Page 130 of The Blind Date

“They won! She did it in five.”

“Five?”

“Five!”

“They did it?”

“They did it!”

“They’ve done it! I can’t believe it!” I cheered, jumping up to my feet and pulling both the Barlowe brothers in for a celebratory hug. “I can’t believe they won!”

"I can't believe I have to see that ugly trophy every time I go home," Cedric chuckled, but he was just as proud of his parents as I was of mine.

"Look at the Wheeler-Jones," I laughed, not the least bit ashamed that I was openly pointing at them. That was the least they deserved after being so rude and obnoxious during this whole competition.

It was just unfortunate that Penny was a Wheeler. She seemed lovely, but her parents, on the other hand, not so much. Competition sure did have a way of bringing out the worst in people. For Cillian’s sake, I hoped they weren’t always that bad.

“Serves them right for being such assholes,” Cedric snorted, and I couldn’t agree more.

“Forget about them.” Cillian tugged on our hands. “Let’s go congratulate the winners.”

The three of us rushed out of the stands and onto the field. When we got close enough, I broke off into a run and threw myself into the awaiting arms of my parents.

“You guys played so well!” I squeezed them both. “I can’t believe you won. You totally deserve it! All of you do!" I moved on to hug Alfie and Yasmin as well–the other half of the dream team.

“I can’t imagine anything else that would make me happier right now.” Mum grinned from ear to ear as she pulled me back in for another hug. "Well, I can think ofonething that could make me happier than I am now."

"What's that?" I asked.

“When you and Cedric get married,” Yasmin finished off Mum’s sentence, the both of them looking pretty pleased with themselves for coming up with that one. “Speaking of your wedding, are you guys open to a destination wedding?”

“Oh, a destination wedding would be wonderful!” Mum gasped. "Imagine them exchanging their vows on a beach on some tropical island?"

“Or in an ancient church in Rome!”

"That's such a good idea! A wedding in Italy would be amazing!"

“And Rome would be such a beautiful middle name for their first child!”

“Can you believe them?” Cedric chuckled and looped an arm around my waist, guiding me away from our mad parents. Just by looking at them, you would think that their children had recently gotten engaged and not that they had just won a golf competition.

Cedric and I shared a knowing look. We didn’t doubt that our parents would always remind us that they were right about us from the very beginning, and we wouldn’t mind in the slightest.

How could we when it resulted in us?

Epilogue

THREE YEARS LATER

Iclinked my glass with a spoon, and the hall fell silent within seconds.

I loved it.

I never thought I would love being the centre of attention or having everyone make a fuss over me, but I had loved every moment of it, and a part of me was sad it was nearly over. However, as much as I had loved the journey, I was so glad that this day had finally come, and now, we were set to start the next chapter.

But first, it was time for a toast.

“I’d like to start by thanking you all for being here on our special day. Thank you for being part of our joy and happiness.” Usually, I would have been nervous about standing in front of nearly two-hundred people and talking like this, but today I was flying so high above the clouds without the hint of an adrenaline crash in sight. “I’ve been to a lot of weddings and made toasts before as a bridesmaid or Maid of Honour, but never as the bride. Honestly, at one point, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get married, but here I am.”

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