□?You are utterly, absolutely, fully and completely, irreversibly and forever in love.
She looked at Wes through her tears. “Those are some options.”
“Read the one I got,” he said, pointing to what he’d circled based on his answers.
Clearing her throat, determined not to cry, she read, “You are utterly, absolutely, fully and completely, irreversibly and forever in love. While this could be scary to someone like you, you are smart enough to know that storms can be weathered together, that everything is better with Hailey at your side, that she’s more than a friend, she’s the person who sees you, makes you see yourself and pushes you for more. You’re in the ‘first person I want to talk to every day and last person I want to talk to every night’ kind of love. This kind of love is not to be taken lightly. It’s real and it’s not going anywhere.”
The page shook in her hand as a few more tears escaped. “Did Fiona help you with this?”
He nodded. “Yes. She helped me and made it sound a lot better than I could. For future reference, she’s a harsh editor. But every bit of it, of all of them actually, is true. I love you, Hailey. I’m sorry it took me so long to say it back.”
She threw her arms around him, hugged him tightly as she kissed his neck. “I love you, too. And you know me well enough to know I’m a big fan of the phrase ‘better late than never.’”
With his arms wrapped around her, the music still on the same song, and the lights dancing in the early dusk, Hailey no longer wondered what happily ever after looked like. It would look like whatever they made it, together.
Epilogue
August the following year
Hailey bit the inside of her cheek so she wouldn’t cry. Everly looked like a princess in her white gown. With a sweetheart neckline, the elegantly classic shape of the A-line skirt, and the custom-made, silver, sparkly Converse, Everly belonged in a magazine titled Wedding Day Perfection. Her hair was pulled back off her face with thin tendrils softly falling.
“Is it weird I’m more nervous about walking down the aisle than I am about getting married?” She stared in the beveled mirror while Stacey, in a gorgeous navy body-hugging dress, double-checked Everly’s back snaps.
“No. You hate being on display. Just remember that the only people in the room that matter are you and Chris. Your dad—if he can stop crying—will hold you up if you feel faint. Count the steps like we practiced.”
Everly nodded repeatedly. When she turned, spread her arms wide as if to say, “Well?” Hailey and Grace gripped each other’s hands.
“You’re perfection, Evs.” Grace, whose dress was similar but not identical to Stacey’s, said, a linen handkerchief clutched in her other hand.
“There are not enough words to adequately describe how incredible you look,” Hailey added.
Everly huffed out a breath, put a hand to her stomach. “Okay. I can do this.” Then her face broke into a grin that made her eyes shine brighter than the sun or the moon. “I get to do this. I get to marry Chris.”
Stacey waved a hand in front of her face. “Argh. Stop. No tears. I will not cry.”
Everly nudged her friend with her hip. “You’ll break by the end.”
Stacey handed out champagne flutes so they could toast the bride. When they finished, Hailey gave each of them a quick hug so she could slip out, get to her seat. She was excited to see Wes in his tux. The small wedding was mostly family, with just a few friends.
Hailey had only briefly met Wes’s sister that morning when she’d flown in with Wes’s mom. A smile stretched her lips. His mom was cool. There were other words to describe her: funny, elegant, genuine, but cool captured it all. Hailey had learned within a half hour of meeting her landlord last year that if she hadn’t wanted to buy the shops, she wouldn’t have. Not even for one of her sons. She also learned the woman had a keen business sense of her own.
She and Hailey were investing, together, in Leo, who would run By the Cup’s food truck. This new venture was one more thrilling piece of her life that, some days, didn’t feel real.
Heading down the hall, she heard the murmurs from the beautiful space where the wedding was being held. She stopped short when she turned the corner and nearly ran into Wes.
“Hey,” she said, smoothing her hands over his black tux. “You look wonderful. Not as good as the bride but pretty damn good.”
He chuckled, pulled her closer. “Back at you. Though, I haven’t seen the bride.” He leaned back, his gaze moving up and down. The heat in his eyes made her grateful she’d splurged on something new he’d never seen. She’d hidden it at the back of their closet. “I’ll peek at her out of respect but I’m pretty sure my eyes will be glued to this dress all night.”