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“We all will,” Natalie assured her, since she was the one with the most wedding experience in the room.
Looking around the room, she saw all her friends nod. They were all willing to help her, to be there for her just like she had been there for them all. She had managed to find a great group of friends that accepted her and loved her. Even if she loved the former playboy of Landstad. Maybe because she did.
Leaning back into the man she loved, she whispered for only his ears, “I love you.”
“I love you too, since forever. For forever.”
She melted into him.
It was exactly what she needed to hear, that he felt the exact same as she did. She couldn’t see her life without him in it, being the center of it. That hadn’t changed since she was in high school, and it seemed it never would.
EPILOGUE
Fall
Since the entirebook club had been sworn to secrecy since June, nobody else in town was aware that the wedding taking place today was a sham. Especially not Mia’s mom. Nobody dared tell the woman that her first born had been married in Vegas a year before without her present.
Mia was sitting on the same table she always sat on waiting for a wedding to start. Well, actually, she was waiting for her friends to show up and drink to her upcoming marriage. But she didn’t know who would show up today. Book club had officially ended that day in June after Mandy got married. Though they still got together every two weeks, there was no reading involved, and no recordings were done. They just talked.
Those who could come, did. Mandy was on bed rest, so she hadn’t recently been there, and Ruth had her baby soon after Mandy’s wedding but had only come sporadically since then. Tess, Hazel, and Natalie were busy with their families and work and sometimes had to miss for those reasons. Mia was usually a constant since it was more often than not at her house due to the space and location, but the wedding planning sometimes got in the way of that.
After talking to Ruth and Anderson, Rafferty had decided to give it a few more months in Landstad, and it had worked out. Ruth was more accepting of him as a person. Maybe not there with the brother thing completely, but as a close friend. They had all become better friends since that day.
In the end, they had chosen Mia and Rafferty to be godparents to Mary Elizabeth Miles because they were family. Eliza ended up with the white hair of her mother, but her dad’s dark eyes. She was healthy and adorable but way more work than her mother had ever expected her to be. Mia knew Ruth’s writing had been suffering.
By the time July had rolled around, Mia was living with Rafferty full-time. No more apartment uptown. She had let that go. Nobody had anything bad to say about them. Not even her mother had mentioned that they were living in sin. Some asked how it was going and if she liked not living downtown, but no one said anything mean about it. Since his house had been so big, all her stuff had fit in without any problems. There was even a built-in book shelf that held all her movies cases, old and new—no more boxes taking up space in her closet. True to his word, Rafferty had helped move it all without complaining, though she had heard some grumbling because she wouldn’t allow anyone else to help.
Just to upset her mother, Dottie thought Mia would not have any bridesmaids and Rafferty no groomsmen. Mia did it because she didn’t want her sisters, and her friends were all busy with their families. And it was a fake wedding, all for Mia. Or so she said, but in reality it was for her mom, because she wasn’t just a little afraid of the woman still.
For a personal attendant,she had chosen Ruth, but Ruth was busy getting the baby settled, so Mia was alone. And she was lonely. Maybe it was her who had kept the group together through all the big events over the past almost two years. Wedding, baptisms, even keeping the group going in the early days.
She had been there for all of their weddings, right here in this room for most of them, but they weren’t here for her. She should have told them that they were all her personal attendants, then maybe someone would’ve shown up. Flattening out the creases in her cream dress, she wondered if she should have just said they were married and been done with it. This day wasn’t turning out how she had thought it would at all.
It had started to snow and had yet to stop, though it wasn’t going to stay. It was supposed to be around just long enough to make Mia’s wedding a wet, sloppy mess. They had the bachelorette party at her house since Ruth had the baby, and everyone bailed on her because they had families they wanted to stay with. The only positive was that she got to sleep with her husband on the night of their wedding, but very little sleep was actually had. Her sisters had shown up at nine for hair and makeup and got to see more of the groom than they ever should have. Mia was convinced all four of her married sisters were now very envious of their big sister. Kipling now had some lofty ideas about her future spouse.
While getting to the church, she had realized getting her dress fitted a month ago was a mistake. It was tight. Remembering Hazel nearly passing out, she vowed she would take shallow breaths all day. She loved the dress. Her body apparently hated it.
At the fifteen minute mark, the door finally flung open, and Rafferty Brooks walked in, looking as sexy as always, just this time in a tux. She had insisted since he wore a suit all the time she wanted better for her wedding. This time, no jeans at all, though he looked great in those as well.
“What are you doing here? This is bad luck,” she said, not moving from the table.
He shut the door behind him. “I’m going to dance with Mia Lawson one more time.”
“I’m not Mia Lawson,” she reminded him, and today it became legal.
“You are to me.” He pulled out his phone. Tapping a few buttons, she heard Taylor Swift start singing one of her favorites—the same song they had danced to after Natalie’s first failed wedding. Right here in this room.
Sliding off the table, she let him pull her into his arms. “Do you even remember dancing with me after Natalie’s first wedding?”
“Yes. Some of it.” It was fuzzy in some places.
“I love dancing with you, Mia Autumn Lawson Brooks.” He kissed the top of her head.
“I love dancing with you to, Raff.” She pulled him closer, and their steps grew smaller.
“I do wish you would’ve worn that purple number from the actual wedding.” He kissed her temple as the moved.
“Lavender? It wasn’t right for my church wedding.” She wasn’t going to tell him that she had almost worn it anyway. But instead had bought a sexy lingerie in the same color for tonight.
