Page 80 of Love Her

Epilogue

Two years later

“Stop moving. You are such a pain in the ass sometimes.”

“You’re the one who demanded we be friends. There is nobody else to blame.”

Pushing her hair out of her face, Ashton stands and adjusts the skirt of my dress. My wedding dress. Simple yet elegant, the best part of the dress for me is the pockets. Connor has already whispered his approval of the low-cut back. He loves running his hands across my bare skin when we dance.

“Shut up. You love me and you know it.” She’s right. I do. Of course, it’s taken us a while to get to this point, but there is no other person I wanted to stand beside me as I married the love of my life.

“Clem, can you believe the two of them are the adults?” Piper asks from the couch where she’s nursing her newborn daughter, Paulina.

“No. They always do that; I don’t know how y’all stand it.”

The chorus of agreement from the rest of the bridal party makes me smile. Somehow in the last two years, these women, the ones who I hardly knew, have become my second family. They’ve embraced me and my children, accepting us into their circle. It hasn’t always been easy, some of the wounds we all carry haven’t completely scarred but each day we get closer.

Meg, Connor’s sister, sits happily in the middle of the chaos, loving every minute of it. We bonded immediately and she’s become one of my closest friends. The mutual adoration between her and my kids is a definite bonus. My now mother-in-law has been the bonus grandma I never knew they needed. She dotes on them as if they were her biological grandchildren, and they have blossomed with that extra love.

Each of the women top off a glass of champagne while Piper, Dakota, and Clementine accept sparkling cider. When everyone is settled, I raise my flute.

“Ladies, thank you for being part of this day with me. I will never take for granted your friendship or the paths that have led us here. Now, let’s enjoy these last few minutes before they come to drag us for pictures.”

Glasses clink and we all take a sip. When there’s a knock at the door, my heart skips a beat. After the ceremony, we all needed a few minutes to touch up our makeup and allow Piper time to nurse.

“Ladies.” His voice gets me every time but now, instead of him just being my boyfriend or fiancé, I get to call him husband. “There she is. My beautiful wife. Are you ready to finish up these pictures, darlin’?”

“He does that on purpose doesn’t he?” Addy asks.

Wrapping my arms around his waist, I peer up at him through my lashes and say, “Yep.”

The women chatter and mumble about sexy accents as they filter out of the room. When the door clicks closed, I pucker my lips, begging for a kiss. Softly, Connor complies.

“We’re married.”

“How does it feel to be Mrs. Hall?”

“Like it’s taken my entire life to get here.”

“Was it worth it?”

“Every step.”

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