Pretend We're Over
Page 24
Epilogue
Sebastian
I comb my hair one more time in the hotel suite mirror before I prepare to walk out onto the beautiful beach in Santa Barbara to get married. We considered getting married in Las Vegas, where this all started, but we chose the beach. We wanted to keep it simple, and this made the most sense.
The wedding will be small. Only Larkyn, Kade, and their kids on my side. Oaklee and her newborn baby on Millie’s.
After I proposed, we agreed to live together a year. Millie didn’t want to get married again until she had finished her therapy and was sure this marriage would last. I agreed that I would wait.
We waited three months. That’s all the waiting either of us could stand. Millie’s past no longer haunts her. And I couldn’t wait to be tied to her forever.
There is a knock on the door. I look over at Kade, who is getting ready in the suite with me. The women and kids are getting ready in Millie’s suite.
I glance at the clock; I have twenty minutes until the wedding still, so I don’t know who would be knocking.
Kade opens the door, and Oaklee is standing in the hallway. “Can I talk to Sebastian alone for a moment?”
Kade looks to me, waiting for my response. For a while, Kade was the only one not sure about Millie and I’s relationship. He wanted us to slow down. He still wanted a prenup to protect us both, but he’s come around. He hasn’t pushed the prenup topic in the last month.
Oaklee and I’s relationship still needs more work. I was in the waiting room while Millie was in the delivery room when Eddie was born. Oaklee hasn’t forgiven me for my part with Boden, and I haven’t forgiven her for her plan to ruin me.
I nod at Kade, though. I know Oaklee won’t ruin my wedding day.
Kade brushes past Oaklee, giving her a warning glance before leaving. Then Oaklee steps inside.
“Is something wrong with Millie?” I ask, suddenly worried that’s why Oaklee is here. Did Millie get cold feet? Is she sick?
Oaklee smiles at my worried expression. “Millie is head over heels in love with you. She can’t wait to marry you. She’s been ready for over an hour and has almost stormed over and demanded the wedding get moved up an hour so she can see you again. There is nothing wrong with Millie.”
I exhale a deep breath, relief flooding me. “Then, why are you here?”
“To apologize.” Oaklee sits down on the couch in the small living area.
I sit down on the loveseat opposite her.
“There is no need to apologize. We both did what we did.”
She shakes her head. “I’m going to be standing beside your wife when you get married. I need to apologize. I need you to know I have no ill will toward you. That I’m sorry for blaming you for Boden’s actions. I don’t want you to worry that I’m secretly trying to sabotage you.”
“Thank you for apologizing. It really wasn’t necessary. I know why you did what you did. And I’m sorry I couldn’t stop Boden from cheating and hurting you.”
She looks off in the distance, like I brought up painful memories for her.
“I’m sorry. But for what it’s worth, you are a great mother and don’t need that jerk in your life.”
She smiles. “Thank you. And I know. So we’re good?”
“We’re good.”
She exhales an anxious breath and then bites her lip as she stands. “I do have one surprise though planned for the wedding.”
“Which is?”
“You’ll see.”
“Oaklee, I don’t like surprises.”
She opens the door of the suite to the hallway. “I know, but Millie loves surprises. Now, let’s get you two married for real.”
I follow Oaklee into the hallway, where Kade, Larkyn, and their kids are waiting.
“Ready?” Kade asks.
I nod.
Together we walk out of the hotel and down to the beach where a small arch sits near the ocean. That’s when I realize my surprise.
The woman from the club in Las Vegas is standing under the arch. The woman who gave me the wedding rings and told me to be brave. The woman who told me to get married. The woman who changed my life.
My mouth falls open as I walk to her. “What are you doing here?”
She smiles at my shock. “Your friend Oaklee got my number at the club. She thought I might want the rings back when the marriage failed, but I knew it wouldn’t. When she called to ask if I wanted to marry you, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I’m Grace, by the way.”
I pull the woman into a hug. “Thank you, Grace. You have no idea how thankful I am.”
“I’m thankful the rings now belong to two people who will also be married until their dying breath.”
A roll of thunder jolts us apart. I look up at the storm clouds brewing in the distance. “Not today, clouds.”
But I don’t have time to focus on the weather because Kade and Larkyn’s kids start walking down the beach, dropping rose petals as they walk. Larkyn walks down after in a pale pink dress and bouquet of exotic-looking flowers.
She winks at me before gathering the kids to stand next to Kade.
Next come Oaklee and baby Eddie with a large flower tied around his head. She reaches me and then says, “If you hurt her, we will hurt you.”
I smile. “I’m glad Millie has a friend like you.”
Then I turn back toward the hotel stairs that lead down to the beach, and I get my first glimpse of Millie in her white dress, holding a bouquet of exotic flowers that matches Larkyn’s.
Kade, Larkyn, and Oaklee all offered to walk her down the aisle, but Millie wouldn’t have it. She said she wanted to walk herself down the aisle.
Tears water in my eyes as she walks toward me. I’m impatient, though, and meet her halfway down the beach and walk her the rest of the way.
“You look beautiful.”
“So do you.”
Those are the only words we can get out through the tears threatening both of our eyes as Grace starts the ceremony. She keeps it short and sweet, knowing the weather could ruin it any minute. When it starts sprinkling, she says, “Rain is good luck on your wedding day. Not that you two need it. You’re going to love each other forever.”
“Yes, we are,” I say, looking into Millie’s eyes.
“And with that, I pronounce you husband and wife.”
I grip Millie, vowing to never let her go as I kiss her deeply and passionately. As soon as we kiss, the rain stops, the clouds part, and the sun finally comes out.
“Seems like the weather is happy you two finally said ‘I do,’” Grace says.
Millie and I exchange loving glances. I grab Millie’s hand, and we lead the charge, jumping into the ocean to celebrate getting married with everyone following us.
“So are you going to tell me where we are going on our honeymoon, yet? I’ve been thinking we should go back to Hawaii,” Millie says.
“Nope, not telling you. I thought you were Mrs. Adventurous. You don’t need to know until we get there.” Although, she’s already guessed the plan. We are going back to Hawaii and then New Zealand and then Australia. We are taking two weeks off, so we have time for a repeat in Hawaii and a little new adventure.
“No, now I’m Mrs. King. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have fallen in love with a King.”
“Not as lucky as I am that I’m married to you.” I kiss her hard in the ocean, our hands find each other and intertwine, and I feel for her ring on her left finger. A ring that gave me the final push to start living my life instead of hiding in fear.
I’m about to start the adventure of a lifetime being married to Millie—an adventure that I know will never end.
Thank you so much for reading Pretend We’re Over! If you haven’t read Larkyn & Kade’s story, grab PRETEND I’M YOURS HERE! Looking for a new contemporary read, check out my boxset HATE ME OR LOVE ME.
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Also by Ella Miles
SINFUL TRUTHS:
Sinful Truth #1
Twisted Vow #2
Reckless Fall #3
Tangled Promise #4
Fallen Love #5
Broken Anchor #6
TRUTH OR LIES:
Taken by Lies #1
Betrayed by Truths #2
Trapped by Lies #3
Stolen by Truths #4
Possessed by Lies #5
Consumed by Truths #6
DIRTY SERIES:
Dirty Beginning
Dirty Obsession
Dirty Addiction
Dirty Revenge
Dirty: The Complete Series
ALIGNED SERIES:
Aligned: Volume 1 (Free Series Starter)
Aligned: Volume 2
Aligned: Volume 3
Aligned: Volume 4
Aligned: The Complete Series Boxset
UNFORGIVABLE SERIES:
Heart of a Thief
Heart of a Liar
Heart of a Prick
Unforgivable: The Complete Series Boxset
MAYBE, DEFINITELY SERIES:
Maybe Yes
Maybe Never
Maybe Always
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Definitely Yes
Definitely No
Definitely Forever
STANDALONES:
Pretend I’m Yours
Finding Perfect
Savage Love
Too Much
Not Sorry
About the Author
Ella Miles writes steamy romance, including everything from dark suspense romance that will leave you on the edge of your seat to contemporary romance that will leave you laughing out loud or crying. Most importantly, she wants you to feel everything her characters feel as you read.
Ella is currently living her own happily ever after near the Rocky Mountains with her high school sweetheart husband. Her heart is also taken by her goofy five year old black lab who is scared of everything, including her own shadow.
Ella is a USA Today Bestselling Author & Top 50 Bestselling Author.
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