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Epilogue Courtney

EPILOGUE COURTNEY

Courtney

Tears shimmer in my eyes, but I blink them away. Even happy tears are not allowed today, at least not until after the ceremony and pictures. The last thing I want to do is destroy my makeup on my wedding day.

"You look beautiful, big sister," Chloe tells me, blinking away her own tears.

"Stop. Both of you." Mom dabs at her eyes with a tissue. "I'm so happy both of my girls found their forever. That's all I ever wanted for both of you."

The heaviness of how my relationship with Merrick started sits on my chest. He and I have talked a lot about me coming clean, and he said he'll follow my lead. My heart and my gut are telling me that I can't walk down that aisle without spilling my guts.

"Hey, can you go grab Dad and Rodney?" I ask Chloe.

"Are we making a run for it?" she asks.

I laugh and playfully roll my eyes. "No. The only place I'll be running is down the aisle to Merrick."

"Phew. All right. I'll be right back." She winks and leaves the room to grab her husband and our father.

"What's going on?" Mom asks.

I smile, hoping to reassure her. "Nothing. I just want to talk to the four of you before walking down the aisle."

She raises her brow but doesn't comment. Thankfully, Chloe enters the room with Dad and Rodney in tow.

"Hey." I wave awkwardly. "Y'all might want to sit down for this."

"You're pregnant!" Mom shouts, not out of anger but out of happiness, if the smile on her face is any indication.

"No." I laugh. "Just have a seat." I continue to stand. Partly because the sleek white silk dress I'm wearing is easily prone to wrinkles, and partly because I'm too nervous to sit still. The four of them take a seat on the long leather couch, and I take a deep breath before blurting out my truth.

"It was all fake. Merrick and me, in the beginning, it was fake." I pause, waiting for one of them to say something, but they all keep their mouths locked tight, so I keep going. "Mom, you were on me constantly to date and to find a date to their wedding." I point to my sister and new brother-in-law.

Another pause. Still nothing. Exhaling, I continue, "I was at work and looking at a family picture that Jordyn had on the desk, and my eyes landed on Merrick. He was the only single brother left, and his name fell from my lips, accompanied with the lie before I knew what I was doing."

Again, no reply. Just their rapt attention.

"Merrick walked in, and one thing led to another, and he offered to help me. We were just supposed to hang out a few times, and then he was going to be my date to the wedding, and then we would part ways, and I could tell you all that we broke up."

Radio silence.

"We started hanging out, and it suddenly didn't feel all that fake." Their lack of reaction is really starting to get to me, so I rush through the rest. "We fell in love, decided to stay real, and here we are."

I stand with my hands fisted at my sides, waiting. No one speaks.

"Somebody say something."

"We knew." My mom smiles softly.

"What?" I whisper.

"Sweetheart, you're my daughter. I know you better than you know you. There was no way you kept a boyfriend or a guy you'd been seeing from me. Then we had dinner, and you ran into Merrick, and I could just tell." She shrugs as if it's no big deal.

"Why didn't you say something?" I ask.

"Oh, I did. To these three." She laughs.

"And none of you thought to tell me that you knew?"

"We figured you had your reasons," Chloe speaks up.

"And we could see it," Dad chimes in. "Only a fool wouldn't be able to see the chemistry between the two of you. Merrick looked at you like I look at your mother, and Rodney, your sister. Why would we mess with that?"

"All this time I carried this guilt, and you all knew?" My shoulders fall, and my hands release from their tight grip at my sides.

"Courtney." Mom stands and rushes to me, hugging me tightly. "We knew you had your reasons, and I knew that I was a big part of that. I know I come on strong. I just wanted to see you happy. Merrick did that. We knew it was real before either of you did." She smiles, and all the tension leaves my body. "I'm sorry I made you feel like you had to lie to us, but it did bring Merrick into our lives. Into our family. I'd say he's a pretty perfect fit if you ask me."

"I love him."

"We know you do."

"You're not mad at me?" I ask her before making eye contact with my dad, then Chloe and Rodney.

"Never." Mom shakes her head.

"He makes you happy."

"We're happy for you."

"You. Even when we went out on double dates, you knew?"

Rodney wraps his arm around my sister. "We knew," he confirms. "It was easy to see from the outside looking in."

"I love you guys," I say, breathing out a deep breath to hold off my tears. My family rushes around me and we form one giant group hug.

"Okay, back off. We don't want to wrinkle the dress," Chloe says, stepping away.

"He wouldn't care." Rodney chuckles. "Trust me. I know." He winks at my sister.

My heart is so full, it feels as though it might burst. I link my arm through my dad's and smile up at him. "Let's get moving. My man is waiting for me."

Everyone starts to laugh, and I'm glad I went with my gut. My family loves me, and I'm worthy of that love. Merrick taught me that, and I plan to spend the rest of my life showing him my appreciation by loving him with my whole heart.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look, wife?" Merrick asks, leaning in close, his lips next to my ear.

"And you, my husband, are looking dapper." I smile up at him as we sway to the slow tune on the makeshift dance floor at Kincaid Central.

We wanted a small wedding. I didn't want all the fanfare. Merrick, me, and those we love the most were there to witness us pledging our love to one another. The day was perfect, and I couldn't have asked for anything else.

"You know we're behind, right?" he asks, leaning down and kissing my neck.

"Behind on what?" I tilt my head, giving him better access. I don't care that our families are here. This man, he's my husband, my everything, my real, and I want to savor that. It is our wedding day, after all.

"What are you talking about?" I ask, barely able to think about anything other than his hands and mouth all over my body. However, even with my mind in the gutter, I know what he's talking about. I just want to hear him say it. We've talked a lot about what's next for us, and we're both on the same page.

"Babies," he says, kissing the corner of my mouth. "I'm the last to get married, so they all have a head start on us."

"You want to start on that tonight?" I know he does, but I still like to hear him say it. Trust me, when your new husband tells you he wants to make babies with you, it's hot as hell.

"Yes. As soon as you give me the green light, I want babies."

"Okay." I smirk up at him.

He rewards me with a sexy smile. "Best word ever." He chuckles. "So, when?"

I can feel the excited energy rolling off him in waves.

"I tossed my birth control pills this morning."

"What?" He stands to his full height and peers down at me. His grip on my hips tightens as a slow smile spreads across his face. "For real?"

I nod. "Yeah, I'm ready to start our forever. Wedding, babies, you know, all the things."

His head falls back in laughter as he crushes me to his chest.

"I love you, wife."

"I love you too, husband."

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