Page 218 of No Headlines Please

And then he smiled – a perfect smile just for me.

I smiled back as I replied, "Maybe not yet." My smile widened. "But you just watch. We will be."

Epilogue

Green's the New Blue

Delaney

In the cheerful little room, Tessa was frowning down at her phone. "You've got to be kidding." She looked up. "You won't believe what she just posted on her page."

Mom.

It had to be.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Why do you even look? It's just gonna make you mad." I rolled my eyes. "Trust me, I know."

Maisie gave Tessa a perplexed look. "And why are you checking your phone at all?"

Good question.

After all, this wasn't an ordinary day.

I shifted in my seat, the layers of my white wedding gown settling around me in a soft rustle that made me smile as sunlight streamed in through the room's high window. My bouquet rested nearby, a lovely arrangement of white roses and perfect pink hydrangeas.

When I reached up to brush a hand against my necklace, Tessa said in a teasing tone, "You do know that's supposed to be blue, right?"

I glanced down at the stunning emerald pendant, a surprise gift from Maddox. "No, it's not. Emeralds are supposed to be green."

"I know," Tessa laughed. "But that's not how the saying goes. It's 'something blue,' remember?"

Actually, I'd been planning to wear my mom's pearl necklace, but after Maddox had surprised me with this one last night, I couldn't bring myself to take it off – and not only because it was so incredibly gorgeous.

Even now, I could still see the look of love in his eyes when he'd said that he wanted me to have something just as genuine as me.

Just thinking about it made me go all misty.

With a smile, I told Tessa, "Haven't you heard? Green's the new blue."

She gave the emerald a good, long look. "You know what? I think you're right." She smiled. "And you're absolutely beautiful."

Funny, I felt it, too.

Tessa and Maisie had taken over the room like it was mission control, with bags, shoes, makeup, and hairpins spread across every available surface while I sat in the middle of it all, trying to convince myself this was actually happening.

Somewhere beyond the door, the day was already in motion. I could feel it in the air – the quiet anticipation, the sense that everything was lined up and waiting, even the island itself, still thawing out after the long, cozy winter.

My wedding to Maddox would be the very first of the season – just like Maisie's had been the first, this time last year.

And in the same church, too.

No matter how you sliced it, it had been one heck of a year – filled with all kinds of surprises, including a baby on the way, not that Maisie was showing yet.

Okay, it was showing a little – not in her figure, but in her face, because she couldn't stop smiling.

Just like me.

And Tessa, too.