“How do I look?”

Ariana brought her hands to her mouth, her face glowing. “Like a vision.”

Silver turned back to the full-length mirror, studying her reflection with a critical eye. White as snow, the soft silk body of the dress had a delicate lace coverlet. It was tight-fitting in the waist and flared at the bottom. She turned, admiring the line of pearl buttons trailing down to the massive train. Was this really happening? She kept expecting to wake up and discover it was only a dream. Silver wrinkled her nose. “You don’t think the dress is too much, do you?”

Ariana giggled. “No, it’s perfect. My brother’s gonna wet his pants when he sees you walk down the aisle.”

“Let’s hope not,” Silver laughed.

“Now for the veil,” Ariana picked it up and placed it on Silver’s head, helping her adjust it.

Tears moistened Silver’s eyes as she looked at her reflection and thought about how different this wedding was from her last. She was happy now, marrying the man of her dreams. “If only my mother could see me now.”

Ariana gave her a reassuring smile. “She’s looking down on you and smiling, I’m sure of it.” Then Ariana saw Silver’s expression. “Oh, no,” she said, using her fingers to dab at Silver’s tears before they could fall. “Don’t you dare cry. You’ll ruin your makeup.”

Silver laughed, drying her tears.

Marla burst into the room in a flurry. “Look how gorgeous you are,” she exclaimed, her voice going wispy as she stepped up behind Silver, fluffing her sleeves. “Seeing you in this dress almost makes up for the headache of overseeing an impromptu wedding.”

Silver rolled her eyes. “You can handle it, especially since I’m paying you time and a half.”

Marla sighed. “I suppose I do what I must.” Her eyes sparkled as she winked. “I told you, you had a thing for Ace Sanchez.”

“Oh, it’s more than a thing,” Ariana said. “Look at her, she’s positively glowing.” She turned to Silver. “And if anyone has a right to this much happiness, it’s you.” She hugged Silver. “Welcome to the family. It’ll be nice to have a sister.”

A lump formed in Silver’s throat. She and Gracie would finally be a part of a real family. The terrible ordeal with Riley and Dinah Coulter was over. Just as Bruce promised, the lawsuit against Ace’s family was dropped. As it turned out, Dinah had paid the woman a hefty amount to swallow the shard of metal, eat at Los Tios, then pretend it had happened there. Gracie was admitted into The Wexton Academy and the bogus additional tests were never mentioned again. She was starting there in the fall.

Ace was taking Silver to Hawaii for their honeymoon while Gracie stayed with Fabiana. Afterwards, when they returned, Silver and Gracie were moving into Ace’s house. Gracie couldn’t wait to claim the princess bedroom as her own, and Silver planned to add a few feminine touches to make place feel homier. Thankfully, Fabiana’s tests came back clean, except for high blood pressure, which she could control with medicine. Her collapse had been brought on by exhaustion and stress.

Angie, Silver’s employee, stuck her head in the door, her voice brimming with excitement. “It’s time.”

Ariana caught hold of Silver’s hands and squeezed them. “You ready?”

She smiled. “Absolutely.”

Marla winked. “We’ll, I’d better get back to work before the boss lady gets on her high horse,” she said before darting out.

Silver’s heart was filled to overflowing as she stood outside the chapel entrance and watched Gracie walk down the aisle in her yellow dress with daisies tucked in her hair as she tossed yellow rose petals from a white basket.

The Wedding March began, and it was Silver’s turn. Butterflies began a happy dance in her stomach as she straightened her shoulders and stepped into the chapel.

Her breath hitched when she caught sight of Ace looking like a million bucks in his tuxedo, his rugged features and golden skin radiating handsome. His curls were tamed for the occasion, but one had escaped, falling in the center of his forehead, giving him an adorable boyish look. He smiled, tilting her world. She felt an all-consuming love that sang to her spirit and flowed like warm honey through her veins. And in that small moment, she had an inkling of what it was like to see heaven, as she made her way down the aisle towards Ace, forward into her real-life happily ever-after.