Page 124 of Surprise! I'm Engaged To My Boss
The party my mother had always wanted finally happened. There were about three hundred people outside the house in Aspen, and I barely knew most of them. But there were also some very special people there who were somehow part of our story.
My mother was all elegant in her role as 'mother of the groom' — 'who seemed more like a sister', in herown words. She had brought her 'boyfriend' as a date. Leon was a nice guy, and he seemed to really like my mother, so I was happy with that relationship.
Janet was also there, with her husband Albert.
We also invited Ingrid, the owner of the hotel's bead kiosk and the witness to our unlikely engagement. Oh, and Julian Green and his family. It wasn't easy for me to forgive him, but Camila had spent so many hours with his family that she was able to understand his situation, and she explained to me that he had done everything he did for his children. And since Lisa, his grandmother, ended up becoming friends with Jenna, there was no way we could say no to them.
I confess that I was afraid that Logan would have an emergency at work and not show up, but to my relief, he did. Alone, as always. My middle brother was a perpetual lone wolf.
Unlike Sebastian, who kept casting loving —and worried— looks at his wife Bonnie. She was soon to have her last surgery, and we were very optimistic that she would make a full recovery.
And the guests of honor couldn't be missed: Apollo and Waffle, both wearing bow ties and sitting in a well-behaved manner in the front row, under Bonnie's care. The cat and the dog had gotten along well, after some initial conflicts.
Kind of like their owners...
The hired musicians started an instrumental song, giving me a hint that the time had finally come. Everyone stood up and turned their eyes to the entrance of the path that Camila was supposed to take.
The first to walk in were Evelyn, Camila’s best friend, and Layla, the former Turner intern who had held a management position for three months, until Camila finally took over — telling anyone who dared to imply she got the job because she was the boss’s fiancée to go to hell. We both knew she had earned it entirely on her own, and that was all that mattered.
The music changed to a beautiful instrumental of Endless Love.
In other times, I would have called that musical choice cheesy. Now, I thought it was perfect.
The first to appear was my little princess Alice. Wearing a white, flared dress adorned with lace, she walked with the awkward steps of a one-year-and-seven-month-old baby, but she already had a lot of balance and elegance. She was carrying a basket, from which she took rose petals with her little hands and threw them into the air, seeming to be having a lot of fun, while a wedding planner guided her.
Everything was going great, until she saw her best friends in the front row seats.
“Affle!Popolo!” she shouted, changing course to run towards them, causing a wave of laughter throughout the place.
The wedding planner helped her sit in a chair and Waffle settled on her lap, while Apollo, curious, smelled the basket of flowers.
The music continued and I turned my eyes back to the entrance. It took a few more seconds until, arm in arm with her grandmother, Camila appeared before my eyes.
Beautiful. Perfect.
Mine.
My bride.
In a few minutes, she would bemy wife. The mother of my daughter and the other children we still planned to have. The craziest woman I have ever met in my life, and also the most wonderful.
When I saw her walk in wearing a white dress, with her red hair falling in curls over her shoulders, I couldn't hold back the tears. And as she got closer, I could see that emotion had taken over her too.
As soon as they reached me, I kissed Jenna on the cheek, eternally grateful for her having raised the most incredible person in the world. She then walked away, going to her great-granddaughter, and I held Camila'shand, losing myself for a while looking into her eyes. I looked away to the ring finger of her right hand, seeing there the beaded ring that marked our first meeting. I was wearing mine too.
That night at the party, I arrived at that bar just looking for company for a few drinks. Who would have thought that with that I would gain a family?
On the same hand as the ring, she also wore a bracelet that I had not yet seen her wear.
The entire ceremony was very special. When we were finally declared husband and wife, I kissed her, to the applause of the guests present. Fine snow began to fall on us, making that moment even more special.
Hours later, together and finally alone in our bedroom for our first night as a married couple, she gave me another wonderful gift: the news that we had barely become three, and we would already be four.
She was pregnant. We would have another child.
Our lives were more than complete.
Epilogue 2
