“I won’t! I promise. If I ever see you kissing a woman again, I’ll…” she wasn’t sure what she’d do.
“Talk to me. Because if some woman is kissing me, it will be just like last time when I didn’t want it. I only want you, Jane. You’ve been the only woman I’ve ever cared about. For so long, you’ve been the only one!”
Epilogue
One Month Later…
Jane couldn’t stop the happy grin when she saw Caleb. He looked so handsome in the white linen shirt and slacks, it made her heart skip a beat. She walked through the sand in her bare feet, the pathway lined with lanterns that were lit up as the sun slowly sank into the ocean. Her mother was off to the side, smiling as she watched and several of her friends were there. Not all of them, because their wedding was taking place in Aruba and she hadn’t wanted to wait until everyone could take time off. She and Caleb had spent too much time apart. She didn’t want to spend another moment without him.
When she reached him, he took her hands and bent down to kiss her. “I love you,” he whispered.
She smiled up at him. “I love you too,” she whispered right back. Hand in hand, they turned to face the minister, more than ready to be married. Jane had loved this man since the moment she’d seen him on the stage. And now, with the waves as background music, she was finally marrying the man of her dreams. They’d gone from high school sweethearts, to college lovers, to adults being alone. Now they were going to be married.
Jane couldn’t be happier!
Caleb squeezed her fingers and she looked up at him, not really hearing the minister’s voice. He was saying something about loving and honoring, but she’d already vowed to do that. That night when they’d found each other again, she’d vowed never to let anything stand in the way of their love again. Always talk. Always believe. Always hope and know that he loved her.
“You okay?” he asked softly, lifting a hand to wipe a tear away.
“Yeah. I’m finally okay!” she replied.
“Do you take this man?” the minister repeated.
Jane laughed but nodded her head. “I do,” she promised, then slid the ring onto Caleb’s finger.
The minister turned to Caleb, handing him the wedding band as well. “I do,” Caleb vowed, sliding the band down her finger, looking deeply into her eyes.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister said.
Caleb didn’t wait for permission to kiss Jane. He pulled her closer and tenderly sealed their vows with a sweet kiss, a kiss that promised “later” and “forever”.
Note from Elizabeth:
If you’ve read all of the other stories in this series, I hope you weren’t too confused by the timeline of this story. It started before Daisy’s story and ended right before Julia and Tony discovered their love for each other in Surrender. If you are on my subscription list, you’ve read this story in the e-mails I sent out to all of you – but this is the whole story in one place, as requested. ☺
If you haven’t read the other books in this series, click on the titles below. I also have a map of LowPoint Kentucky on my website so you can get a mental pictures of the various streets and such. This is a completely made up town so I took a lot of liberties with the ins and outs, but I hope you enjoy reading all of this series as much as I enjoyed writing each person’s story.
Elizabeth!
The Lottery Winners Introduction (FREE!)
Tempted – Rocco and Daisy’s Story
Rescued – Gunner and Ivy’s Story
Caught – Emerson and Marilee’s Story
Charmed – Sky and Mark’s Story
Seduced – Tony and Julia’s Story
Hoping for Forever – Ms. Scarlett’s Story (Historical Novella)
Surrender Page 9