Page 106 of Known By You
She laughed, then hugged me again. “It’s a good thing I love you.”
I held her tight, relishing her closeness. “Oh, woman. You have no idea.”
Liz
I looked at the women standing hand in hand in the small circle, each wearing a cheery, summery colored dress. They were people I’d known for just shy of a year aside from Jojo, and yet they were the sisters of my heart. I never imagined I could love people I’d known for such a short time, but Kenny had proven me wrong first, and each of them had, too.
“I’m so grateful for you all. Thank you for all the work you’ve done for today, and thank you for accepting me. For loving me.” I choked up for what felt like the hundredth time today, but it’d really only been about an hour.
Jo, Elise, Dove, Nikki, Winnie, Catherine, Evie, and my mom all grinned, several of them wiping tears. Jane and mystep sisters-in-law Calla, Sadie, and Sarah all swiped under their eyes. From her seat, Jess sniffed.
“I’m not crying for you. I’m crying because this is so beautiful, and because I am so, so pregnant.”
We all laughed. and I was grateful she was able to be here, and so happy I could hardly stand it. Except I’d learned to embrace happiness and not be suspicious of it. I’d learned I could work and have a purpose, but also be joyful and fulfilled in a way I never imagined. And that was all in the last seven months since first venturing here.
“I love you so much. And I want to keep chatting and sipping champagne. But I know if we leave Barbie hanging, he’ll probably pass out. He’s been so anxious about this.” Jo chuckled fondly.
“Poor guy.” Dove laughed.
I joined them for a moment before taking a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
Soon, each woman was processing with whoever was escorting her down the aisle and my dad was holding out his elbow to me.
“I’m so proud of you, Lizzy.”
I scoffed. “Because I’m getting married?”
“No, stubborn child. I’m proud of you because you listened to your heartandyour head. You didn’t stay stuck. You’ve got so much ahead of you and I’m just glad you’re letting it happen.”
I beamed up at him. “Me, too, Dad.”
The music from a string quartet rose, and the sun shone through the windows of the little white chapel on the Silver Ridge Resort property. I took another deep breath and looked up, finding those bright blue eyes of my fiancé waiting for me. He swiped under one eye, and I laughed, already crying as I looked at him.
Whatever came in this life, I was so unbelievably grateful I’d be facing it with him.
BONUS EPILOGUE
Luc
My grandfather spoke in rapid-fire French while I gritted my teeth and kept my eyes on the bright pink glow coming from Glazed.
“What do you have to say for yourself?” he practically yelled into the phone.
“Nothing new. It’s the same things I’ve been telling you for years.” My family insisted on behaving like I’d become someone they didn’t recognize, but this only served to remind me they had never known me.
A string of creative curses filtered in one ear and out the other as a figure moved around the bakery. I could only see her crossing the doorway to the kitchen every so often. She wouldn’t be out to stock the trays in the glass case at the front of the shop and unlock the door for another eight minutes.
After another rush of vitriol streaming into my brain that I tried not to fully register, I sighed silently and interrupted. “Is there anything else you need, Grandfather?”
A beat of silence swelled.
“You will meet Odette de Valois, you will become engaged, and you will marry her within the year,” he said, his words slipping through clenched teeth.
My pulse jumped just a touch. “I will not.”
“As the only male heir to this family’s dynastic wealth, you will do this.”
His face would be red and his entire body wired with fury. I could just see his fists and the vein in his forehead as he said the pompous words as though anyone spoke ofdynastic wealthin real life.
