Page 80 of Found By You
She nodded. “Maybe especially then. When everything else was gone, it scared me how much I already wanted you with me.”
I pulled her close again, breathing in the scent of her hair. “I love you.”
She looked up at me. “I love you, too.”
Again, there was quiet among everyone.
Noah laughed. “Okay, we get it, you two are in love. Let’s get back to eating.”
Ella sniffed. “It’s beautiful.”
“It is,” my mother said. “But let’s make plans.”
I laughed and Azalea laughed.
My family swarmed around us, offering congratulations and hugs and my mother started in with the plans for the wedding.
It was perfect. We were perfect; this strange, wonderful, unexpected love that had crashed into our lives when we least expected it.
I kissed her and thought of how I’d found her on the side of the road in a storm, with no memory of who she was or where she was going.
And now we both knew exactly where we were meant to be—together.
Epilogue
Azalea
I stood at the window, watching guests arrive at McCrae’s house. Well, soon to beourhouse.
White chairs lined the shore in perfect rows, a white runner stretching between them toward a floral arch that framed the water.
The entire town of Refuge Falls seemed to be there, chatting and laughing as they found their seats. Paper lanterns hung from the pine trees, ready to glow when evening fell.
“Nervous?” Kayla asked, appearing beside me in her pale blue bridesmaid dress.
“Not at all.” I shook my head, surprising myself when I realized it was true.
It had been only a month since McCrae proposed. A month of whirlwind planning, of Greg settling into Refuge Falls, of me securing a position as a reporter for the local paper while continuing my podcast.
A month that somehow felt like a lifetime.
“Good,” Kayla said, squeezing my arm. “Because if you left my brother at the altar, I’d have to hunt you down.”
I laughed. “I’d expect nothing less.”
McCrae’s mom moved to my side, staring in the mirror with me. “You’re beautiful. I’m so happy to have you as my daughter soon.”
Warmth filled me and I turned to hug her. “Thank you, for being a mom to me.”
She pulled back, tears in her eyes. “No crying, our makeup.”
We all laughed.
Ella and Isla entered the bedroom, both looking beautiful in matching dresses. All of these women had grown close to me these past weeks while shopping for wedding items, planning the ceremony, and talking late into the night.
“You look stunning,” Ella said, adjusting the simple veil attached to my loose curls.
My wedding dress was an elegant, white gown. It hugged my body before flowing out at the waist, the bodice adorned with delicate lace. I’d found it at a boutique in Denver, and the moment I tried it on, I knew it was the one.
