Page 121 of The Challenge

“I love you both so much,” I told them.

As I wrapped my arms around Evan again, Effie hugged my legs. I reached down to put one arm around her. Never in my life had I felt more complete.

Evan spoke into my ear, “I won, by the way.”

“Won what?”

“The Challenge. You said yes to forever with me. Nothing could ever be better. Game over. I won.”

Epilogue

EVAN

ONE YEAR LATER

As leaves rustled in the cool April breeze in my backyard, I rubbed my hands together, so excited to see her. Today was Chloe’s and my wedding day. Or should I say, wedding night. We’d thought it would be nice to get married with white lights decorating the trees in the evening. We’d also set up some lanterns.

It felt surreal to be marrying the love of my life in the same yard where I’d practiced football as a teenager, in the same place where I’d spent many afternoons staring up at the sky and wondering how life could be so cruel. But now as I stood on that grass, I felt nothing but gratitude for each and every experience that had brought me here.

Chloe and I had decided we’d have a first-look moment rather than me seeing her for the first time during the ceremony. My beautiful bride would come walking toward me at sunset. The photographer thought the golden hour would be the best time to take photos, so we opted to have them done ahead of time. Phil would be walking Chloe down the aisle later, even if the audience would only be a handful of people. I was so glad they’d been able to patch things up before this day because I knew how important getting to walk his daughter down the aisle was to Phil. He’d expressed that to me when I’d asked for his permission to marry her.

We’d gotten our marriage license from the county clerk’s office a few days ago. Chloe and I had opted for an intimate wedding instead of throwing a large party for friends and acquaintances. We planned to take the money we would’ve spent and use it on a Disney cruise we’d take with Effie later this year.

The small ceremony would be officiated by my uncle Drew, who’d gotten ordained online for the occasion. From Chloe’s side, it would be her father and Courtney, plus her sister Fawn, who’d flown in from New York with her boyfriend, Stephen. On my end, it would only be Uncle Drew, Maura, and their sons. We’d have our first dance under the stars to “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat, a song about two best friends who fell in love. We’d hired a private chef to cook a fancy dinner for the family and ordered an Italian rum cake in honor of Judy, who had always loved that flavor.

As I stared out at the sun setting over the mountains in the distance, our photographer came up behind me.

“Evan?”

I turned. “Yup?”

“She’s ready to come out now.”

My stomach flipped. “Cool.”

“You should turn back around until I tell you it’s okay.”

Sucking in a nervous breath, I did as she said. I wasn’t nervous to marry Chloe, of course. I was mainly anxious that I’d forgotten something or that it might rain. I just wanted everything to work out perfectly, since you only get one wedding to the love of your life. I’d marry Chloe a hundred times over if she wanted, though.

Chloe had made sure Effie was involved in every step of the wedding process. Wedding planning had become my daughter’s favorite hobby. They’d gone dress shopping together for both the bridal gown and bridesmaid dresses. And, yes, my nine-year-old had insisted on being a bridesmaid and not a flower girl. I had no idea what either dress looked like and had been forbidden from going into the back of Effie’s closet where they’d stored them both.

I’d never seen my daughter as happy as she’d been the past year and a half since Chloe had come into our lives. While Chloe could never fully replace having her mother around, the love that Chloe showed Effie on a day-to-day basis definitely took the edge off of that loss. Katerina had come back to Wyoming a couple more times in the past year, but it wasn’t enough. Effie, as always, loved her mother unconditionally, despite Katerina’s abominable choices, and took what she could get, even if Effie deserved so much more.

“You can turn around now,” I heard the photographer say.

But when I turned, it wasn’t my bride coming toward me, it was my daughter.

My heart filled with joy at the sight of Effie walking slowly and carefully. She was dressed in a beautiful purple dress with a big skirt that billowed in the wind. She looked like the princess she always was to me.

Effie stopped in front of me as I knelt to meet her.

“Don’t worry. Chloe hasn’t changed her mind. That’s not why I’m here.”

I chuckled. “I wasn’t thinking that, baby.”

“The photographer wanted me to come out first.”

“I love that you and I get a moment alone.”