning and clapping. Aden pumping his fist above his head. Even Mr. and Mrs. Mercer, smiling and waving, wishing us the very best in our life together .
Like a fairytale. A dream come true .
CHAPTER 25 - EPILOGUE
ETHAN
I n the middle of the night, Ava gets up out of bed, shuffling toward the bathroom and clicking on the light. It’s only the second time tonight, but I watch her anyway, with her nightgown swaying back and forth, lazily stretching her arms over her head .