The Wedding At Seagrove (South Carolina Sunsets Book 5)

by Rachel Hanna

  “I need to talk to you about something else.”

  She took a deep breath and blew it out. “I know. But before you do that…”

  “I just can't keep going on like this…” he said at the same time.

  “But I just need to say…”

  “If you'll just let me speak for a minute…” he said.

  “Will you marry me?”

  “Will you marry me?”

  Wait. What had just happened? Had they both just asked each other to get married at the same time? They stood there for a moment, staring at each other, both of their mouths hanging open. It was like time was standing still and they were both frozen. She wondered if she was still alive.

  “Did that just really happen?” she asked, her heart pounding in her chest.

  “I think so. Did you just propose to me?”

  “I did. Did you just propose to me?” she asked, smiling.

  He laughed. “I did.”

  “Oh my gosh. We just proposed to each other at the same time?”

  “That seems to be the case. I never expected you to propose to me.”

  “And I was afraid you would never ask me, so I decided to take the bull by the horns at Dixie's urging.”

  “Yeah, I kind of got the same speech from William today.”

  Again, they just stood there staring at each other for a moment. “So does that mean you felt pressured to ask me?”

  He ran his thumb down her cheek. “Absolutely not. I've been wanting to ask you almost since the moment we met. But I knew you weren't ready after the whole fiasco with he who shall not be named.”

  “Yes, let's not name him.”

  “Did you feel pressured by Dixie?”

  “No. She encouraged me to do what I already wanted to do. I have known for months that I wanted you to be my husband one day.”

  “I have to ask. What about Dylan?”

  “What about him?”

  “I mean, if we get married and I adopt him, you would be his mother.”

  “You can't adopt him, Dawson.”

  He looked at her, his face falling. “What? So if we get married, Dylan can't be…”

  She put her hand on his chest. “Relax. I just meant that you can't adopt him alone. I think we should do it together if we're both going to be his parents.”

  He grabbed her in the tightest hug she’d ever felt in her life, his face pressed down into her shoulder. She didn't know, but she swore that she felt him choking up.

  “Are you serious? We're going to get married and adopt a kid?” She’d never seen his face look that excited.

  “Well, I don't know because you haven’t answered my proposal yet.”

  He smiled. “You haven’t answered my proposal yet.”

  “Dawson Lancaster, the most handsome man I've ever met in my entire life, will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”

  “Absolutely, I will.” He leaned down and kissed her before dropping to one knee. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue box and opened it, revealing a simple diamond engagement ring with a round stone. “And Julie Pike, will you do me the honor of becoming Julie Lancaster, my beautiful wife and mother of Dylan?”

  She nodded her head, and grinning from ear to ear. “Yes!”

  He picked her up and swung her around in circles until she felt like she might get vertigo. When he put her down, she held onto his arms to stabilize herself.

  “Now what?”

  He chuckled. “I don't know, you're the woman. What kind of wedding do you want? I would marry you right here, right now.”

  Julie started laughing. “I don't want a big wedding. I just want to say our vows in front of our family and friends at some kind of small get together. Does that work for you?”

  He let out a long sigh of relief. “Yes. I don't want to wait and plan a big wedding. I want to say our vows and be husband and wife as soon as possible.”

  “I can't believe this is happening.” Her cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much.

  “Neither can I. We're going to be a family, Julie. A real family.”

  Her eyes widened. “I am going to be the mother of a boy. I don't know what that's going to be like.”

  He cupped her cheeks in his hands and lightly kissed her on the nose. “You're going to be the best boy mom. I love you.”

  “I love you too. Now, can we go eat that brisket because I'm starving!”

  Julie busied herself with getting the reception set up. It was all she could do to concentrate on what she needed to do for Dixie and Harry because she was so excited about her own engagement.

  So far, she and Dawson had managed to keep it under wraps. They didn't want anyone to know they were engaged just yet so as not to take the limelight off of Dixie's big day.

  Friends and family were there and William had gone to get his mother. Although Dixie already knew about the party, nobody else knew that except her closest friends. They wanted the other guests to treat it like a surprise party.

  She and Dawson had stayed up most of the night of their engagement, laughing and talking and planning. He had even taken the time to email Amy with their intent to adopt Dylan. She really felt that the process would go smoothly, especially if both of them were going to be adopting him. She recommended waiting until after they got married to file the paperwork so as not to throw anything off. That just made Julie and Dawson want to get married more quickly.

  “Hello, my fiancée,” Dawson said, pressing his lips to her ear. It sent shivers up her spine every time he did that.

  “You better be quiet if you want to keep this a secret.” She wiggled away from him and put the big bowl of fruit on the buffet table.

  “I can hardly keep it to myself. Everybody is going to be so shocked and excited,” he said.

  “Who's going to be shocked and excited?” Janine asked as she walked up.

  "Dixie, of course. She has no idea what a great party we’ve planned here,” Julie said. Dawson gave her a sideways glance, and she struggled not to laugh.

  “William texted me a few minutes ago and said that they are only about five minutes away so we should probably hide soon.”

  “Right. You go tell that side of the lawn and I'll tell this side.”

  They went around getting everybody to hide on the other side of the house so that when Dixie walked up the walkway with her new husband, everybody would jump out. She hoped they didn't give her a heart attack or something.

  As they hid beside the house, Dawson wrapped his arms around her from behind. They had barely been separated since saying yes to each of their own proposals. It was just proof that they had the most unique relationship that both of them had ended up proposing in the same moment.

  “Where do you want to go on a honeymoon?” he whispered in her ear.

  “Hawaii? Paris? Cancun?”

  “I will go anywhere you want to go.”

  She looked up at him and whispered. “Honestly, we could stay right here on this beach and I would be happy as a clam.” Dawson smiled.

  “There she is,” he said as a car pulled up. William got out and walked around to help his mom out of her door. Harry was in the back and followed as they went up the walkway.

  Julie held up her fingers and counted down three, two, one…

  “Surprise!” everybody yelled. Dixie, ever the showman, put her hand over her heart as if she was shocked to her core. It was funny when Julie thought about it.

  “Oh my goodness! What is this? It's not my birthday.”

  “We wanted to celebrate your wedding by throwing you a surprise reception!” Julie said, calling on all of her non-existent acting capabilities.

  Dixie played along and spent the next thirty minutes walking around and chatting with everyone. The party was fun and lighthearted, a DJ playing big band music in the background.

  As everyone mingled, all Julie could think about was when and where she and Dawson could get married. She looked out at the beach where the arbor
was set up, the beautiful purple flowers draped over it, and thought how perfect it would be to just walk out there right now and say I do.

  “It's beautiful,” Dixie said as she hugged Julie. Dawson walked away for a moment to chat with some of the other guests.

  “I’m glad you like it, and also you should be an actress,” Julie said under her breath.

  “I’m so thankful for this wonderful party. Did you see the beautiful wedding cake that Stella made?”

  “I did. Although I'm not sure why you ordered such a large cake for this? It's beautiful with the green and the sea shells. Exactly what I would've picked.”

  Dixie smiled. “Oh, I don't know. I just thought we might need it.”

  Julie didn't know what that meant. Maybe she was planning on taking a lot of it home for leftovers, although she was doubtful Dixie would be able to consume quite that much sugar.

  “Everyone, if I can have your attention, Reverend Lumpkin is here so that the newlyweds can reenact their vows for us down on the beach. If everyone can start heading that way,” Julie called to the crowd.

  Everyone walked down and took a seat in the white folding chairs that had been set up for the occasion. Dixie and Harry, dressed in their Sunday best, walked down to Reverend Lumpkin. He said a few words, and then they faced each other, holding hands and smiling.

  “Harry, I love you.”

  “Dixie, I love you too.”

  Julie looked at Dawson. “Those were their vows? I hope ours are a little bit more in depth than that.”

  Dawson chuckled. “Yeah, that was kind of weird.”

  Without warning, Dixie turned to the crowd. “Okay, folks, I have something I need to say. We appreciate this party more than you will ever know. My new husband and I have been married for months, and we didn't need a big shindig like this. But I have the best friends and family in the world, and I'm so thankful for what you've done here today. However, I have to admit that I might have figured out what was going on ahead of time.”

  Now Julie really was confused. Why was Dixie letting the cat out of the bag?

  “I hate to ruin the surprise, but I have to because I actually have a different surprise in mind for today.”

  “Dixie, what are you doing?” Julie whispered loudly.

  “Well, you see, there are two people here at this party who need this altar and this Reverend more than we do. I'm talking about two people who are the glue of our group. Two people who adore each other and deserve a lifetime of happiness. So, Harry and I would like to give up this reception and this beautiful flower covered arbor to those two people if they would like to use it to get married right now.”

  A hush fell over the crowd except for the occasional gasp and quiet murmuring. Julie looked around, as did Dawson. Then, they realized everyone was looking at them.

  “What's going on?” Dawson stammered.

  “I think you know what's going on,” Dixie said, winking at him. She and Harry walked over to Julie and Dawson.

  “How did you know we were engaged?” Julie asked.

  “Oh, I didn't. I just had a feeling that you two needed a little push, so I set this up. I bought you a cake, and the wedding march is ready to be played. Oh, and I have these rings.” She held up two simple gold wedding bands.

  “We got engaged last night,” Julie said. “You don’t have to give up your reception for us. We’re going to get married anyway.”

  “Then why wait?” Dixie asked, a big smile on her face.

  “You're crazy. But we love you.”

  “Then let's see some I do’s,” Dixie said, pointing at the altar.

  “Do you want to?” Dawson asked.

  “I do. Do you want to?” Julie asked, grinning.

  “Absolutely!”

  They walked over to the altar and stood in front of each other. It wasn't what Julie had ever imagined. She was standing there in a long floral maxi dress, and Dawson was wearing khaki pants and a polo shirt, but somehow it was perfect.

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to celebrate the marriage of Dawson and Julie…”

  Julie didn't hear much of what the Reverend said as she stared up into Dawson's eyes. She’d never imagined her day would end like this, getting married to the man of her dreams. She scanned the crowd and found her mother and daughters sitting together. All of them were grinning, and SuAnn even gave her a thumbs up.

  “Do the bride and groom have vows they would like to recite?”

  “Well, seeing as how this was a total surprise, I don't have anything prepared but I'm willing to wing it,” Julie said, laughing. The crowd laughed right along with her.

  “Very well then,” the Reverend said.

  “Dawson, you came into my life at a time when I didn't know who I could trust. You were this wild card I didn't expect. I didn't even expect to live here, in this place I’d never heard of. And somehow, you were exactly what I needed. I now know that everything I've gone through in my life has led me here to you, and I couldn't be happier to be Mrs. Julie Lancaster.”

  Dawson teared up and squeezed her hand.

  “Julie, you were also the most unexpected gift. After the grief I've experienced in my life, I never expected to fall in love again, and certainly not with a woman who had only accidentally shown up on my doorstep. From the moment I met you, I knew that you were special. Thank you for agreeing to marry me, and I promise I will always protect you and do everything I can to make you happy.”

  As the minister had them exchange rings, Julie couldn't believe it was happening. Her life was coming full circle, and there was nothing she could have ever imagined that would've been more perfect than this moment.

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Dawson, you may kiss your bride!”

  He grabbed her tightly, pressed his lips to hers and dipped her sideways until she was almost touching the ground. When they finally came up for air, he raised her hand into the air with his.

  “We got hitched!” he yelled into the crowd as everybody laughed and clapped. She was Mrs. Lancaster, and everything was great in the world.

  Epilogue

  Julie reached into the refrigerator and pulled out the chilled watermelon. Setting it carefully on the counter, she retrieved a large knife from the drawer and handed it to Dawson.

  “Have fun,” she said as he started cutting. She couldn’t believe that it was already Sunday dinner again. Now that they were married, everyone came to the inn for Sunday dinners, and it was always a fun time since guests often joined them. Of course, those were the Sundays they were all on their best behavior, hoping for repeat business.

  “Need help with anything?” SuAnn asked as she walked into the kitchen.

  “Nope. I think we’re good. Is Hen coming today?”

  “No, she had to go to some rope cutting ceremony with that boring husband of hers,” SuAnn said, taking a piece of the watermelon before Julie could stop her.

  “Mom, don’t say that.”

  “She says it herself all the time!”

  Everyone had been surprised at what fast friends Henrietta and SuAnn had become. After the whole pie contest debacle, Hen had graciously let everyone know that there was a discrepancy she found in the tally and then stepped down so SuAnn could have the limelight. From then on, the two had spent a lot of time together, always causing a ruckus about something in town. Julie had never seen two women more meant to be best friends than SuAnn and Hen.

  “So, William, I hear that you’re getting a second boat?” Julie asked as she breezed into the dining room.

  “Yep. We’re running at least one charter a day, so this could double my business pretty quickly.”

  “My boyfriend is going to be a gazillionaire and buy me a yacht,” Janine joked as she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

  “Calm down there, yogi. I think we’ll just stick with two fishing boats for awhile.”

  “Well, I went on one of his charters last weekend, and it was amazing. Caught some huge redfish that day. D
ixie grilled them up real nice,” Harry said.

  “I sure did, and he ate so much he couldn’t button his pants!”

  Julie walked to the kitchen window and opened it. “Dylan, come in for dinner!”

  Dylan, whose adoption was in process, was always running around the property doing this or that. Dawson had taught him a lot about water safety, fishing and even started teaching him to surf. The Department of Children’s Services had allowed Dawson and Julie to foster Dylan while the adoption was processing, for which they were very thankful.

  Dylan came running through the door, dirty as usual. “I saw a huge crab on the beach!”

  “Go wash up, young man,” Julie said, rustling his hair. Dylan ran down the hallway to the bathroom.

  Julie loved Sundays for this very reason. The house was always full of the people she loved. Vivi, who is now walking, was into everything, so Meg was chasing her all over the living room, trying to keep her out of Dawson's grandmother’s priceless antiques.

  Colleen and Tucker were sitting on the sofa chatting with Christian about the latest toy that Tucker had invented. It was taking off, and it was poised to be one of the biggest toys of the Christmas season.

  “Everybody ready to eat?” Lucy called, popping her head out of the kitchen. If there was one thing that Julie loved, it was having Lucy around. She reminded her of Agnes, her old housekeeper in Atlanta. She had become part of the family, and for that, Julie was grateful.

  Everybody sat down around the table as Julie and Lucy brought the food out and set it on the long table. The family was getting bigger and bigger which meant that they had to put the leaves in the table. That was okay with her. She hoped she would need two tables before it was over with.

  “Before we get started eating today, I would like to make an announcement,” Dawson said. Julie didn't know what he was talking about, so she was eager to hear this secret announcement of his.

  “Everybody quiet down,” Janine said, patting the chair next to her for Dylan to sit down. She had been a wonderfully calming force for him and had taken on the role as his aunt with gusto, even teaching him some yoga to help him focus at his new school. Thankfully, he’d made plenty of friends there and was no longer being bullied.