Ten Tiny Breaths (Ten Tiny Breaths #1)(80)
Epilogue
A light breeze ruffles the folds of Storm’s dress as she and Dan stand for pictures with the ocean and a fall sunset as a back drop. She’s the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen, all the more so with her swollen belly. The baby is due in just three months and Mia has taken to referring to it as “Alien Baby X.” I don’t know where she comes up with this stuff. Dan, probably. The baby is another girl. Dan jokes that he’s doomed, but secretly, I think he misses all the female companionship. The beach house is a little less estrogen-laden these days with Livie in New Jersey and me dividing my time between there, school, and Trent’s condo five minutes away.
“Who knew there’d be so many hot women at a wedding?” Trent sidles up behind me, hanging his arms around my shoulders. My stomach does a nervous somersault flutter. It always does that when Trent touches me. Even after three years, he can do things to me with a look that I thought impossible. I hope that never fades.
“By so many, you mean one, right?” I murmur as I tip my head back and nuzzle my nose against his jaw line.
He groans. “You trying to give me an erection in front of my parents?”
I laugh and roll my gaze over to see Carter and Bonnie watching us from the distance, and they’re beaming. During therapy, I realized that me barring them from my and Livie’s life from the beginning didn’t allow them the chance to heal as a family. After Trent and I reconnected, I made a point of writing a heartfelt note to them as way of apology. First Bonnie appeared at my door in tears, then Carter. One thing led to another and here they are, hand in hand, a family again.
The wind carries Livie’s soft giggle to us. She’s with Mia, who’s busy showing her all her new grown up teeth. Livie earned that full scholarship to Princeton like we all expected so we don’t see her much anymore. I’m so proud of her. I know Dad would be too.
But I miss her like crazy.
And I think she’s dating someone, but I’m not sure. She’s remaining vague about whatever’s going on in Princeton, and that’s usually a sign of a man. I hope she is. Livie deserves that and so much more.
I look out over the crowd of friendly faces. They’re all there. Cain and Nate—as dashing in suits as any man can be. Tanner, with a lady friend who he met online. Even Ben, arm in arm with a blonde bombshell lawyer from the firm he just joined. He catches me watching him and he winks. I can’t help but chuckle. Oh, Ben.
“You want to go to Vegas next week?” Trent whispers, biting my ear playfully.
I giggle. “I’ve got midterms, remember?” I just finished my first year of psychology at State. I plan on specializing in post-traumatic stress disorder therapy. I already have a killer reference from the renowned and unorthodox Dr. Stayner.
“Just a quick trip. To the chapel and back.”
“Yeah?” I lean back and look into his eyes to see if he’s joking. I see nothing but love.
His fingers graze my cheek lovingly. “Oh yeah.”
Trent has kept his promise. He makes me smile every day.