Epilogue
One Year Later…
Eva studied her reflection in the mirror. She was almost ready. Picking up her bronzer, she brushed a little more powder on her cheeks.
“How goes it in here?”
Eva whipped around to find Tanner peering in through the dressing room’s French doors.
“What are you doing here?” She frantically waved him away, then covered her face. “You know it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!”
“Aw, that’s a lot of hogwash.” Tanner laughed. “You couldn’t run me off. Although, I can’t maybe say the same about you. Everything all right? You look like a rabbit getting ready for the pot.”
Eva gasped. “I look like a rabbit?”
She quickly turned back to the mirror and began straightening her veil, pushing it down to lose some of the height from her hair. “Maybe you’re right. All the fluffy white my mother insisted I wear makes me look like a stuffed animal!”
Tanner let out a deep, throaty laugh. “Naw. You look great, darling.”
He walked towards her, wrapped his arms around her from behind, and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
“You think so?”
“I sure do,” he whispered in her ear. “You look like heaven.”
The warmth of his breath washed over her. She turned slightly to meet his welcoming mouth.
“Hey, you two!”
They both pulled apart at the sound of Cathy’s voice.
“Y’all need to save that for the wedding… which ain’t gonna happen if the two of you don’t git. Especially you, Mr. Loverboy. Didn’t nobody tell you it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?”
Tanner let out a small sigh, his eyes rolling heavenwards. “Like I told my lovely bride, nothing bad is going to hap—”
He trailed off at the sound of distant barking.
Eva looked at Cathy. “Where are the dogs?”
“Um…” Cathy gave her a sheepish grin. “They keep fighting over the pillows. Not too sure they like the idea of wearing the rings.”
Eva let out a groan. It had turned out that the wedding gig Tanner’s mom wanted to land had been this one. And being the designer that she was, she had sold them on the vision of a pair of doggy ring bearers. Everyone thought it was a fabulous idea… except Hunter. After almost a year of model behavior, he was once again acting out and behaving completely rambunctious. He had even torn off his outfit several times. She looked up at her husband-to-be. “I’m not too sure Hunter likes the ‘girlfriend’ you picked out for him.”
Tanner laughed and gave her a knowing look. “Oh, he likes her. Trust me.”
Eva glanced back to Cathy who was quick to soothe her fears. “I’ll go see if your mother needs any help with them.”
She popped back out of the room. Tanner turned back to his bride.
“Now where were we?” he asked. He leaned in again, but Eva held one hand up to stop him, placing it on his mouth. He kissed her fingertips. “Hey, I don’t mind starting there.”
“You’re bad.” She playfully slapped his arm.
“No, not bad… just back.” He placed a quick peck on the top of her forehead. “Thanks to you.”
Eva smiled. “We’ve been through this before. I didn’t do anything special.”
“I think you did,” he countered. “Maybe you didn’t take me by the hand, stand me up, and help me take step by step... Oh, wait a minute. Yes you did.”
He smiled and she knew he was thinking back to their first meeting in the clinic, and all the progress he had made since. From wheelchair to little more than a limp, Tanner’s accomplishments were nothing less than miraculous.
“The thing is you helped me get back to the person I used to be – to look to the future instead of wallowing in the past.”
Her eyes met his. The love he had for her radiated in his expression. Peace settled within her.
“You did the same for me,” she said. “You never once tried to mold me into the woman you wanted me to be, just accepted me for who I am. Thank you.”
Tanner pulled her close and wrapped her in a sweet embrace. “Aw, you don’t have to thank me, darling. Loving you is a blessing… especially when you smell so nice.”
Eva giggled. She knew almond butter was his favorite scent, but still tried to play coy.
“Oh, do you like it?”
“Mmm.” He tilted her face up and – before covering her mouth with his – whispered the words she longed to hear. “I like it almost as much as I love you.”