Page 105 of Give Me a Reason

Finn shook his head. “He won’t want to make a scene.”

“I don’t want anything to mar Naomi and Chris’s day.” The weather was perfect for September. There was a light breeze from the water, and the sky was almost cloudless.

Leo sat next to me. “I told her it wasn’t a good idea to come here.”

“Why did she then?” Finn asked.

“You know Gia. She won’t rest until she’s found some way to counter Silas’s monopoly on resort weddings.”

“That’s a little hard to do since she doesn’t own a similar resort,” Finn said.

“Then you don’t know Gia very well. She’s the queen of finding people’s weaknesses and exploiting them.”

“I think she’s met her match with Silas.” Watching him interact with Gia today, I had a feeling he was interested in more than her business.

Leo shook his head. “I’m sure Gia invited me along so I could smooth things over between them. But I don’t want to get involved. He’s my best friend, and she’s my sister.”

“You knew there would be a confrontation,” Finn said as he lazily strummed a chord.

“Those two can’t exist in a room together and not seek each other out. I told Gia to stay away from him. They can and should operate separately from one another, but she doesn’t listen to anything I say.”

Gia was a strong woman who knew exactly what she wanted, complete domination of the wedding planning business in the area. Silas’s resort might have been located outside Annapolis, but it was close enough that brides and grooms were drawn to it for its amenities and luxuriousness.

“I’m going to get some water,” Leo said as he moved to the table of refreshments that had been set up closer to the door to the hotel.

Finn’s mom walked down the aisle with Paisley. “She wanted to see you before the ceremony started.”

Paisley twirled in a circle, her white dress fluttering around her as she spun. Her hair was curled, and ribbons were weaved in an intricate pattern throughout.

Finn grinned and set his guitar aside. “You look beautiful.”

Paisley slowed to a stop. “I can’t wait to get married.”

“That’s not happening,” Finn said as everyone around us laughed.

Finn hated the idea of Paisley dating, but I was content to be present for days like this, and all the days to come. I’d be there when Paisley got her driver’s license, went on her first date, and when she graduated from high school.

The wedding itself was beautiful, and the best part was that Finn was genuinely happy for Naomi and Chris. We ate dinner, and then Finn’s mom took Paisley home so that we could have a night to ourselves.

Finn only played his guitar for the early dances between the bride and her father, the bride and groom, and the bridal party. There was a DJ for the rest of the evening, and we’d taken advantage by dancing to one song after the other.

When a slow song came on, Finn drew me close with a hand on my hip. “I’ve never been happier than I am right now.”

“It’s like every day gets better.” I think it had something to do with appreciating where you were in life. I enjoyed watching Paisley play soccer or attending her choral concerts at school. I wasn’t anxious for my life to be different anymore. I was content with how things were.

I’d taken a small step by signing up for a few business courses at the local community college, and Gia had given me more responsibility with each new wedding. Couples were so impressed with their initial consultations, which included a rendering of the ceremony and reception, that we’d received a lot of referrals, but they would ask to keep the drawing to hang on their wall.

I wasn’t in a rush to be promoted because I knew it would happen. I’d found my home with Finn and Paisley and Gia and Happily Ever Afters.

Finn dropped his forehead to mine. “You gave me a reason to believe in love.”

I stroked the skin of the back of his neck. “You gave me the same.”

We weren’t destined to live like our parents; we could forge our own path. I didn’t know all the details of our future, but I knew it would fall into place exactly how it was supposed to, and I’d have Finn by my side through all of it.

EPILOGUE

Aria

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