Epilogue

Epilogue

Gia

I loved mornings on Silas’s deck. We drank coffee and looked out over the water. “I can’t believe it’s John and Emma’s wedding day.”

“Does this mean I won’t see you here as often?” Silas asked.

“I hope this wedding is just the beginning of many.”

Silas’s expression sobered. “I don’t know if it’s going to work out.”

I tipped my head to the side. “How many couples have requested me?”

“Too many,” Silas admitted as he sipped his coffee.

“I think you need me.”

He flashed me a smile. “In more ways than one. I need you in my bed and in my house."

I frowned. “But how will I manage the back-and-forth? My business is in Annapolis.”

“Your book and digital course have been released, and it’s doing well.”

I’d reached out to podcasts and taken every interview offered to me. The publicity had helped my book take off. When I released my digital course, it outsold anything I could have imagined. I decided to keep it open for a limited time, which increased demand and urgency. I planned to launch the course twice a year.

I enjoyed teaching, talking to other women in business, and empowering them to keep going. A few inquired about one-on-one meetings, so I took on a few high-priced coaching clients. It was Harper’s idea to offer a cheaper monthly membership for those who couldn’t afford the one-on-one coaching. It was an amazing opportunity for the wedding planners to ask questions.

These coaching sessions gave me ideas for other courses to offer. I had ideas for more books. As much as I loved wedding planning, these new offerings fed my soul. I felt more satisfied than I had when I was just planning parties.

The online buzz surrounding the book and course had grown larger than I ever could have imagined. It had the added effect of increasing demand for me as a wedding planner. Now I was seen as an expert in my industry. I increased my prices overall to meet the demand and hired a few more wedding planners to handle the weddings in Annapolis.

Silas leaned back in his chair. “You’ve put my resort on the map.”

His resort was mentioned alongside my name in every article or podcast about me and my offerings.

“I should tell you that Bridal Magazine will be on-site today to cover the wedding.”

I laughed and then stopped when I saw his serious expression. “You’re kidding.”

“I’m not.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I need to get on-site now and make sure everything is ready.” I stood, intending to go inside and get ready.

Silas stopped me with a hand on my wrist. “Babe, everything is covered. Ireland will be here today to assist you. I already talked to her about her keeping an eye on things this morning.”

I sat back down, my mind still racing. “You can’t expect me to sit around the house when a magazine is covering my wedding.”

“It’s not your wedding,” Silas said easily.

I waved a hand. “You know what I mean—the one I planned. My reputation is on the line.”

“It’s not,” Silas said firmly. “You’ve done an amazing job planning everything, and you have a team you can trust to ensure it goes as planned.”

I looked out over the water, wanting to enjoy this morning with Silas. I didn’t want the stress of John and Emma’s wedding, or the fact a magazine was on-site, to infiltrate our bubble.

Silas took my hand, interlacing his fingers with mine. “I have a proposal for you.”

“You want me to handle more high-end weddings at your resort?” I asked, anticipating what he was going to say.

He turned my chair so that we were facing each other and held both of my hands.

“What’s going on?” His somber expression scared me. Would he propose that we go back to how things were before?

Then he pushed back his chair and dropped to one knee.

My heart galloped in my chest. “Silas?”

Silas took my left hand in both of his. “You came into my life and changed everything—how I viewed life and business and, most importantly, my thoughts on love. I never thought about settling down or spending Saturday mornings with a special someone. But you changed all of that.”

I blinked back the tears. “What are you saying?”

“I love you, Gia. I want to spend every Saturday just like this. Will you spend the rest of your life with me, drinking coffee and enjoying the breeze over the water?”

“I’d love to,” I said, my heart thumping hard in my chest.

“Will you marry me and be my wife? Will you be my soft place to land at the end of every night?”

I nodded through the blur of tears. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”

Happiness surged through me as he rested his forehead against mine. “I love you so much. I didn’t know what I was going to do if you said no.”

“Why would you think that?” I slid off the chair to straddle his lap.

He gave me a look. “Did you forget the part of the proposal where I talked about you challenging me at every turn?”

I laughed, practically giddy with happiness. “I don’t remember that.”

“I must have forgotten it because I was so nervous you’d say no.”

I cupped his jaw with my hands. “I could never say no to you.”

He grabbed my wrists. “I want to live here. I want to raise a family in this house. I know your business is elsewhere, but I think we can make this work.”

“I’ve been thinking about expanding the wedding planning business to this area and offering the Annapolis area to Aria or Ireland to be the head wedding planner. Aria wants more responsibility, but I’m not sure which one is right for the position.

“I’m so proud of you.”

“Because I finally listened to you and delegated more?” The reason I felt so comfortable doing this now was because of the success of the book and the course. I could finally relax, knowing my business made a consistent profit, and I had plans to increase it.

“We give each other advice and lift each other up.” He pulled out a velvet box from his pocket.

“I almost forgot about this.”

I was so surprised by the proposal that I hadn’t thought about the formalities, like the ring and the wedding.

He slid the yellow diamond onto my ring finger.

“It’s gorgeous.”

“I wanted something unique and valuable, just like you.”

“It’s perfect,” I murmured as I admired the way it shined in the morning sun.

“You’re perfect.” Then he kissed me, and I rocked my core against his hardening length. But it was slow and sensual, as if we weren’t in a rush to get anywhere. I wanted to enjoy this moment forever.

When he finally pulled back with short kisses, he asked, “Have you thought about where we’d get married?”

I frowned because I’d never thought about my wedding. I’d spent so much time planning other people’s that I had no idea what I’d want. He shifted me in his arms and lifted me so that we were sitting in one chair.

I rested my head on his shoulder, admiring the view I’d never get enough of. The water. The sun glinting off the surface. Silas’s chest under my cheek. “I don’t know.”

Silas lifted my chin with his finger. “Gia Giovanni, wedding planner extraordinaire, has no idea where she’d hold her wedding?”

“That’s right. Getting married wasn’t something I thought about.”

He kissed me softly, and when he pulled back, I took in the large deck and the flat yard leading to the water. “I love this place. The privacy. The view.”

“Would you want to get married here?”

“It could be just our families and friends. Small and private. But I could see it now: twinkly lights strung through the trees, tables and chairs cleared away for a dance floor under the stars. It could be perfect.”

He kissed me again. “It is perfect because it’s what you want.”

“What about you? Don’t you have any ideas or thoughts about where you’d want it?”

“This property is my sanctuary, and I can’t imagine a better place for us to get married. I wondered if you wanted a big wedding, maybe even a spread in a bridal magazine. I’m positive media outlets will want to cover it.”

I shuddered at the thought. “I don’t want that attention on me, or the pressure to have a splashy wedding. I want something simple yet elegant. I want something that’s us.”

And we were this place.

“I’d close down the resort for you.”

“You would?” I asked, a little surprised he’d do that.

“Whatever you want.”

“Maybe we could close it down for our families, and we could have the rehearsal dinner there.”

“I want to give you whatever you want.”

“I just want to be with you and love you forever.” I wanted an everlasting kind of love, and I had a feeling this thing with Silas would stand the test of time.

“That’s the easy part.” Then he kissed me until the sun was shining high in the sky.