Page 50 of Dibs
“You were stunning,” Marissa whispers. My cheeks hurt as I smile, watching the wedding back for the very first time.
Steele walks up and agrees. “Yes, she was. I made her flower crown.” He grins proudly and gives me a little hug.
Stefanie, Emmett’s girlfriend, tells me, “I can’t believe you got married without telling anyone!”
“Shh, it’s getting to the good part,” Tara hisses as we listen to Deacon and me say “I do,” and then kiss like crazy. When it finally stops, a couple of my friends are in tears, and everyone hugs us both.
“Man, you guys went from zero to sixty, huh?” Cody asks as he holds Tara in his arms.
“When you know what you want forever, you go after it. You’d know a little about that,” Deacon tells him. Cody holds out his hand, and they fist-bump. “And we hope you’ll all still take part in our May wedding. We want to give our parents and families a nice ceremony. We just couldn’t wait until May. You know how it is.”
“Married, dearies?” Cecile asks from the doorway, having overheard the whole thing.
Matt is hot on her heels. “Who’s married?”
Everyone laughs at Matt as Cecile walks over to Deacon, embraces him, and tells him, “Lillian would be so happy for you and so proud of you. You finally got your girl.”
“He did?” Matt asks, confused. “What did I miss?”
And as I look around the room full of my friends and my beloved husband, I take a mental snapshot of the moment and try to memorize it. I want to keep tonight with me forever.
I hold out my hand to Deacon. “Shall we dance, baby?”
“Always,” Deacon agrees, walking me out to the living room where there’s a makeshift dance floor.
The DJ quickly changes the song, and my face breaks out into a huge grin, because it’s the same one we’d walked down the aisle to. Sometimes the universe really does get it right. Deacon pulls me into his arms, and we dance like nobody’s watching, living our very own happily ever after.
EPILOGUE
ASPYN
Over the next month and a half, I struggle so much with morning sickness that I don’t feel well enough to meet Quinn’s little Vincent until the end of February. We received our pink plus sign in January, after my thirtieth birthday, and it was the best present Deacon and I could have ever hoped to receive.
Now, I’m driving my Durango to the other side of Colorado Springs, eager to meet my friend Quinn’s little boy. We’ve talked on the phone and texted constantly since I helped her avoid the biggest mistake of her life, and she’d heeded my warnings and had broken up with Sean.
My jaw dropped when I walked through the door. Sean’s on the couch holding little Vincent, who has nearly iridescent skin and adorable red curls on his head. His brown eyes are exactly the same as Quinn’s.
“Hi,” I whisper, kicking off my snow boots. “Where’s Quinn? And what are you doing here?”
“She’s changing. Spilled milk all over herself while pumping,” Sean tells me. “And she finally let me come over, so I’m on my best behavior right now. Listen. I-I need to apologizeto you for so much. I don’t expect you to forgive me, I know I wouldn’t forgive me. For everything. The cheating. It happened more than twice, starting three years into our relationship.” Sean sighs.
My mouth gapes open as I blink rapidly, then I shake my head. “Are you kidding me?Whywould you stay with me if you just wanted to be with other women?”
“I didn’t not want to be with you. I wanted to have you and also have my fun elsewhere. I was selfish.”
“Yes, you were.” I don’t yell at him the way I want to, because Vincent is calm, and there was a hush throughout the house.
“Listen, everything you told Quinn was warranted. You know she ended things with me, and I get it. I want to prove to her I can be a good dad, so she’ll let me come back to visit more often. She’s got full custody, and I’m here to prove that having me as a father is a better option than none at all.” He sharply exhales.
Sean drops his eyes to the baby again and sighs. “He’s the best baby in the world. So perfect. Look at these fingers.”
I take Vincent’s tiny hand in mine and admire his little fingernails as he clamps his hand down around two of my fingers. He’s perfect, that’s for sure.
“I’m in therapy.” Sean looks up at me. “I know that’s what I need to be worthy of Vincent. And I’m going to buy Quinn and Vinnie a house, without my name on it. I won’t even have the keys.”
“They deserve it,” I whisper. “Babies deserve daddies, Sean, but only healthy ones, so keep your ass in therapy for good. Trust that Quinn knows best, follow her lead. If you truly want to be, I think you can learn how to be a good father. But it’s going to require a selflessness you’ve never attempted before.”
A shadow crosses his face. “You deserved so much from me that I didn’t give you. But Deacon did and he does, and I know itprobably sounds weird coming from me, but I’m happy for you two.”
