by Geneva Lee
“I’m sorry I was trouble,” I murmur. “Thank you for not giving up on me. Thanks for always being there.”
“I always will be,” she promises me.
“I know…Mom.” I’ve never said it before. I’ve thought it. I’ve felt it. But something always held me back. For a long time, it was guilt. Because I had a mom, even though she was gone. Then, it was fear. I didn’t want to make her into something she didn’t want to be. But I don’t see the world the same way I did then, not even the same way I did a year ago.
Francie didn’t have to love me. She did it anyway. She didn’t have to stick by me when I fucked up—and I fucked up a lot. She never budged. I didn’t understand—couldn’t understand it. Now, I do. She’s always been my mom, patiently waiting for me to see it, too.
She hugs me with all her strength, which is considerably more than her slight frame suggests. “About damn time.”
When we finally let go, she brushes away tears. “We need to get you married!”
I pull a box out of my pocket and open it to reveal the rings.
“Adair is a lucky woman,” she says with a wink as she helps me tie it to Zeus’s collar.
Zeus, who seems to understand the gravitas of the situation, sits like a statue as we thread Adair’s ring through the ribbon. Adair’s worn a simple diamond engagement ring since I proposed. Mostly, because I’d been too impatient to ask her to wait for the custom ring I’m giving her today.
I’d taken the engagement ring and had it made into a necklace for Ellie, wanting her to feel as much a part of today as possible. Adair’s actual wedding ring features four half carat pear-shaped diamonds set in a cluster. At first glance, it just looks like a huge rock, which wasn’t really my attention, but closer inspection, shows the narrow points of the diamonds meeting in the middle to form a delicate clover. Pavé diamonds halo the larger stones, and two eternity bands of diamonds are joined to serve as the official wedding band. She’s going to fuss over its size, but I don’t care. If it was up to her, she’d be happy with a rubber band. I want everyone to know she’s mine.
We finish getting Zeus ready and Francie hands me the lead of his blue leash.
“Does she know?” she asks.
“Not yet,” I say with a grin.
“You’re up to something,” Francie guesses.
“I’ve had some time to think about this,” I admit. I fell in love with her years ago, but today she’s going to be mine at last.
Adair
Ava steps in so that Poppy can perform her maid of honor duties when it’s time for the ceremony. She lines us up with a grim determination that feels more like she’s sending me out to a firing squad than to get married. I wait to the side as Sutton exits the back door followed by Trish. Poppy gives me one last squeeze, smiling from ear-to-ear, that I’m about to see all her hard work finally achieved.
“Okay, it’s your turn,” Ava orders Ellie, who’s clutching her flower girl basket tightly in her tiny fists. She looks up to me with wide, terrified eyes.
“I want to go with you,” she whispers.
“The flower girl goes before the bride,” Ava tells her, but I step closer as her hand closes over the door knob.
“It’s fine. She can walk with me.”
Ava gives me a look that says I can explain this to Poppy later, but, honestly, it’s better this way. Today, I’m not just marrying Sterling, we’re becoming a family. It’s more than I ever dreamed of and I want her by my side. Outside the music shifts from Canon in D to the Wedding March, and I smile at Ellie.
“You ready, baby?” I hold out my hand.
“One more second,” she says, holding up her index finger, all her nerves suddenly gone.
“I think we better…” I trail away as Sterling comes into the room, Zeus on a leash at his side. The man can wear a suit, but he owns a tuxedo. It fits his body perfectly, showing off all the assets I’m getting in this merger. His dark hair is combed to the side, his face clean shaven for the first time in months. A wicked smile curves across his lips, matching the cocky glint in his eyes.
His eyes skim over me with approval, but before he can get too distracted, Ellie hurls herself at him. “Daddy!”
He catches her with his free arm, his shocked eyes looking over her shoulder to my smile, before he buries his face against her. Ellie turns a familiar grin on me. “Were you surprised?”
“So surprised,” I admit with a laugh. Apparently, her stage fright was only a ruse to keep me here long enough for Sterling to sneak up on me.
“Not doing this without me, right?” he says.
“What are you doing?” I ask. “Shouldn’t you be…”
“Poppy mentioned how you didn’t have anyone to walk you down the aisle,” he says, “but you do, Lucky. Me.”
This one detail had bothered me since we began planning the wedding. I hadn’t known until then how much I would wish Felix was with me today. I’d obsessed over my lack of escort for weeks before gathering up the conviction to do it myself.
“Isn’t it bad luck?” I ask as he draws closer.
“Nope,” Ellie pipes up. “Daddy says we’ve got all the luck in the world.”
“Does he now?” I repeat, my eyes never leaving his handsome face. I don’t know how we made it. The road that led me to him is twisted and rocky. It hides behind blind curves in spots. It runs along narrow, terrifying cliffs. It winds through darkness. Navigating it is an act of faith, a test, but what’s waiting here at the end is worth the risk.
A family.
A future.
A forever.
Sterling opens the door, steps through onto the porch, then turns to offer his arm. Our eyes meet as Ellie and I join him. I take his arm carefully, looping my small bouquet of magnolias around it. Ellie’s hand is warm in mine, and she looks up at us with adoration as our friends and family cheer over the music.
A pathway of magnolia petals blankets the ground leading to an archway that drips with creamy white roses, lilies, and more magnolias. Large pillar candles set in hurricane glass light the way to our friends, waiting for us to join them at the end of the aisle to make our vows.
“You ready?” Sterling asks.
We’re finally here. Past the darkness and the despair and the deception, emerging from it into the brightness of endless possibilities.
“I’m all in,” I say.
“You got this?” he asks Ellie.
She grabs a handful of petals with a determined focus that makes us both laugh.
“Thank you for your picture,” he tells her as he leads us down the stairs.
“What was the surprise on it?” I ask him.
“Actually, I was wondering the same thing.” He leans down so she can hear him over the music swelling around us and we move toward our future. “You drew me and mommy with you and Zeus and…?”
She tosses an exasperated look in our direction like she can’t believe she has to explain it to us. “My baby brother.”
“Oh!” Sterling breaks into a wide grin. “Is that a request?”
“Nope!” She breaks free of us, running ahead to toss even more petals, earning appreciative laughs from our guests.
“I think we’ve been given an order, Lucky,” he says wickedly.
“You have plans later?” I whisper as we reach the minister. Here, surrounded by friends, by one another’s side, I can’t think of anything I want more.
He takes my hand, bringing it to his lips. “I have plans for the rest of my life. You?”
“I’m all in.”
True love stories never end…
Want to see the entire wedding?
Join my mailing list for an exclusive, extended epilogue featuring your favorite characters and more swoon-worthy, steamy moments from Adair and Sterling’s wedding!
Read the extended epilogue.
And look out for more stories in The Rivals world coming soon!
Looking for another steamy, emotional read? Check out my best
selling book, Command Me, and dive into the world of the royal family. When Clara meets a mysterious stranger on her graduation day, she’s swept into a romance with the last person she expects: Alexander, the Prince of England. Grab a FREE copy for a limited time!
Never miss my next release!
Text Geneva to 31996 or click here to be added to the list: https://www.genevalee.com/texts
Join my Facebook reader group, Geneva Lee’s Loves, for exclusive giveaways, sneak peeks, live videos and more. I can’t wait to see you there!
Or stalk me on Instagram @realgenevalee
Acknowledgments
First of all I have to thank you, lovely reader, from coming on this journey with me. I hope you laughed, cried, and swooned as much as I did.
Thanks to Louise, my fabulous agent, and the team at The Bent Agency for always being a source of guidance.
Thank you to my foreign teams for working to bring this new series to readers worldwide. Thank you to my team at Blanvalet for your excitement about The Rivals.
Thank you to my amazing assistants, Natasha and Shelby. I would go nuts without you.
Thanks you to my Loves for recipe swaps and meme posts and everything you do. Special thanks to my Inner Court, who I can count on any day, any time.
To my author friends, thank you for being women who inspire me every damn day.
Thank you to my family for sharing me with fictional people, and only complaining a little.
And to Josh, thank you for always cracking a joke. Thank you for being my forever. Thank you for being my rainbow after the storm.
About the Author
GENEVA LEE is the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of over a dozen novels, including the Royals Saga which has sold two million copies worldwide. She lives in Poulsbo Washington with her husband and three children, and she co-owns Away With Words Bookshop with her sister.
Geneva is married to her high school sweetheart. He's always the first person to read her books. Sometimes, he reads as she writes them. Last year, they were surprised by finding out Geneva was pregnant with their third child. They welcomed a beautiful baby girl in 2020.
When she isn't working or writing, Geneva likes to read, bake ridiculous cakes, run, and binge television seasons. She loves to travel and is always eager to go on a new adventure.
Learn more at GenevaLee.com