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Tears filled her eyes as she nodded and said, “Yes!”
Jaxon slid his ring on her finger, stood and pulled her into his arms. “You have made me a happy man, and just so you know, my parents knew about my intentions as well. I talked to them earlier and they want you to know they are excited to welcome you to the family.”
“Oh, Jaxon,” she said, wiping away the tears that had appeared in her eyes as she gazed down at her ring. “It’s beautiful. I’m so happy.”
“So am I, sweetheart. So am I.”
He then leaned in and captured her mouth in his.
Epilogue
Nadia’s heart nearly stopped when saw Jaxon standing beneath the beautifully decorated gazebo that overlooked Gemma Lake. It was a beautiful day in June and it was her wedding day. Jaxon had wanted a Christmas wedding, but she had talked him out of that. So much was already on her plate with the holiday play, and she wouldn’t have time to plan the type of wedding she’d always wanted. Besides, she’d always wanted a June wedding.
For the time being, he had moved into the house on the Novak Homestead with her. He’d been kept busy with getting everything set up for the expansion of Ravnel Technologies into Gamble. The weekend following Cheyenne’s birthday party, he had flown Nadia to his home in Virginia. She had fallen in love with his ranch immediately and couldn’t wait to move there after they married. His parents had been awesome and were happy for them. She knew she was blessed to be getting such wonderful in-laws.
She glanced around at all the people in attendance—family, friends and some of Jaxon’s business associates. Alpha, Riley’s wife, was the event planner in the Westmoreland family. Everything was beautifully decorated in colors of pink and black. Her sisters and the women in the family thought Nadia had gone loco when she told them of her decision to break from tradition and wear a black wedding dress instead of a white one.
The one person who thought it was a great idea was Jaxon’s mother. She had worn black on her wedding day and offered Nadia her wedding dress to wear. It was beautiful and the moment Nadia had tried it on she thought it embodied elegance. Made of intricate floral lace appliqués and embellished with over five thousand beads and sequins. She especially loved the illusion plunge bodice and lace-trimmed keyhole back. The soft, sweeping skirt had a double slit that would swish with her every step.
Once she’d explained to them a black wedding dress symbolized the bride’s undying love and commitment to her husband until death do them part, they understood. And when they saw her in it for the first time, they cried. Now seeing how Jaxon was staring at her let her know she’d made the right decision because he knew what wearing the black wedding dress meant.
“You’re ready, Nadia?”
She glanced over at the man who would be walking her down the aisle and smiled. “Yes, Dillon. I’m ready.” And she was. She loved Jaxon and was looking forward to sharing the rest of her life with him. She smiled as she strolled closer to him then looked over at her twenty bridesmaids, who were pretty in their beautiful pink gowns. Pam was her matron of honor and Jaxon’s father was his best man. The groomsmen wore black tuxes with pink shirts and black bow ties.
Anyone who hadn’t known of Nadia’s plans to wear a black wedding dress were first sending choruses of “What?” around the room. And then those choruses were replaced with oohs and ahhs... She glanced at her mother-in-law, who winked at her, and she winked back. Her mother-in-law was silently telling her she looked beautiful. Nadia felt beautiful.
When they reached Jaxon and the minister asked who was giving her away, Dillon spoke up and then placed her hand in Jaxon’s. Nadia leaned over to kiss Dillon’s cheek and said, “Thanks for everything and thanks for marrying Pammie and making us a part of your family.”
She then turned to Jaxon and smiled. Just like her wedding dress signified, he was the man she would love for the rest of her life.
“And where are you taking me, Jaxon?” Nadia asked as he held her hand.
“To my barn.”
He glanced down at his wife of less than twenty-four hours. After the wedding and reception, instead of flying straight to the Maldives, where they would spend a two-week honeymoon, he had flown her to his ranch, where he wanted to present her with her wedding gift.
They had changed out of their wedding attire and were both wearing jeans. He doubted she would ever know how he felt the moment he’d seen her on Dillon’s arm. Just knowing he was married to the beautiful woman by his side filled his heart with joy.
“Did I tell you how beautiful you looked in your wedding dress, Nadia?”
She smiled up at him. “Yes, but I’ll never get tired of your compliments, so keep them coming.”
He threw his head back and laughed. Both the wedding and reception, which had been attended by over three hundred people, had gone off beautifully. “What’s up with Sloan’s best friend Redford St. James and Leslie’s best friend, Carmen Golan?” Jaxon asked.
Nadia chuckled. “So you noticed? Well, Carmen let it be known at Sloan and Leslie’s wedding a few years ago that she’s going to be the woman who ends Redford’s womanizing ways. Redford doesn’t intend for that to happen since he loves his life just the way it is. Usually, he tries to avoid Carmen, but it seems there was no such luck at our wedding.”
“He might be avoiding her, but I denote some interest on his part,” Jaxon said.
“Yes, but it’s I-want-to-bed-you interest and not I-want-to-wed-you interest. The latter is what Carmen wants.”
They stepped into his huge barn and when Nadia saw what he intended for her to see, she released a loud squeal. “Cocoa!”
She then raced over toward the horse. By the time Jaxon joined her she looked at him with tears in her eyes. “How did you find him? Cocoa was sold sixteen years ago,” she said, hugging the huge stallion. It was obvious the horse remembered her as well.
“It wasn’t easy. Luckily Pam knew the people he was sold to. Zane was able to track him down for me. Over the past sixteen years he’s had four owners and each one used him as a stud horse. Zane was able to locate his present owner, a rancher in North Dakota. He didn’t want to part with him until he saw how much I was willing to pay. And seeing the look on your face just now made buying him back worth it.”
“Thanks so much. I want to go riding.”
