by Skye Jordan
“I dreamed about this day for a long time, you know? Until a few months ago, I thought that’s all it would ever be, a dream. And even after I started down the road to making it a reality, I must have second-guessed myself a thousand times.”
He lifted a hand to stroke her cheek.
“In my heart of hearts I knew I’d get here. But this opening has exceeded my every last wild dream. And you know why?”
He grinned. “Because you’re beating me in job prospects?”
Avery laughed and lifted her hand to cup his jaw. “Because you’re with me. This wouldn’t mean half as much to me without you here.”
The humor in his expression faded, replaced by deep and serious affection. He combed one hand through her hair. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
“How do you feel about today?” he asked. “About the events and wedding cakes and four hundred sixty-two pies you’ll be making?”
Avery laughed. “Amazing beyond words.” The men at the piano collectively introduced a new song from bygone eras, “Earth Angel” by the Penguins. Harlan, Henry, Pearl, and Phoebe had joined George in singing the sweet ballad.
“Good.” He bent his head until his lips softly touched hers. “Because I love you beyond words.”
The emotions those words evoked were so beautiful they hurt. She took his face in her hands and held his gaze. “I love you, too. So much.”
Trace wrapped her in his arms, swept her back in a dramatic dip, and kissed her in front of a café full of customers . . . and essentially all of Wildwood.
A burst of whistles and applause erupted around them. Avery broke the kiss with laughter. The feeling of being completely loved swam through her for the first time in years.
When Trace pulled her upright, the old-timers decided to jazz things up again with “Old Time Rock and Roll.” Customers started clapping to the rhythm and signing along. Trace twirled Avery beneath his arm, then pulled her in to dance with him. Across the restaurant, Ethan grabbed Delaney and joined them on the makeshift dance floor.
George handled the piano fairly well, but when the group’s worn vocal chords stretched to shout the lyrics, notes went haywire and laughter sprinkled through the café.
Surrounded by her family, her lifelong friends, and the man she loved, Avery felt all the loose ends in her life weave together into a perfect tapestry. Smiling up at Trace, she knew she’d been right since the very beginning. It might have taken her a while to get here, but there was no doubt she was right where she belonged.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Skye Jordan is the New York Times bestselling author of the Renegades series and other contemporary romances, including the first novel in the Wildwood series, Forbidden Fling. Born in the San Francisco Bay Area, she holds a bachelor’s degree from California Polytechnic State University–San Luis Obispo and spent two decades working as a sonographer at UCSF Medical Center. Today, when she’s not writing, she volunteers at a clinic in rural Mexico. She is the proud mother of two college-age daughters and lives in the historic town of Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband of twenty-five years.
