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Adrian makes time for me in his busy, art-world-dominating schedule and he’s so excited for his little brother or sister (though equally grateful he doesn’t have a child of his own to care for right now). It turns out Brett was the father of Gigi’s baby. The poor kid emerged with Brett’s blond hair, weak chin, and all.
“Let’s have the book club, Mitch and Amy, Noelle and Ben, and Silas in the front, too,” I add. “Everyone else can file into the second row?”
Our guests move into the seats I set up facing the lighthouse—everyone except Elaina, who comes to stand at the end of the boardwalk, right before it gives way to rocks and sand.
“Over here, Elaina,” Maya says. “There’s an empty seat next to mine.”
“I’m okay here,” Elaina says, her eyes glittering with excitement. She pulls out her phone and taps a button. A beat later, Pachelbel’s Canon begins to play from the portable speakers, underscored by the soft shushing of the waves and the cries of the seabirds.
I shift to stand by Elaina just as Noelle gasps and bursts into tears.
“What’s wrong?” I hear her fiancé, Ben, murmur.
“They’re getting married!” Noelle says, sending a ripple of excitement through the assembled company.
The ripple transforms to cries of delight as Sydney appears at the top of the dunes.
Instantly, I forget how to breathe.
She looks like a goddess in her white lace wedding dress. Her strawberry blond curls fall around her face beneath a crown of wildflowers, her lips shine a deep pink, and her cheeks are flushed the way they have been all summer. No matter how much sunscreen she put on, she always got a little sun-kissed.
Maya’s grandmother said it was the baby, that pregnancy can make women burn more easily than they did before. I said it was because even the sun couldn’t stay away from her.
She teased me for being a hopeless romantic, but I’m not hopeless. I have so much hope now, and it’s all because of this amazing woman walking down the boardwalk to meet me, the sea breeze in her hair. She’s stunning, inside and out, and in just a few minutes, she’ll be my wife.
By the time she comes to stand across from me in front of Elaina, there are tears in my eyes.
“Here, buddy, I’ve got you,” Elaina says, pressing a tissue from the pocket of her sundress into my hands, triggering laughter from our friends and family. As I dab at my eyes and Sydney reaches out to squeeze my hand, Elaina continues, “Dearly beloved, as you may have guessed, we’re not here simply to eat lots of yummy lobster and drink fantastic local beer. We’re here to witness the marriage of two of our favorite people, Sydney and Gideon.”
“About time,” Sydney’s dad calls out good-naturedly, summoning more laughter from the group.
He’s come a long way in the past few years, too. He shows his love more freely than ever before and has already drawn up the paperwork leaving Sydney in control of Watson Global in the event of his death. When he passes, she’ll be able to run the company the way she’s always wanted, but neither of us are in any rush for that to happen.
We want Silas around for a long time, hopefully long enough to meet all the grandchildren we plan to give him.
“Indeed,” Elaina agrees. “But never fear. Sydney and Gideon have requested a swift and efficient ceremony. Probably because they’re worried the baby might be born at any minute.”
“Two months,” Sydney says peacefully, smiling up at me as she threads her fingers through mine. “We have two months. Just enough time for vows, lobster, and a really long honeymoon.”
“Amen to that,” Elaina says. “So, without further ado, I invite Gideon to start the ceremony with his vows.”
I start to reach for the cheat sheet in my pocket but think better of it. I don’t need my notes. I just need to look into the blue eyes of this woman who means the world to me and it’s all going to come out just fine.
“Two years ago, I was a different man,” I say. “If you’d asked me at the time, I would have said I was happy. I had rewarding work, time to volunteer and pursue my hobbies, and all the money I could ever need. To a lot of people, I’m sure it looked like I was living the dream.”
I pull in a breath, swallowing past the lump in my throat as Sydney’s eyes begin to shine. “But I wasn’t. I wasn’t living my dream. I wasn’t even going after my dream. I thought what I wanted most from this life had passed me by. I didn’t think a wife and family were in my future, but I knew that was partly my fault. Because I didn’t want to compromise. I wanted that big, life-changing, heart-stopping, forever love or nothing at all. But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine a woman like Sydney existed.”
Tightening my grip on her hand, I continue, “You’re everything I hoped I’d find and so much more, butterfly. You’re my best friend, my teammate, my encourager when times get tough and my biggest cheerleader on the victory laps. You are kind and funny and so damned smart. You bowl me over every day with the way you think, but it’s nothing compared to the way you love.”
Sydney sniffs and swipes at her eyes with her free hand.
“You have the biggest, sweetest heart,” I say, fighting to maintain control. “You’re a gift to your friends, your family, and to me, and I intend to spend the rest of our lives making sure you never doubt how special you are. I love you, baby, and I know you’re going to be the best mother any kid ever had. Thanks for choosing me. I promise I’ll never give you a reason to regret it.”
“Beautiful, Gideon,” Elaina says, passing Sydney a tissue. “It’s your turn when you’re ready, Syd.”
She sniffs and wipes her nose, before standing frozen for a moment, clearly torn about where to put the tissue.
“Here,” Elaina says, curling her fingers. “Give it to me. I’ll put it in my pocket. We’re basically sisters by this point. I’m not afraid of your snot.”
