Epilogue
Summertime
No two people had ever looked more beautiful. Hadley was sure of it.
As Isabel and Taylor walked hand in hand down the beach together to the sound of a solo violin, Hadley was a goner. Remembering to breathe in the midst of all of this beauty would be a task. The brides were barefoot and each carried a single white calla lily, which perfectly accentuated the simplicity of the dresses Spencer had designed for the ceremony. Isabel’s dress was more casual in nature, short and lacy with an asymmetrical hemline and V-neck. It was amazing how accurately the dress captured who Isabel was—part of Spencer’s talent. Taylor’s dress was longer and fuller and fell just above her bare feet. While also white, it transitioned into a beautiful light blue ombré as the fabric neared the hemline. They held hands and gazed at each other as a photographer snapped a photo.
The wedding on Venice Beach was a small affair, attended by just a handful of friends and family. Instead of assembling and sitting formally, everyone stood, looking on, as the sun met the water and the rings were prepared. The sunset arrived on time and did not disappoint, haloing the couple in amazing pinks, oranges, purples. Hadley squeezed Spencer’s hand just in time for the vows, her very favorite part.
“Isabel, you are the most unexpected gift,” Taylor said, as she held Isabel’s ring in her hand. “Never once did I imagine my life could be as full and wonderful as it became the moment you walked into it. I hope, with all I have, that you will continue spilling coffee on my belongings, encouraging me to eat junk food, and challenging me, making me think, and coloring in my life until the end of our time on Earth. I love you, and with this ring promise to continue loving you always. I vow to support you, stand by you, and be there for you even on the most difficult of days. In fact, it’s the most natural thing I could imagine doing. You’re my everything.” Isabel’s hand shook as Taylor slid the ring onto her finger. They exchanged a watery smile.
Okay, it was time! Hadley knew Isabel was nervous about this part and willed all of the courage in the world her direction. “You got this,” she mouthed, and squeezed Spencer’s hand extra hard to punctuate. Isabel nodded back and accepted Taylor’s ring from the officiant. “I have no idea what you’re doing with me,” Isabel blurted, pulling an unexpected laugh from the guests, as well as Taylor. “Seriously. You may have the wrong girl.” Taylor shook her head. “But since you’re still here, I’m not about to let you get away. Taylor Andrews, you are the kindest among kind, the smartest among the brilliant, and the most beautiful woman on the planet. If you hadn’t agreed to marry me, I don’t know where I’d be. This is infinitely better. I’ve never been so excited to wake up each morning as I have been since you came into my life and changed it forever.” This time it was Spencer’s turn to squeeze Hadley’s hand. Their gazes collided in warmth. “I guarantee there will be more coffee spilling and swear words at the most inappropriate of times.” She held up the ring in pledge. “But there will also be continued love, and tenderness, and kindness, and loyalty. I’m yours forever, Taylor. My heart beats for you.” There were tears running down Taylor’s face, just as there were Hadley’s. She rejected the tissue Gia offered her and embraced the happy emotion.
When it was time for the brides to kiss, the small group of guests erupted in applause. Will, in his tiny little man suit, burst into tears at the shock of noise. Spencer graciously took him in her arms and shushed him back to calm with her soothing words, as Autumn bounced a dressed-to-the-nines Carrie, who it turned out loved clothes and who babbled away constantly these days.
“That was a game-changer ceremony,” Spencer said, as they waited for the variety of photos to be taken after its conclusion.
“What do you mean, game changer?” Hadley asked.
She shook her head in awe. “I’ve never seen one so sincere, so meaningful. All the weddings I’ve been to were stuffy and inside a church. This one was so heartfelt and honest and them. I want ours to be more like that one. Like us.”
“Ours?” Hadley asked, as she accepted a glass of Champagne from Scarlett, who was on pouring duty.
“Yes, ours,” Spencer said, leaning in for a kiss. “And we probably shouldn’t wait too long either. Though my mama is gonna want to be very involved, and that’s gonna be a whole separate can of worms.”
“My dads, too. Get ready. They’ve had ideas about my wedding since I was nine.”
“Good thing they all get along.”
Hadley grinned at the recent memory of her dads playing corn hole in pastels at the last Adair outdoor cookout. They’d all had the best time and stayed up well past midnight on the Adairs’ back patio, getting to know each other and drinking wine.
“You don’t let her get away again, you hear me?” Sonny had said over her shoulder to Hadley, once they were alone in the kitchen. “That child doesn’t know what’s good for her all the time. But you? You’re good for her.”
“Aww, Sonny,” Hadley said, and pulled her into a hug. “That means a lot to me.”
“You know what means a lot to me? You and my daughter so happy together. I’ve never seen her like this, all breezy with grins, and it’s all because of you. I knew it the minute I saw the two of you together in my living room. So, listen, if I have anything to say about it? You’re not going anywhere.”
“We are in agreement, because I plan to stick around.”
“Good! Now will you help me carry this sangria outside? You grab the glasses. I’ll grab the goods.”
“Yes, ma’am. I will happily do that for you.”
Since returning to LA, things between her and Spencer had only continued to blossom. With the new line selling remarkably well at Silhouette, Spencer had been able to take a breather from the world of fast-paced online sales and pay others to handle that end of the business for her. Instead, she spent her days and nights dreaming, designing, and meeting with retailers to build the brand. Not surprisingly, Bertrand rethought their offer and extended Spencer the opportunity to work from LA.
She turned them down flat.
“There’s too much I want to do to answer to anyone else’s artistic vision at this point,” Spencer explained the week prior, as they’d moved another box into Hadley’s—correction, now their apartment.
“You don’t need anyone else at this point. I think you made the right call,” Hadley told her.
“You do?” Spencer asked, dropping the box and snagging Hadley by the waist. “You think I was right? Say it. Say I was right.”
“Sometimes you’re right.”
“Damn right I am.”
“You’re cute when you gloat.”
“Prove it.”
The constant touching and kissing really got in the way of their move-in process but, honestly, Hadley wasn’t complaining.
She smiled at how wonderful it was to have Spencer with her for good each night. Not to mention, with Minnie Mouse around, the complex still had a resident mascot. Fat Tony would be moving with Isabel and Taylor out of Seven Shores and into a gorgeous house they’d purchased and upgraded just blocks away in Venice. With Isabel mere moments away, Breakfast Club would remain intact!
“Time for cake!” Isabel’s dad called, pulling Hadley back into the hubbub of the wedding. They gathered around the one-tiered cake with flowers cascading over the side as a clap of thunder hit loud and ominous overhead. Everyone looked skyward at the foreboding cloud above.
“Uh-oh,” Taylor said. “We should likely hurry.”
“It’ll hold out,” Gia said confidently, with a shrug.
Elle nodded her agreement. “We see those guys all the time on the beach. They never amount to anything.”
But thirty seconds later, the heavens opened up just as Taylor fed Isabel the first bite of cake. While it may have been human instinct to duck under the tablecloth, or run for cover, no one on that beach made a move to go anywhere. Instead they looked to each other and smiled and laughed while passing out soggy cake—which they happily ate. The hired violinist didn’t bid them farewell, but rather popped an umbrella in the sand and continued to play a variety of recognizable covers.
Because she couldn’t help herself, Hadley started to dance in the downpour. Her feet were covered in wet sand, her hair was drenched and her dress clung to her body, but underneath it all, she felt celebratory and free. Moments later, Spencer joined her, followed by Autumn and Will, who tried to catch each drop. The rest of the attendees must have thought it looked like fun, because a full-on dance party cropped up on that beach.
Hadley had never seen anything like it.
She twirled Gia as she danced past. She dipped Elle. She spun Kate unabashedly. Finally, she kissed Spencer even though she could barely see her through the summer shower. “I love you,” she said.
“In the rain, on a train,” Spencer said, and kissed her again. “Side note, we’re going to have to work harder to top this wedding now.”
Hadley nodded at the truth of that statement as Spencer pulled Autumn into her arms for a spin. The rain continued and the music played on. Puddles splashing, guests laughing, and brides kissing would be the subjects of the epic photographs they’d look back on later.
They had a time like no other time. Isabel and Taylor had never looked happier as they kissed in the rain, surrounded by their friends and loved ones.
For Hadley, it felt like they were all, at last, coming into their own. The Breakfast Club, her best friends, had assembled together two years ago, each in the midst of a search. Whether it had been for career, family, love, or self-confidence, they’d each made their own way and found what they’d long been looking for. They were fuller people now, bursting with color and rich with knowledge and life experience. But Hadley understood that not a single one of them could have arrived where they were now without the help, support, and friendship of the others.
Now their Breakfast Club was a little bigger, and on its way to more and more members. She almost couldn’t take it. “I love you, Venice!” Hadley yelled to the waves, hands extended in the air. Her soul soared, her heart sang, and her life could go in so many different directions. As long as Spencer was there, too, she was ready to buckle up for that ride.
She turned back to her friends, who pulled her into their circle as the rain continued and Isabel showed them all how to shimmy, to comedic results. The day had been an epic one and would go down in the history books as one of the most memorable of their lives.
They were still talking about it when Elle announced she was pregnant a year later while holding hands with a beaming Gia. They brought it up again the night Isabel won her first Emmy for writing a key episode on The Subdivision. When Will started walking and flirting with little girls at the coffee shop, Autumn warned him that beach weddings tended to get crazy, so he should think that one through. The day of Spencer’s first major runway show when she proposed to Hadley in front of hundreds of people, she promised her a wedding that she’d never forget…with maybe just a little less rain.
The journey of life was a winding road that never seemed to hint at what lay ahead. Regardless of where it took them, or what happened, their little group would travel that road together, coffees in hand, theme nights at the ready, and beach gatherings galore. There was no doubting they’d show up for each other. You could count on it, rain or shine.