His ego is anything but fragile, and it's one of the things I love about him. He knows who he is and what he wants. And he wants me.
"After we eat, you need to shower," I say. "You can't get on the plane smelling like sex. The ovulating women on that flight are going to smell your pheromones and go wild. It will be chaos, and you'll accidentally impregnate someone."
Seth's eyes lock with mine, and I can't look away. He's not going to let me joke my way out of this situation, and I know it.
"I only want you," he says. "If you don't want to do this though, if your heart isn't in it, please say so now."
Everything Isabelle predicted has come to pass: upheaval, heartbreak, transformation. Seth and I aren't the people we were at the beginning of last summer. She promised that after the pain, love would come again, and here it is, daring me to take a chance. I'd be a fool to let it go.
I scoot my chair over to his, take his hand in mine and press it to my heart. The warmth of his touch blossoms inside me.
"This thing?" I say, and we both listen with our hands to the beating sensation under my ribcage that always increases when I'm near him. "It's already yours."
Epilogue
As far asall the guests at this wedding know, everything is going according to plan. They aren't aware that two hours ago, Seth and I were chasing goats around the woods after Rapunzel decided to spring her friends from their fenced-in grazing area. She pried the lock open with her teeth, a trick that she's performed several times this year, and set everyone free. I wasn't happy that she chose today for a break-out, but I've learned in the three months I've been living down here that goats aren't rule followers. We captured all of the runaways, except for one. Princess Kate is still loose somewhere on the property and, according to Renata, will come home when she gets hungry enough.
I appraise the wedding venue from the viewpoint of a guest and like what I see. The white tent is set up for dinner and dancing, and chairs have been placed in neat rows under the oak tree for the ceremony. Renata asked the florist to decorate using ivory hydrangeas, blush chrysanthemums and pink alstroemerias, and the displays look stunning. There are servers handing out appetizers and mint juleps, and we have a separate table where a bartender is serving water, sweet tea, wine and beer. I take a moment and bask in the beauty of this day that I've helped plan and deliver as a gift to my dad and his lovely bride.
At the moment, even the weather is cooperating during what has been a temperamental North Carolina spring. The temperature hovered near eighty earlier today, and I worried that the late afternoon sun would be unpleasantly strong. Fortunately, a few puffy clouds rolled in and we've got the perfect blue sky and dappled sunlight for the ceremony.
My father walks over to where I'm standing and hands me a mint julep. "You can relax now. Everything looks amazing. And have you tried the food? The shrimp is incredible."
Hearing his words, I sigh with relief. "I'm so glad.”
I take a tiny sip of my drink, enjoying the freshness of the mint combined with the bite of the bourbon.
I’ll be nursing this one for a while, since the wedding planner needs to stay sober.
"I've never seen that dress before," Dad says. "You look great."
I'm wearing my favorite vintage dress tonight, a cream-colored lace sheath that reaches just above my knees. The color is acceptable, since the bride, who happens to be my new stepmother, has decided not to wear white. She's a vision in emerald green silk, and no one will be upstaging her tonight.
"You look pretty good yourself," I say, admiring the new suit Renata helped him select.
"How can we thank you enough for planning all of this?"
I smile and kiss his cheek. "You did me a favor. I needed the experience. Now go and have fun."
Dad's friends Victor and Mitch, who are standing with Renata, wave him over. Undoubtedly, they're telling her some embarrassing story from his past, since she's laughing so hard that she's wiping away tears. I watch as he joins their group and slips his arm around her shoulder.
Seth appears at my side with a glass of ice water that I accept with gratitude, trading him my mint julep.
"It’s strong," I say, "and I have an empty stomach right now. You can drink it."
He takes a sip and blinks in surprise. "Dang, this is gonna be a fun wedding."
"Not that fun, I hope. I don't want to become known as the wedding planner who gets everyone trashed at her events."
"We'll have to call Officer Vega to drive people home," he says, giving me a wink.
"Shhh," I warn him. "No one knows about that except you."
"And Frank and Shirley. And probably half the other people in town."
I shut my eyes in horror. "Please don't say that. I like living in my fantasy world."
"Have you eaten anything today?" he asks, gently brushing my hair away from my face. "They're passing around mushrooms and some other vegetarian pastry thing. You're going to get low blood sugar soon."
