Page 49 of Accidental Wedding Crasher
Mia frowned. “Did someone ask you to?”
Evan chuckled. “I guess not. But I always thought that being in love meant giving up everything else.”
“Not at all.” Mia squeezed his hands. “You wouldn’t expect me to give up my job, would you? I mean, I’ll take maternity leave, but I’ll always want to go back to teaching.” She paused. “You said ‘love’…”
“Have I not told you yet?” He smiled, but there was a hint of worry behind his clear blue eyes. “I do love you, Mia Newton. I never want you to be as far away as the stars, like the song says.”
Tears filled Mia’s eyes as she answered. “I love you, too.”
And then they were kissing. Evan pulled her into his arms, and Mia melted against his chest as their lips brushed, tentatively at first, then with a wave of feeling. They’d kissed before, but this felt like a first kiss, somehow. It was full of passion and comfort in equal parts and a promise of a future together. Like with theirother kisses, the rest of the world fell away, leaving only the two of them.
When they separated, they were both smiling. Evan kissed her once more on the tip of her nose, making Mia smile, then put his arm around her and led her to a small stone bench where he’d set the speaker.
“I got you a few things,” he said.
“You did?” Mia grinned. “Let’s see them.”
“Well, here’s some chocolate, because I always want our life together to be sweet.” He handed her a small, foil-wrapped square of chocolate. “And here’s a flower, because you’re more gorgeous than any flower.” He handed her a single rose.
“Two things,” Mia said, trying to hold back her smile. “First, I admit that Ilovelove stories. Even the cheesy ones. But I think you have to admit that this is a little over the top.”
Evan burst into laughter. “Hey, it’s my first time in love, and I’m still finding my feet here. What’s the second thing?”
“Is this a rose from the wedding?” Mia asked. “And the chocolate… that’s the one they put on our pillows.” Frowning, she looked around. “And the fairy lights… those are from the wedding too.”
“Yes, and this is Luka’s Bluetooth speaker,” Evan finished. “Look, I didn’t have a lot of time to put this together.”
Laughing, Mia scooted closer and slid into his arms. Kissing his cheek, she said, “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
“I wanted to do something bigger, but I was worried you were going to leave, so I moved quickly.”
“This was plenty big.” Mia sat up straight, her eyes widening. “Iwasgoing to leave, though, and I called a cab. It’s probably here!”
“I think it’s been here for a while,” Evan admitted. “I asked them to delay it.”
“That was you?”
“I needed time for this.” He kissed her softly. “Let me go cancel the cab. As long as you’re planning to stay…”
“Of course, I am.” Mia smiled at him. “Cancel the cab, and I’ll go get changed.” She glanced down at her sweatpants and T-shirt. “I can’t go back to the wedding looking like this.”
“You want to go back?”
“Of course. Our first fake date was at a wedding. Don’t you think our firstrealone should be, too? And anyway, Luka and Sarah will be sad if we don’t make an appearance.”
“All right, then.” Evan stood. “Let’s go.”
Ten minutes later, they met at the bottom of the stairs. Mia had hurriedly changed back into her dress and taken her hair out of its bun, while Evan had canceled the cab. Arm in arm, they walked back out to the yard where the wedding was taking place. Evan led her to the dance floor, where he held out a hand. Mia stepped into his arms, and they began to dance as a new song played over the speakers: “On This Starry Night.”
“I had a little extra time after I canceled the cab,” Evan whispered, his breath beside her ear making her shiver with warmth. “So, I put in a request.”
Together, they swayed and whirled across the dance floor, smiling at each other, as dusk settled and stars came out overhead. Occasionally, as Evan spun her, Mia caught sight of members of the Hirst family smiling at them, and she smiled back. But most of the time, she had eyes only for Evan, the man she loved, the father of her child, and her future.
EPILOGUE
MIA - TWO YEARS LATER
Mia sat on the bench, her fifteen-month-old daughter sitting on her lap. Little Lucy snuggled against her stomach, gazing out over the fields with rapt attention.
