Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
That custom didn’t resonate with my independent better half. She’s decided to give herself away, and she’ll be walking down the narrow boardwalk leading from the lighthouse to the beach any second.
As soon as I have our guests in position…
“Hey, everyone, time for a group photo,” I call out, lifting my camera into the air. “Adrian, find a place in the front row of seats, will you?”
“Will do,” my son says, saluting me with his beer. The past two years have been an incredible time for us, as well. I finally have the close relationship with my son I’ve always hoped for. He even helped throw a surprise double birthday party for Sydney and me on New Year’s Eve last year, spending the night in sleepy Vermont with us instead of in Paris with his friends.
Adrian makes time for me in his busy, art-world-dominating schedule and he’s so excited for his little brother or sister (though equally grateful he doesn’t have a child of his own to care for right now). It turns out Brett was the father of Gigi’s baby. The poor kid emerged with Brett’s blond hair, weak chin, and all.
“Let’s have the book club, Mitch and Amy, Noelle and Ben, and Silas in the front, too,” I add. “Everyone else can file into the second row?”
Our guests move into the seats I set up facing the lighthouse—everyone except Elaina, who comes to stand at the end of the boardwalk, right before it gives way to rocks and sand.
“Over here, Elaina,” Maya says. “There’s an empty seat next to mine.”
“I’m okay here,” Elaina says, her eyes glittering with excitement. She pulls out her phone and taps a button. A beat later, Pachelbel’s Canon begins to play from the portable speakers, underscored by the soft shushing of the waves and the cries of the seabirds.
I shift to stand by Elaina just as Noelle gasps and bursts into tears.
“What’s wrong?” I hear her fiancé, Ben, murmur.
“They’re getting married!” Noelle says, sending a ripple of excitement through the assembled company.
The ripple transforms to cries of delight as Sydney appears at the top of the dunes.
Instantly, I forget how to breathe.
She looks like a goddess in her white lace wedding dress. Her strawberry blond curls fall around her face beneath a crown of wildflowers, her lips shine a deep pink, and her cheeks are flushed the way they have been all summer. No matter how much sunscreen she put on, she always got a little sun-kissed.
Maya’s grandmother said it was the baby, that pregnancy can make women burn more easily than they did before. I said it was because even the sun couldn’t stay away from her.
She teased me for being a hopeless romantic, but I’m not hopeless. I have so much hope now, and it’s all because of this amazing woman walking down the boardwalk to meet me, the sea breeze in her hair. She’s stunning, inside and out, and in just a few minutes, she’ll be my wife.
By the time she comes to stand across from me in front of Elaina, there are tears in my eyes.
“Here, buddy, I’ve got you,” Elaina says, pressing a tissue from the pocket of her sundress into my hands, triggering laughter from our friends and family. As I dab at my eyes and Sydney reaches out to squeeze my hand, Elaina continues, “Dearly beloved, as you may have guessed, we’re not here simply to eat lots of yummy lobster and drink fantastic local beer. We’re here to witness the marriage of two of our favorite people, Sydney and Gideon.”
“About time,” Sydney’s dad calls out good-naturedly, summoning more laughter from the group.
He’s come a long way in the past few years, too. He shows his love more freely than ever before and has already drawn up the paperwork leaving Sydney in control of Watson Global in the event of his death. When he passes, she’ll be able to run the company the way she’s always wanted, but neither of us are in any rush for that to happen.
We want Silas around for a long time, hopefully long enough to meet all the grandchildren we plan to give him.
“Indeed,” Elaina agrees. “But never fear. Sydney and Gideon have requested a swift and efficient ceremony. Probably because they’re worried the baby might be born at any minute.”
“Two months,” Sydney says peacefully, smiling up at me as she threads her fingers through mine. “We have two months. Just enough time for vows, lobster, and a really long honeymoon.”
“Amen to that,” Elaina says. “So, without further ado, I invite Gideon to start the ceremony with his vows.”
I start to reach for the cheat sheet in my pocket but think better of it. I don’t need my notes. I just need to look into the blue eyes of this woman who means the world to me and it’s all going to come out just fine.