Epilogue
“I thought your wedding was the social event of the year,” Lydia marveled as she stared at the setup for the sunset wedding on the private beach of the Oceanix–Myrtle Beach resort.
“Isn’t this gorgeous,” Crystal whispered in awe. “You have to give Mia credit. When she finally accepted Seth’s marriage proposal, she jumped in with both feet.”
“She’s been like bridezilla from what I’ve heard.” Gwen snickered as the three friends stood together waiting for the service to begin. The billowing white canopies and tents looked amazing against the setting sun as people slowly began to fill the chairs assembled in rows on the sand.
“Sweet man sandwich,” Emma hissed as she carefully navigated the shifting surface in her heels. “Have you seen the Jackson brothers and cousins?”
“Okay, point them out, but be discreet,” Lydia instructed, hoping that Jake wouldn’t notice their fixation on the handsome resort owners.
Emma lowered her voice and said, “Do you see that woman wearing the hideous mustard yellow polyester dress?” When they all cringed but nodded, she continued, “Okay, look to the left of her and back near the first set of torches.”
Crystal was the first to say, “Oh, yeah, I see them. Some of them were at our wedding, but I don’t really remember much from that day.”
“Sweet baby Jesus,” Gwen groaned as her eyes widened. “They sure are hot. I bet they have manly names like Rutherford or Brick.”
Emma giggled as she shook her head. “I’m not sure which name goes with whom, but you’re looking at Rhett, Asher, Dylan, and Luke. Those are Seth’s brothers. Now, the ones walking up on the other side are the cousins and they run resorts as well. I haven’t managed to get their names but look at them. Who in the hell cares? You could call each of them Bubba and they’d still be total studs.”
“You’re talking about the Jacksons, aren’t you?” Suzy Merimon laughed knowingly as she walked up. You would never know that she’d given birth to a daughter less than two months earlier. She’d regained her slim figure with an ease that would make most women hate her.
“You’re damned right we are.” Emma sighed. “I mean look at that man flesh. They’re rich, sexy as hell, and standing like they’ve got ten-inch cocks.”
“This is like a movie or television show,” Beth groaned as she came striding over. “I swear they look too good to be real.”
Before anyone could respond, Claire, Ava, and Ella came hurrying toward them, while darting glances over their shoulders. None too subtly, Ella nodded her head and said, “Did you see—”
“The Jacksons,” they all said together before laughter filled the air.
“I know it’s wrong,” Claire whispered, “but look at them. What kind of gene pool must that family have?”
“They’ve got the best teeth,” Crystal added, before shrugging when everyone stared at her. “What? They do. They’re so perfectly straight and white. Just imagine what a shame it would be if they had buck teeth.”
Ever loyal to her sister, Ella agreed. “That would be a tragedy. Although I’d think someone with their money could afford to make sure that never happens.”
Just then, the wedding planner indicated that it was time for everyone to take their seats. Seth and Mia didn’t have the traditional bridal party. They didn’t feel right about excluding anyone, so they’d decided to forgo that altogether. Since it was one of their own getting married, the ladies had arranged to sit together ahead of time with their husbands taking the row behind them.
Claire, Suzy, Beth, Ella, Emma, Gwen, Ava, Crystal, and Lydia joined hands as Mia made her way down the aisle holding the arm of her mother and her father to the song “Thinking Out Loud,” by Ed Sheeran. Her simple sleeveless white dress floated behind her across the sand, reminding Lydia of a fairy princess.
Seth stood under an arbor woven with lilies and white silk. He had eyes only for his bride as she kissed her parents and skipped the rest of the way to his side. Their vows were simple and heartfelt, and within moments, they were kissing each other and the officiant was proclaiming them Mr. and Mrs. Seth Jackson. As Mia reached their aisle with her new husband, she stopped and hugged each of her friends. Before she pulled away, she whispered, “Did you get a load of the rest of his family?” Before anyone could answer, she’d given them an impish grin and turned to embrace Seth.
The men descended on them then to claim their women and they all entered the huge tents where the reception was being held. Lydia found a quiet corner and motioned Jake toward it. They hadn’t been alone together in hours, and as always, she’d missed him. “Hey, baby,” he said softly before kissing her lightly on the lips. “I can’t wait to get out of here later so I can have some alone time with my wife.”
Lydia nodded eagerly in response. As usual, they were on the same page. “Mia said that they plan to leave in the next hour or so. We’ll be right on their heels.” Leaning her head against his shoulder, she added, “This has been such a magical night, hasn’t it?”
Looking at her intently, Jake asked, “Sweetheart, do you want a big wedding? I’ve told you several times that I’d be happy for us to do that. I know a wedding in Vegas isn’t exactly every woman’s dream. Just say the word and it’s yours.”
Giving a sigh of contentment, she shook her head. “It may have been different than I’d always thought it would be, but I don’t care. There’s no way I’m going back and rewriting history. That’s when we were married. We spent that first night together then—well, kind of—and you put this ring on my finger,” she added, wiggling the sparkling diamond. “I don’t want a do-over because I’m blissfully happy with my life as it is.” That was such an understatement, she thought. Being Jake’s wife and Casey’s stepmother felt as natural to her as breathing. Jake had been granted joint custody of his daughter just a few weeks earlier, and she knew that he was relieved to have the whole thing behind him. Chris hadn’t attempted to block him in the end. Lydia felt sure it had more to do with possibly missing his generous support than not wanting to subject her daughter to an ugly court battle. After all, Chris continued to be—well, Chris. Thankfully, she was dating someone now, and even though she was rarely friendly to Lydia, she seemed to be too occupied with her new boyfriend to expend as much time on unpleasantness. God help them all if she was dumped.
“I love you,” Jake murmured then pulled her from her chair and tucked her on his lap.
Lydia knew she should be embarrassed that they were carrying on like teenagers, but looking around the room, she discovered that they were far from alone. Jason Danvers stood slowly dancing in place with his wife, Claire, in his arms. You didn’t need to hear the words because the love between them was obvious for all to see. A few feet away, Gray Merimon’s eyes were riveted on his wife, Suzy, as she spoke to another couple. Every few seconds, Gray’s hand would stroke lovingly up and down her spine and she’d get the softest smile on her face. Then there was Nick Merimon, curled around his wife and whispering something in her ear. Lydia could see the blush steal over Beth’s cheeks as she cuddled closer to her husband.
Curious as to where the rest of their friends were, Lydia looked around the room until she located Declan Stone sitting beside his wife, Ella. They were talking softly to each other as Declan twirled a strand of her hair around his finger. He laughed at something she said before leaning forward to drop a kiss onto the tip of her nose. Next, there was Mac Powers with his arm around his wife, Ava’s waist while they spoke to Ava’s brother, Brant, and his fiancée, Emma. Lydia wondered if the women knew that even as their men spoke to each other, their eyes never left the woman at their side. At one point, Mac rubbed Ava’s stomach, and Lydia had to wonder if there would be an announcement coming from them soon. And Emma lit up like the Fourth of July when Brant caressed her cheek with his finger. Just a few feet away stood Gwen and Dominic. They’d finally informed all of their friends and family that they’d been married for some time now. When Gwen stood on her tiptoes to throw her arms around Dominic’s neck and hug him close, he obliged her by bending lower and gently encircling her waist before straightening and lifting her off her feet. The honeymoon obviously wasn’t over for those two.
“What are you looking at?” Jake asked as he glanced around, trying to see what had her attention.
“Wait just a second,” she requested as she attempted to locate her last two friends. Ah, there was Mark DeSanto laughing with his cousin, Denny, while keeping Crystal locked firmly against his side. Lydia couldn’t miss the possessiveness in his touch as he hooked a hand around the nape of her neck to keep her from straying. The heat they generated between them with just one look was enough to power the city for a month.
And finally, there were the newlyweds, Mia and Seth. Mia had once said that Seth was a traditional man who wanted to build a home and a family with her once she was ready to settle down. Lydia didn’t think Seth could possibly have any doubts that he and his bride had finally arrived at the same place. Mia hadn’t taken her eyes off him since Lydia had been watching, and likewise, his beautiful bride equally captivated Seth. Lydia had to giggle, though, when in true Mia fashion, she had her hand on her groom’s ass while he spoke with his gorgeous relatives. Despite all of her teasing, it was obvious that Seth was the only Jackson that Mia would ever truly see.
As Jake helped her to her feet, Lydia paused once more to look around the tent to savor the sight of all of her blissful friends—the women of Danvers with the men they loved. In a resort town such as Myrtle Beach where anything seemed possible, Lydia wondered if there had ever been any doubt that they’d all get their happy ending.
The funny thing, though, was that the men in their lives were only a part of it. The one constant that each of them could fall back on again and again through the years would be their sisterhood. Ten women from different backgrounds who’d found each other at Danvers International, and no matter what life brought their way, that was a bond that would never unravel or break. And Lydia was so excited to step forward with these women at her side to see what the future would hold for them.