24. Felicity

felicity

. . .

My sisters helped me get ready.

Winnie came over to Millie’s house—Hallie and Luna in tow—with an entire suitcase full of shoes, accessories, and cosmetics. While Millie blew out my hair, Winnie painted my nails and the girls came over with one pair of heels after another, slipping them on my feet and standing back to judge them.

“This is like Cinderella’s stepsisters after the ball,” said Luna excitedly.

“Except she’s not mean or ugly and all the shoes fit,” Hallie pointed out.

I laughed. “Which one do you think will go best with the dress?”

“The sparkly ones!” Luna said, pointing at my left foot. It was a sandal with rhinestone-studded straps and dangerously high heels. “Those look the most like glass slippers.”

“Of course you’d pick those. Isn’t there a princess who wore sneakers?”

“No. What should we do with her hair?” Millie asked Winnie.

“Hmmm.” Winnie wrapped one arm around her middle and tapped her lips with a finger. “What about a high bun? Sort of an Audrey Hepburn look?”

Millie nodded. “That could work.”

I slipped the dress on, Millie put up my hair, and Winnie did my makeup. Hallie and Luna helped me strap on the shoes, and then all four of them stood back and looked at me.

“Well?” I asked, turning in a circle. “How do I look?”

“Perfect.” Millie’s eyes were shining.

“I love that dress,” Luna gushed.

“Yes, even the hair isn’t bad.” Hallie nodded her approval. “I like it!”

I took one final look in Millie’s full-length mirror and had to admit I’d never felt so pretty. Maybe I didn’t have Winnie’s golden hair or Millie’s curves, but I was me, and I looked good . “Thanks, you guys.”

“I thought the party was a surprise,” said Luna. “How come you know about it?”

“Because Winnie can’t keep secrets,” Hallie reminded her.

“Shhh.” I held a finger to my lips. “We’re going to pretend I didn’t know. You all look wonderful too. I’m so glad you’ll all be there tonight.”

A moment later, there was a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it!” Both younger girls took off running for the stairs. The next thing I heard was loud squealing and clapping.

My sisters raced out of Millie’s room. I took one last look in the mirror, picked up my tiny evening bag, and carefully wobbled out to the top of the stairs. I held onto the banister and started down, but I only got halfway before I saw Hutton standing at the bottom, looking up at me.

My breath caught. He wore a black suit, white shirt, and the blue tie he’d worn to the reunion, the one that matched his eyes. His hair was combed in that movie star way that made my insides dance—although that one contrary piece had sprung loose—and his scruff was trimmed close.

Best of all was the way he looked at me.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said quietly, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Thank you.” I reached the bottom, and he took my hand.

“He rode here in a carriage, Felicity!” Hallie jumped up and down, clapping her hands.

“With two white horses!” Luna added, pushing the door open for us.

I looked at Hutton, my mouth agape. “Is this true ?”

He shrugged. “I heard that was how billionaires got around back in the day.”

Laughing, I stepped onto the porch and sucked in my breath, bringing both hands to my cheeks. “Oh my God!”

At the curb was an open white carriage, the kind tourists rent to be driven around town during the summer, harnessed to two beautiful white horses.

“Our driver’s name is Alfred,” said Hutton, offering his arm. “And he did warn me that it will take a little longer to get to Abelard by horse than by car, so we should probably get moving.”

“Wait, let me take a picture!” Millie raced back into the house and came out with her phone.

We posed for a few photos, then Hutton helped me into the carriage. The driver tipped his hat in my direction. “Miss.”

“Hello, Alfred,” I said. “Nice to meet you.”

“We’ll see you there!” Winnie called, while Hallie and Luna looked wistfully at the carriage. “And remember—you never knew about the party!”

I laughed and blew them a kiss. Hutton climbed in next to me and sat down. A moment later, we were on our way.

I took his hand in mine. “I cannot believe you did this. For someone who doesn’t like to be the center of attention, this is insane. Are you really Hutton French, the friend I’ve known for fifteen years?”

He laughed. “Yes and no. I’m really Hutton French, but I don’t want to be just your friend anymore.”

“Good. Because I’m wildly in love with you.”

His eyes traveled over me. “You’re stunning, Felicity. I know I have to share you with a lot of people tonight, but I can’t wait to take you home.”

My face warmed. “I missed you so much while you were gone. I hated sleeping alone.”

“You don’t ever have to sleep alone again, if you don’t want to.” He took my hand. “I meant what I said last night. I want to love you forever.”

“That’s what I want too.” Scooting closer to him, I rested my head on his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around me. The sun was warm on my face, and I closed my eyes. “So what now? Should we just pretend like we’ve decided to postpone the wedding? We can always say that Millie couldn’t?—”

“Hey.” He gave me a squeeze. “How about we just enjoy the ride for now?”

I smiled. “Sounds good to me.”

About thirty minutes later, the carriage turned into the driveway of Abelard Vineyards. I sat up and smoothed the full skirt of my dress.

That’s when Hutton groaned. “Oh, Jesus.”

“What?”

He pointed a little way up the drive. “Looks like our public is here to greet us.”

I looked up and started to laugh. The Prancin’ Grannies, all decked out in their pink bedazzled shirts, lined either side of the gravel road, waving and shouting. “Hello! Congratulations! We’re so happy for you!”

I recognized Gladys as I waved back and smiled, calling out, “Thank you!”

“One of them—Mona—is married to Alfred,” he explained. “That’s how I arranged this so quickly.”

“Wow, you and the Grannies are tight these days,” I teased.

“They were very eager to help me make this special for you.”

“Awww. That’s so nice of them.”

The carriage pulled up to Abelard’s entrance, and Hutton helped me down. “We might have to invite them to our wedding.”

My heart thumped hard as my feet hit the ground. “Our what?”

He pointed to the sky, and I followed the line of his finger.

And gasped—there in the sky was a small airplane with a banner behind it that read Felicity, will you marry me?

Stunned, I looked at Hutton, who’d gone down on one knee.

“This is the real thing,” he said, taking my left hand in both of his. His mouth hooked into a boyish grin. “I already got you the ring, and you’re already wearing the dress, so I thought maybe I should ask you the real question.”

“Oh my God.” I touched my heart with my free hand. “Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Felicity MacAllister, I’ve loved you longer than you know, and there will never be another human on this earth that matters more to me. I may not have magic powers, but you understand me, you accept me, you make me happy. I know this is probably a shock to you, and if you don’t want to say yes today, that’s okay too, but you are the only one for me, today and always.”

“Yes,” I said, tears slipping down my cheeks. “Of course yes! A thousand times yes!”

He stood up and embraced me, our lips meeting in the sweetest, realest kiss we’d ever shared. Behind him the Prancin’ Grannies cheered, and even the horses whinnied their approval.

I smiled up at Hutton. “You do have magic powers—you turned this thing into a real engagement party!”

He held a finger to his lips.

I laughed, happier than I’d ever been. “I’ll never tell.”

“What do you say, ladies? Alfred?” Hutton turned to our audience. “Would you like to join us?”

“We thought you’d never ask,” said a granny with thick penciled-in eyebrows.

Hutton turned to me. “Felicity, this is Jackie. Her grandson is flying the plane up there.”

“It’s so nice to meet you, Jackie.” I smiled at all the grannies. “And thank you all for being here.”

“You’re very welcome.” Jackie patted Hutton’s back. “Lead the way.”

They pranced behind us all the way to the patio, where our families greeted us with a loud, exuberant, “Surprise!” As we caught our breath, the Clipper Cuts launched into “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.”

“Guess this is our song,” I whispered to Hutton.

He pulled me in front of him and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Their repertoire is limited,” he whispered back. “But it works for me.”

I wasn’t sure whether it was the old-fashioned harmonies, or the simple sentiment of the lyrics, or being surrounded by everyone we loved that made me so emotional, but I couldn’t help weeping as the song ended.

“Awww,” Mrs. French said as she embraced me. “I’m so happy, I could cry too!”

Frannie, also misty-eyed, hugged me next, followed by my dad—who held me so tight, I choked up again—then Millie, Winnie, Audrey and Emmeline, Allie, and Dex’s girls.

“We passed you on the road!” Luna told me. “But we weren’t allowed to yell out the windows.”

“Or honk the horn,” added Hallie.

“Thank you so much for coming,” I said to them. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“We love engagement parties,” said Hallie. “Last time we went to one was the day we met Winnie!”

“We’re hoping our dad will ask Winnie to marry him, but he says to stop bugging him about it,” said Luna.

Hallie shook her head. “We’ll never stop bugging him about it.”

“Never,” agreed Luna.

“But there’s one thing I don’t understand,” Hallie said, pointing at the plane, which was still flying overhead. “Why does that sign say ‘Felicity, will you marry me?’ Weren’t you already engaged?”

Hutton and I looked at each other, and he smiled.

“Yes and no,” I said, taking his hand. “Both things can be true.”

The party was still in full swing when I saw Hutton standing alone beyond the edge of the patio, his back to me, his hands in his pockets as he studied the rolling hills of the vineyard in the light of the setting sun.

I excused myself from the conversation I was listening to and made my way over to him. “Hey,” I said, tucking my arm inside his. “How are you? Sorry we got separated.”

“I’m fine.” He smiled at me. “Just needed a minute or two to catch my breath.”

“You’ve been amazing tonight. Thank you for this.” I tipped my head onto his shoulder. “For everything.”

“You’re welcome.”

I inhaled the sweet summer evening and let my gaze wander over the neat rows of grapevines and fruit trees. “It’s so beautiful here, isn’t it?”

“Would you like to live here?”

“At Abelard?” I laughed. “Who wouldn’t?”

“Maybe not this exact spot, but maybe we could find something nearby. Or something on the water. Or something with some acreage and you could have your own small farm.” He chuckled. “I might like being a farmer. Seems like a job with a lot of solitude.”

I faced him. “You’re serious?”

“Yes.” He shrugged. “I told Wade I might not come back to HFX.”

My jaw dropped. “ What? ”

“It will likely mean a significant drop in my tax bracket, but I was thinking of doing something else with my life—starting with marrying you.”

My throat closed up and I shook my head. “I feel like someone is going to wake me up any minute. This is a dream. You’d give up being a billionaire for me?”

He laughed. “I’ll still be a billionaire. But on a smaller scale. Hopefully small enough that no one will care about me anymore.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest. “I’ll care. Not about your billions. Just about you.”

He embraced me, kissing the top of my head. “Will you move back in with me?”

“Of course I will.”

“And stay for seventy-two years?”

I smiled and hugged him tighter. “At least.”

“Speaking of home, how much longer do we have to stay at this party? As much as I love you in that dress, I’m going to love you out of it even more.”

“You know what?” I tilted my head back and looked up at him, my blood rushing hotter at the thought of his skin on mine. “I think we’ve given them enough of us tonight. Should we say our goodbyes and sneak out?”

He pressed his lips to mine. “You never have to ask me that question twice.”

Hutton had arranged for Neil to drive his car to the party, so we were able to get home quickly. Actually, quickly was an understatement—I’d never seen Hutton drive so fast.

When we arrived, he threw the SUV into park and hustled around to open the passenger door for me. We entered the house through the kitchen, which was dark and shadowy. I started to walk toward the bedroom, but as soon as the door was closed behind us, Hutton grabbed my wrist. “Come here.”

Crushing his mouth to mine, he kissed me hard and deep, his hands sliding into my hair. Pins clattered to the floor. Our lips and tongues met, caressing and consuming. He backed me into the refrigerator, his hard body pressing close, his mouth moving down my throat while I struggled to breathe.

This man will be my husband.

Desire radiated from deep inside me, and I shoved at the lapels of his jacket, trying to push it off his shoulders. He shrugged out of it and let it fall to the floor before putting his hands on my bare back, sliding them inside the dress, his fingers digging into my ribs as his mouth renewed its assault on mine. Frustrated, I tried to yank his shirt from his pants, but he was bigger and stronger and held me too tight.

I moved one hand to his crotch and stroked the thick, hard bulge, gratified when he moaned. “I want this,” I whispered against his lips, rubbing his cock. “I need it.”

“You’ll have to wait.” He grabbed me around the waist, spun around. And set me up on that gorgeous marble island. “I’m hungry.”

Before I knew it, he’d pulled my lace panties down my legs and tossed them aside. Then his head disappeared beneath the tulle skirt of my dress. I dropped back onto my elbows, crying out as his mouth descended on me with long, decadent strokes and quick, hard flicks and glorious, swirling motions that turned the dark kitchen ceiling to a sky full of stars. He slipped his fingers inside me, working in tandem with his tongue. I hooked my legs over his shoulders, crossing my ankles behind his head. In minutes, my entire lower body tightened and tensed, every nerve ending alive and humming.

He sucked my clit into his mouth and my head dropped back, my cries bounced off the walls, and my body contracted around his fingers as my orgasm rippled against his tongue.

Before I even caught my breath, he straightened up and swept me off the island, carrying me toward the bedroom. Panting and dizzy, I hung onto his neck for dear life, afraid that if I let go, my body would just slither to the floor because he’d melted my bones. Miraculously, I managed to stand when he set me on my feet at the foot of the bed.

“I’d rip this dress to shreds just to get it off you, but not if you want to wear it again,” he said, caging my ribs with his hands. “So tell me now.”

“No ripping!” I said frantically. “I want to get married in this dress. Side zipper.”

He unzipped the dress and slid the sleeves from my shoulders. It fell to my feet in a cloud of white. Carefully, I stepped out of it, scooped it up, and laid it across the chair in the corner of the bedroom.

“But wait,” I said, slipping out of the heels. “You’ve seen the dress already. Is that bad luck?”

“Nope. We make our own luck,” he said, loosening the knot in his tie and pulling it from his collar. “I mean, I could spend a couple minutes trying to convert our odds to implied probabilities, but I’m afraid my cognitive abilities have been hijacked by my dick and I’m likely to misjudge the variance of the payout. Now get over here.”

Laughing, I went running straight for him and jumped into his arms, lassoing my legs around his still fully clothed body. Taken by surprise, he was knocked off balance and we tumbled onto the bed. I sat up, straddling his thighs, and unbuckled his belt. “You’re such a math nerd.”

“Some things never change,” he said, palming my breasts, teasing my nipples with his thumbs.

Somehow, I managed to get the rest of his clothes off, although he didn’t make it easy since he kept distracting me with his mouth and his hands. But finally, he couldn’t wait another minute either, and he flipped me beneath him and reached for a condom.

I held my breath as he eased inside me, one hot, thick inch at a time, and we moaned in sync as he buried himself deep. “I love you,” I whispered, pulling him closer.

“I love you too,” he said as he began to move. “And I don’t care what the odds are. I’d bet on us every time.”

He covered my mouth with his, and I surrendered—to the sinuous motion of his hips, to the friction and heat between us, to the driving rhythm of his cock deep inside me, to the final throes of our shared release, where it was impossible to tell where he ended and I began.

I felt no fear in my heart—just love and belonging and hope.

When our energy was finally sapped—it took a while—we finally collapsed and snuggled close.

“If anyone comes to the door in the morning, we’re not answering it,” Hutton said gruffly. “I’m not sharing you.”

“Deal,” I said. “We can stay in bed all day, and then go get the rest of my—shoot!”

“What?”

I’d forgotten about fucking Mimi—I’d promised her a story by tomorrow. I sat up and put a hand on his warm, breathing chest. “I have to tell you something, and you’re not going to like it.”

“Now?” He yawned. “Because I’m really fucking content, and if it’s like a big brunch or something you want me to attend in the morning, I’d rather not know.”

“It’s not brunch. It’s Mimi Pepper-Peabody.” I told him about her overhearing me at Plum & Honey, and then accosting me at work.

Hutton propped himself up on one elbow. “Wait. She’s trying to blackmail you?”

“Not exactly. I don’t think she wants money or anything. She just wants a story.”

“Well, fuck her. She can’t have ours.” He lay down again. “I’ll fucking buy that stupid tabloid tomorrow and put it out of business.”

I laughed. “I know you would, but you know what? I’d rather have the satisfaction of telling Mimi she has no power over me anymore.”

“Good. She’s the one who’s going to look like an asshole anyway, since we actually are getting married.”

“True.”

“When do you want to do that, anyway?”

“Get married?” I thought for a moment. “You know, unless you want to wait, we could just keep the wedding date Millie set aside for us at Cloverleigh Farms.”

“I don’t need to wait. I know what I want.”

I smiled at the conviction in his voice. “Then let’s do it. We can let everyone know tomorrow to save the date.” I snuggled up to him again.

“Oh yeah. I forgot there would be other people involved. I don’t suppose I can convince you to elope, huh?”

“No, but I don’t need a three-ring circus either. Just our families.”

“And the Prancin’ Grannies.”

I laughed. “And the Prancin’ Grannies.”

The next afternoon, Hutton and I met Mimi at Plum & Honey. I told him he didn’t have to be there, but he said he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to see me tell Mimi to go fuck herself—although I didn’t plan on using those words. I wouldn’t need them.

When she slid onto a chair across from us, she looked surprised. “You’re here together ?”

“Of course we are,” I said. “And we only have a few minutes because we’re heading to Cloverleigh Farms to finalize plans for our ceremony.”

Mimi’s jaw dropped. “Ceremony? As in, you’re really getting married?”

“We’re really getting married. Last Sunday in August.”

“But you said it was fake! I heard you!”

“You must have misunderstood,” I said calmly, taking a sip of my coffee.

Mimi scowled. “I did not. You admitted it to me in the tasting room at Abelard.”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you mean. You were drinking that day. Perhaps you’re confused—wine can do that to you.”

“I wasn’t confused,” Mimi insisted. “You told me you’d made the whole thing up to take me down a notch. Now you’re saying it’s real?”

“Exactly.” I snapped my fingers twice. “Keep up.”

She sat back and folded her arms over her chest. “I could still leak the story.”

“You could,” I agreed, “but you’re the one who will look like a fool when we tie the knot.”

Mimi pouted. “This isn’t fair. I’m not the one who lied, but I’m being punished.”

“You lied to Felicity at the reunion when you swore you wouldn’t reveal our engagement,” Hutton pointed out.

“Oh, come on.” Mimi rolled her eyes. “Felicity knew I was going to tell everyone—I’m the mean girl. I’ve always been the mean girl. People are only friends with me because I intimidate them.”

“Tell you what, Mimi,” I said. “You stop trying to intimidate me, and I’ll try being your friend for real.”

“Seriously?” She perked up a little. “Can I come to your wedding?”

“We’ll see.”

“And will you cater my bridal shower? I can’t stop thinking about those watermelon crostinis.”

I shrugged. “Sure.”

“And maybe...” She fussed with the ends of her hair. “Maybe you could give me the name of your stylist? I’ve been thinking about trying some little bangs like yours.”

I burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Mimi asked.

“Actually, Mimi, I cut them myself.”

“You cut your own hair?” She was visibly horrified.

“Sometimes. It’s a nervous habit, something I do when I feel like my life is out of my control.” I shrugged. “I shouldn’t do it, but you know what?”

“What?”

“It’s okay if I do. I don’t have to be perfect. Or fashionable. Or even symmetrical.” I looked at Hutton, and his smile was everything. “I can just be me. And that’s enough.”