Page 88 of Saving it with My Best Friend's Brother

It was about saying yes to forever, knowing the best stories never really end.

They just keep growing, like our love.

Like us.

Evergreen.

Epilogue

Amelia

Six Months Later

Dawn’s familiar gold crept across Pine Haven’s peaks, painting the same mountains that had witnessed every step of our journey. From my office, morning light filtered through windows that had watched generations of new beginnings. The resort already hummed below, early hiking groups gathering with voices that carried up like music. My engagement ring caught a sunbeam, scattering the same rainbows that had danced across these walls the morning after Hunter proposed.

“There you are!” Claire burst through the door, her clipboard clutched like a shield while professional efficiency warred with the shimmer in her eyes. Taylor followed, already dabbing attears she’d swear later were allergies. “Everyone’s looking for you.”

“Just needed a moment.” My fingers found Mom’s letter in my pocket—my something old. The paper had softened from countless readings, but her words remained clear as mountain streams.

Understanding softened Taylor’s features as she extended another envelope. “My Mom found something else this morning.” Mom’s familiar handwriting made my throat tight. “She thought today was the right time.”

The paper whispered against my trembling fingers. An evergreen sprig fell into my palm, its needles releasing years of stored fragrance, along with a note in Mom’s careful handwriting: For your bouquet, my darling girl. Some traditions grow stronger with time.

“Oh, perfect timing!” Katherine appeared with Chad squirming in her arms, his tiny hands batting at the bow tie that refused to stay straight. Silver hair elegant in its updo, her pendant—soon to be my something borrowed—caught the morning light. She stopped reading my face. “Oh, sweetie.”

My vision blurred, but my smile stayed steady. “The happiest kind.” The evergreen sprig nestled naturally among white roses and mountain wildflowers, the pine’s sharp sweetness merging with soft petals like a past embracing the present. “Where’s—”

“Hunter is exactly where he should be.” Claire’s knowing smile brightened as her phone lit with another text—Michael’s name flashing briefly. “Though Van’s having trouble keeping him from sneaking up here.”

Katherine’s laugh warmed the room as she caught Chad mid-escape, his toddler giggles infectious. “Some best man. At least your nephew takes his ring bearer duties seriously—when he’s not plotting jailbreaks.” Her arms scooped him up just before curious fingers reached the curtains.

The ceremony space bloomed to life through glass warmed by the morning sun. Our conservation area stretched beyond, educational center windows gleaming where displays about our mothers’ work drew daily visitors. Fairy lights wound through evergreens like captured starlight, echoing the northern lights that had blessed Hunter’s proposal. Staff moved with quiet grace, each chair and flower finding its place in the morning hush.

“Michael?”

“Somewhere in the crowd.” Taylor’s smile matched mine, both of us noting how Claire’s fingers tightened on her clipboard at my brother’s name.

“Speaking of Michael.” I watched color climb up Claire’s neck. “He’s been asking about your new project.”

“Purely professional interest.” Her cheeks deepened to rose as she studied her notes. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to tell you. After your honeymoon, I’m headed to Millbrook Valley. Several heritage homes tangled in family legacy issues.”

“Sounds intriguing.” Katherine finally secured Chad’s tie, only to have small fingers immediately work it loose again. The same warmth that had marked her return home softened her eyes.

The next hours flowed like a mountain stream, each moment crystal-clear yet dreamlike. Dad appeared in the doorway, light catching tears behind his glasses as Mom’s restored veil settled around me. His hands trembled against mine.

“Your mother.” His voice roughened with emotion. “She saw this day coming. Wrote about it in her letters. Said you’d find someone who made your dreams bigger.”

Walking the aisle felt like floating on mountain air, Pine Haven’s peaks standing sentinel through windows that had witnessed so much. Van and Taylor’s shared joy sparked laughter through the ceremony, while Tom Parker’s securityteam failed to maintain stoic faces. Marie’s cake captured our valley in sugar-spun peaks, each mountain a perfect memory.

But what burned brightest was Hunter’s face as our hands joined, his voice steady as pine as we promised forever. Katherine’s pendant warmed against my collarbone—my something borrowed and carrying years of love. The valley seemed to hold its breath as we kissed, husband and wife at last.

Our first dance called back to that night in the lounge when everything changed. Familiar notes carrying memories of crisis turned to hope, of thirty days that reshaped our world. Throughout the evening, I caught glimpses of our family becoming one—Katherine and Dad sharing resort stories, shoulders shaking with laughter over shared memories. Taylor chasing Chad between guests as he charmed everyone with his now completely askew bow tie. Claire and Michael gravitating together like magnets while reviewing photos, their movements unconsciously synchronized like dancers finding their rhythm.

Van’s best man speech painted laughter and tears across every face as he shared stories of watching us fall in love. “Some people,” he said, gaze finding Taylor and Chad, “just belong together. Like mountains and sky. Like Pine Haven and this valley. Like these two.”

As the sunset gilded the peaks, Hunter drew me to our deck overlooking the valley. Educational trails wove below, already worn smooth by eager feet following Mom’s conservation dreams.

“Happy?” The question echoed that night six months ago.

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