Page 78 of Dreaming of You

Epilogue

Sixteen months later…

Barrett met his brother's gaze in the mirror, and he was reminded of when they'd done this before. But this time they weren't wearing tuxedos, just dark-gray suits. And this time there was only a crowd of fifty or so waiting in a very small church in the Napa Valley, that would be packed to the rafters, if all fifty showed up. After that, they'd be heading down the street to the inn run by Maggie and Cole, where a summer garden and beautiful patio area were set up for a party that would last well past midnight.

This time he was marrying the right woman—he was marrying Kate.

"Ready?" Matt asked, a slightly nervous edge in his voice. "No second thoughts, right?"

"Don't worry. I'm not going to be a runaway groom," he joked.

"Good to know. I'd have to come after you and kick your ass, because you will never find anyone better for you than Kate."

He turned to face his brother. "I knew that the first day I met her. But the last year and a half has made me realize how close I came to missing out on someone very special, just because I was too scared to fail again."

"You're not going to fail—not this time."

"I'm not even worried about it. I love Kate, and I can't wait to marry her, because I know what we're both looking forward to the most is the actual marriage."

Matt smiled and gave a nod. "You've definitely changed since you met Kate. You're more relaxed, more yourself. You've softened. You're fun again."

"Hard not to have fun when I'm with Kate and her friends."

"She does have a good group of female friends, and the guys are great, too. We had a hell of a bachelor party. And I still can't believe we were hanging out with Alexander Donovan, the creator of Vertigo."

"One of these days, I'll have to get you into the private arcade at his house. You will never want to leave."

"Sounds like a plan, but for now, I think we should get you married."

"Are our parents here?"

"Mom and James are in the first row, along with Aunt Joan and Uncle Harry and their two kids. Dad and Tanya are at the end of that row, so hopefully our parents have enough buffers between them. They won't actually have to talk to each other."

"Well, frankly, I don't care what they do. The only person I want to be happy today is Kate."

"I like the sound of that," a man said from the doorway.

Barrett turned to see Kate's grandfather come into the room. His blue eyes were bright and smiling with happiness. "Hello, Lance."

The older man shook his hand and then nodded to his brother. "Matt—good to see you."

"You, too. Is your beautiful bride with you?"

"Bess is headed in to see Kate to wish her well. Not that either of you need luck. You've got love on your side. I've seen it grow every day."

"Sometimes I can hardly believe how much I love her," he said. "And I hope you know that you and Bess are an inspiration to both Kate and me."

"I'm glad. I knew you were the one when I showed you her ballet videos and you watched every minute without even checking your watch."

"It took me awhile to admit it, but I fell for her fast."

"She fell just as quickly. I think the two of you are going to make it. You're a lot like Bess and me. You don't just love each other, you laugh together."

"Is that the secret?" Matt asked. "For a long, happy marriage?"

"It's one of them."

"What are the others?" Barrett asked.

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