The reception ended, the band was packing up. There were still guest milling around, but the lights had come up. I made small talk with the older ladies, got my cheeks pinched and patted, and even my bicep squeezed, before strapping Ame into the special baby carrier that I wore over my suit. It’d taken me a minute or twenty to figure it out, but it was only slightly harder than donning full firefighting gear.
When we got close enough to see Mel descending the stairs leading from the stage, her long black dress cascading down her body, Amy let out an earsplitting howl.
“Meewl… Meewl… Meewl…” Her chubby arms stretched as far as they could and her little fists clenched and unclenched grasping for Mel. Huh. Maybe Ame had been saying Mel after all.
Mel gasped. “Ame! You brought the baby!”
From too far away, in front of too many people, I called to her. “Marry me, Mel.”
Her head snapped up and her mouth gaped open at me.
I smiled down at Ame as the baby squealed and went crazy. She practically climbed out of the carrier and launched herself at Mel, she wanted her so badly. Mel worked on unstrapping Ame from the carrier. “Marry me. Please.”
Mel held Ame against her chest and just stared at me.
Her friend, Ingrid, came up beside me and scowled. “Get on your knee, you tallywacker.”
I nodded. “Right.”
Mel’s jaw dropped. On one knee in front of her, I looked up and smiled. “Mel, we were made for each other. I’ll spend the rest of our lives showing you that. Will you marry me?”
She suddenly smacked me on the shoulder with the back of her hand and growled in the cutest way at me. “Are you crazy? Get up!”
“Say yes and I will.”
Price and Ben shook their heads. “This is embarrassing.”
Ingrid hushed them and put her hands on her hips. “Now, don’t be rude, Mel.”
Mel scoffed. “Are you in on this?”
“Ben might’ve mentioned something about this happening. I might just support it.”
“Mel.” I drew her attention back to me. “What’ll it take to get you to say yes to me?”
She bounced Ame on her hip and pressed her lips to her Ame’s little head. “Are you sure—”
Someone in the crowd behind us, I think it was Aunt Nancy, yelled, “Say yes, or I will!”
Mel looked around, realizing for the first time we had an audience. She blushed furiously and then moved closer to me.
Everyone cheered and Ame’s swinging fist was too close to my head. After taking a solid punch to the jaw, I stood and looked down at my little sparring partner and then at my mate.
“There’s one more thing.”
Mel frowned. “What?”
“I have taken over parenting Ame. Forever.” I shook my head. “Jenny signed her parental rights away and I’m going to adopt her. We’re a package deal.”
Mel blinked away tears and cupped Ame’s head. “Are you using this baby to lure me in?”
“I won’t say it’s beneath me—”
Mel stroked my jaw with her free hand. “Yes. I will marry you. Both.”
I wrapped my two girls in my arms, the luckiest man in the entire world.
Mel took a deep breath and looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. “I’m going to be a wife and a mom. Finally.”
Epilogue: Mel
“Everyone’s seated. We’re ready to begin.” Ingrid smiled warmly as her eyes surveyed me approvingly.
“Coming.” One more quick glance at my make-up, and I couldn’t contain the grin that spread across my face. It was finally coming true. This was what I’d wanted for so long. All those years ago when I’d given up fame and a spot light in favor of a normal life as a noncelebrity, this was what I’d had in mind. I was beginning to think it would never happen.
“Aren’t you glad you didn’t settle?”
I just smiled and picked up the bouquet of wild flowers from the side table.
Outside the tent we’d had erected for the occasion, my brother and Ben stood waiting for me.
“Don’t be nervous, little sis. It’s going to be perfect.” Pierce kissed my forehead.
“He’s right. It is.” Ingrid clasped my hand and squeezed. “I’m going to take my seat. But here.” She tucked a tissue in my fist. “I brought a whole box.”
Pierce was on my left and Ben on my right. As the recorded wedding march began, the three of us took the first step down the aisle toward the gazebo on the beach under which Hamish MacGregor and I would say our vows.
For weeks I’d been fielding jokes from those two about how they might just give me away to the highest bidder, but today, their faces held proud, pleased, but serious expressions.
My engagement ring glinted in the sun and I wore a flowy, pale blue sundress for our beach wedding. My soon to be sister-in-law, and brother-in-law were in the front row. Warren had donated his wheelchair to charity a month ago, no longer having a use for it, and was in full remission.
Ame was on Heather’s lap, dressed in a frilly, pale blue dress I’d had made to match mine. It was easily the happiest I could ever remember being, well, it was a close tie with the day Mac and I signed the adoption papers making Amethyst Isabella MacGregor our daughter.
We weren’t opposed to having more children, but my age and my diabetes lowered my fertility rate. If it happened, it happened, if not, we were more than content with our family of three.
I’d been nervous about today, but surprisingly, it was Mac who calmed me last night and assured me that our lives together were meant to be and that everything was going to be imperfectly perfect.
The moment I spotted him, my lungs froze and my breath caught. Mac was standing under the gazebo that Parker, Laila, and Mariah had draped with flowy white fabric and clusters of floral sprays.
A flutter rushed through me, the way it always did when I looked at him. My mate was incredibly handsome in his light gray linen pants and bright white button down shirt.
Mac said a few words to the wedding officiant we’d hired, then his smiling face nodded at his firefighting buddies seated in the crowd. As he turned and spotted me, his grin was replaced with a look so intense, so filled with adoration, there was absolutely no doubt the man was in love with me.
I was sure my cheeks blushed bright red, and I averted my gaze to the ground as the three of us continued our slow walk to the gazebo.
It was going to be interesting having a wolf shifter for a husband and a wolf shifter for a daughter, but there was no one on earth I’d rather go through life with than those two.
The guests had all eyes focused on me as I slowly walked past the chairs that were set up in the sand on either side of the aisle. Parker wiggled her fingers in a mini wave. I’d promised her a written testimonial from Melody Manes for her website, since she was taking all the credit for our pairing. Ingrid waggled her eyebrows and gave me two thumbs up.
The ceremony itself was short and sweet, and throughout, I used the tissue from Ingrid to gently wipe away tears that I couldn’t keep from falling.
Afterward, we all met up at Mimi’s Cabana to celebrate.
I still maintained that Sunkissed Key was a magical place. At least it was for Mac and me and our family. We had everything—signed adoption papers, a framed marriage certificate, and we’d even acquired a cat that Ame just adored. He’d been a stray that showed up at our door one day and never left—a tree-climbing calico we named Walter.