Page 165 of Dust to Dust

“No walls, no barriers. We’ve burned them all to ashes and dust to dust.”

“And we’ll build a new life together,” I said.

“Just the two of us.”

Epilogue: Isla

“You’re married?!!”

I winced at the furious expression on Brooke’s face. With her hands on her hips, she looked just like our mother when we were in deep trouble.

“And hello to you, too,” I mused as I sat my purse down on the table in the foyer of the Kavanaugh mansion.

“I cannot believe you didn’t tell me!”

If Quinn and I thought keeping our marriage a secret was going to be easy, we were thoroughly and completely wrong. Our first mistake came in having witnesses from Quinn’s family. I don’t know who broke first, Orla or Eamon. By the time we touched down this morning in Boston, a whopping three days after our wedding, Quinn’s entire family knew. And because Kellan and Brooke were friends, he had apparently spread the news to her, which led to her current interrogation.

“It was all very spontaneous. Quinn didn’t even have an engagement ring for me.”

“I call bullshit since Quinn doesn’t do spontaneous,” she argued.

I laughed. “He did this time.”

“Jesus, Isla, you just got back together. Don’t you think you needed a little time before taking the plunge?”

“After we both faced down death at Mikita’s hands, why would we wait?”

Although I had kept my wedding secret, I had filled Brooke in on what had happened with Mikita. At first, I hadn’t wanted to tell her since it once again highlighted the danger of Quinn’s world. But I knew she needed the finality of knowing he was dead and no longer a threat.

Her lips turned down in a pout. “Couldn’t you have done it before we all went back to Boston?”

“No. Because that’s where being spontaneous comes in,” I teased.

“But I always thought I would be your Maid of Honor and take you on a wild bachelorette party where some oily stripper in a banana hammock would dry hump you.”

“I’m still down for all of that except dudes with banana hammocks.”

Brooke eyed me curiously. “What do you mean?”

“One stipulation of marrying Quinn was I got to have the wedding of my dreams.”

Her face lit up. “Really? I can still be your Maid of Honor?”

“There’s no one I’d rather have in the world.”

Brooke threw her arms around me. After squeezing me tight, she said, “I’m so happy for you.”

When I pulled back to stare into her face, I asked, “Do you really mean that?”

She nodded. “I still have my worries about Quinn’s world, but more than anything, I want you to be happy.”

“Thank you, B. That means so much.”

“So, when is this dream wedding taking place?”

“I’m not sure. I’d love to have it right away, but the thoughts of wedding planning during this semester is overwhelming.”

“I can help.”

---