“You’re being ridiculous.”
“Maybe, but your beauty brought six grown men to tears tonight, including me. So forgive me if I have a primal need to claim my wife.” I kiss along her neckline.
“Today and tonight have been what dreams are made of. Thank you for this,” she says softly.
“You want to tell me what you and your dad were talking about?”
She bites her lip nervously. “He’s so proud of me, of us. Promised to kill you if you hurt me… stuff like that.”
“He has nothing to worry about.”
“I know.”
Two hundred guests mingle through my parents’ yard, but in this moment, it’s only Ember and me.
“Robbie, I need to tell you something.” She tells me about reading Natalie’s letter, and I tense. “Are you mad?”
“No,” I answer easily. “I’m relieved.”
“Me too.”
I spin her, making her squeal and causing the people around us to laugh loudly.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going tonight?” she asks.
“Tonight, we’re going to a hotel. Tomorrow, we’re going to Tahiti.”
“Tahiti!?!”
I pull her to the side and grab two glasses of champagne from a passing server. She takes hers and sips slowly. “How did you plan a trip to Tahiti without me knowing.”
“Actually, it was a gift.”
“A gift?”
“A month ago, I received two round trip tickets and hotel reservations in my name for a resort in Tahiti. There was a note attached, telling me to take my beautiful fiancée somewhere tropical and treat her right. No name, no signature, no return address.”
“No way.” She realizes what I’m saying.
“I can’t prove it, but I suspect it was Dade. At first, I was furious, but when we couldn’t find any type of paper trail, Finn and my Dad talked me into accepting the gift. According to them, Dade owed us both.”
“That’s wild.”
“It is, but I suspect it’s a gift valued around eight thousand dollars.” I wink at her.
She licks her lips seductively and lifts on her toes to kiss me quickly. “Good thing I planned on a tropical location.”
I’m about to drag her away, when Declan catches my eye and gives me the sign. He heads to the stage, so I put our glasses on a nearby table and lead her back to the dance floor.
As soon as she hears the first verse, her eyes grow wide and she gives me the smile that melts my heart.
Declan sings “The Way You Look Tonight” as I sway her around exactly like the night at Raven’s wedding. She whispers a broken “I love you” in my ear, and I hug her close.
Finally, years after an accident that shattered my life, I’m completely whole again.
Finn
I sip my beer and watch my best friend kiss his new wife in the middle of the dance floor. Since the minute he said ‘I do’ a sense of peace settled over me. He deserves every bit of wonder and beauty Ember brings to his life. One look at them and it’s obvious they are meant to be together.