Lessons in Heartbreak: Epilogue

“You are the hottest bride ever,” Lauren proclaimed.

My eyes met hers in the mirror, and I smiled. “You’re just trying to keep me from crying before I see him.”

It was a lost cause, but I gave her props for trying. I’d been weepy the entire day. My makeup was tear-proof, according to the makeup artist who’d done her magic on me a couple hours earlier. Lauren had been in charge of my hair, curling it loosely and then pulling it back off my face, weaving tiny white flowers among the curls that fell to my shoulders.

The moment my mom had finished buttoning the back of my dress—a high-neck A-line dress with a lace overlay that hugged my upper body and flowed gently away from my hips—I took one look at myself in the mirror and promptly burst into tears.

I didn’t realize how much I’d grieved having a moment like this until it was finally in my grasp. It was crazy how you could trick yourself into thinking you’d made peace with something, and really . . . it was simply acceptance of a fact, not true, down-to-your-soul peace.

The makeup artist touched up my face one more time before she left, and Lauren and my mom, red-eyed and smiling, told me I had to try not to sob my way through the entire day.

“Or maybe I’m trying to keep myself from crying.” Lauren adjusted her strapless bra underneath the blush-colored dress she was wearing, grimacing when she had to tug on her very plentiful cleavage. “Good Lord, my tits are obnoxious right now.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have let Marcus plant his Viking seed inside you, then,” I pointed out. “Pregnancy has a tendency to do that.”

She blew out a harsh breath, cupping a hand over her six-month bump. “Once. The man mentions once that we should have a kid, and of course I get pregnant the first week we try it without protection.”

“Yes, I’ve heard all about how virile he is.”

Lauren grinned. “He’s such a dope. It’s stupid how much I love him.”

“Aren’t you glad I gave him your number?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes. “I suppose.”

Lauren reached into the cooler on the floor and removed the bouquet of white peonies. It was tied with a pale-pink ribbon, and stuck just inside, where no one could see it but me, was a minuscule tuft of hair from the giant stuffed bird Griffin had won for me at the fair.

From the moment I woke up, the day had felt like it progressed in a dreamy sort of haze. My mom, Lauren, and I had breakfast with Griffin’s mom and Maggie while Griffin and the dads played a round of golf with Marcus, Bryce, and a slightly hesitant Barrett.

Barrett’s girlfriend hadn’t been able to make it . . . and that pairing? None of us saw that one coming.

Things weren’t fixed between the brothers, but they were slowly—very slowly—getting better. At least they could be in the same room without fighting now. It wasn’t much, but it was progress.

Maggie burst into the room, eyes widening when she saw me in my dress. “You look like a princess, Aunt Ruby.”

I tugged her close for a hug. “Thank you, sweetie.” As she pulled away, I held her arms out and smiled. Her makeup was subtle, her father agreeing to some mascara and a little blush to go with her full-length dress with delicate lace cap sleeves, in the same blush color as Lauren’s. “That dress is perfect on you.”

Maggie was standing up for me with Lauren, and Bryce was standing up with Marcus. The time they’d spent with me and Griffin over the last eight months had cemented them as two of my favorite people in the world. Maggie still warranted being on an FBI watch list for all the things she knew how to do on her own, but I’d take a bullet for those two kids without blinking.

“Uncle Griffin is going crazy waiting for you. Marcus and I started a betting pool on how long he lasts before he starts crying.” She glanced down at her phone. “So far we have ninety-nine percent of the guests taking part.”

“Maggie . . .”

She shrugged. “What? It’s not illegal. And if I win, I can get that Taser I’ve been eyeing. Dad refuses to buy it for me.”

Lauren chuckled under her breath. “Come on, kid. Time to line up. We can talk weapons another time.”

The two hustled out of the room, and I was left in the quiet. For a moment, I heard the string quartet playing out in the church, and I tried to imagine Griffin waiting for me at the end of the aisle. My smile was easy, my heart rate strong and steady as I left the bridal room with a bright flurry of anticipation taking wing in my stomach.

My parents waited for me by the doors, but instead of walking me down to Griffin, we’d agreed that because of my journey to get here, it made the most sense that I’d take the trip down the aisle on my own. They were both teary-eyed when they kissed my cheek, and my dad didn’t even try to wipe the tears off his cheeks when they went into the church to take their seats in the front row.

I let out a slow breath, my thoughts as clear and sharp as I’d ever experienced as the doors opened into the church.

There was music playing, but I couldn’t hear it.

Romantic lights and lush flowers decorated the front of the church, but I didn’t notice any of the details.

There were people in the rows, smiling and oohing and aahing as I made my entrance.

I saw nothing but him.

Griffin stood tall and proud at the front of the church, his hands clasped in front of him as tears streamed unabashedly down his face while he watched me. His hair was freshly cut, but I’d begged him to leave a little stubble on his face. I didn’t want him looking too proper, because that certainly wasn’t the man I fell in love with. It was his wild heart, the one that made him love so deeply, that made him perfect for me.

The cut of his deep charcoal-gray suit accentuated his broad frame, and when his chest rose and fell on a deep breath, it was all I could do not to sprint to the front of the church and throw myself into his arms.

When I came to the end of the aisle, his eyes locked on mine and he mouthed, I love you.

I love you too, I mouthed back, swiping at the stray tears on my cheeks.

We’d opted for a short ceremony with a small group of our closest friends and family, but as I handed my bouquet to Lauren and felt Griffin’s fingers slide between mine, we might as well have been alone in that room.

It was just me and him, our gazes never wavering, and my chest filled with the warm contentment of a life that was so much better than I could’ve imagined. It was just the vows we were making—my voice trembling and thick as I promised him my loyalty and my support and my love for the rest of my life. My eyes filled with tears again when he promised to be my protector and my confidant, my best friend, for the rest of his.

Griffin pushed a simple diamond wedding band onto my finger, sliding it into place next to the two-carat cushion-cut diamond he’d given me six months earlier, bringing my hand up to his mouth to press a kiss onto my knuckles with his eyes pinched shut. I cupped his face for a moment before easing the black metal band over his finger.

He sighed in relief when it was on, and I grinned up at him.

“You’re stuck with me now, baby,” he whispered, tilting his head down toward mine.

“Good.”

His eyes locked on my mouth while the pastor pronounced us Griffin and Ruby King, and the moment he said, “You may now—” Griffin swept me up in his arms and stole a fierce, breathless kiss while attendees yelled and whistled and clapped. His tongue wound around mine, and I moaned helplessly at the sudden rush of heat, knowing that he was mine—mine—forever.

It wasn’t about taking his name or signing a piece of paper. It was so much more. Making promises we would never break, and proclaiming to the world that he loved me and I loved him and nothing could separate us—that’s what it was about. It wasn’t just saying we loved each other—it was showing it. Choosing each other, through all the hard.

Griffin broke away from the kiss, tilting his head back to give a triumphant shout. I clutched him around the neck and laughed, my feet dangling off the floor as he held me tight against his chest, burying his face into my curls.

“My wife,” he murmured. “My wife.”

We stayed like that for a few more moments—my eyes closed and my heart soaring—while the love in the room spread like sweet wildfire through my bones.

This is life, I thought. And I was more than ready to live it.