“Well, I did. And I choose you,” he said and sealed his lips over hers.
Epilogue
Lucas and Maxie’s wedding was taking place at a beautiful catering hall just outside of the city with windows all around, revealing the snow-covered trees and grass beyond the glass.
Kendall Parker sat in a chair by the floral-laden arch, surrounded by a small amount of family and friends, waiting for the procession to start. She was thrilled for Maxie, finally getting the happy ending she deserved, just as she was happy for her sister, happily married to Kade.
Kaden Barnes was a good man. He’d forgiven her when he could have caused a lot of trouble in her life. And her life was already difficult enough. Kade had understood that. And she would be forever grateful.
Before she could muse further, Cassie, Derek’s girlfriend, joined her, taking the seat beside her.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” Kendall said. She’d met Cassie at a fundraiser, and Kendall liked the other woman.
Now that she was with Derek, Kendall figured she’d be seeing a lot more of her.
“Don’t you just love weddings?” Cassie asked, her voice high-pitched with excitement.
“They’re wonderful,” Kendall murmured. And they always seemed to happen to other people.
Always a bridesmaid, she thought, but today she wasn’t even that. Her twin was closer with Maxie. Kendall, on the other hand, had a problem keeping people in her life, maintaining close relationships.
Thank you, bipolar disorder. Then again, she hadn’t been with a guy since she’d gotten the right kind of treatment and dedicated herself to her recovery. She hadn’t been interested in any man since Julian.
“Are you okay?” Cassie asked.
“Just thinking … about relationships,” Kendall said honestly.
“About Julian?” Cassie asked. It wasn’t a leap considering the first time they’d met and really talked, Julian had shown up at the same fundraiser Kendall was attending.
Cassie had taken Kendall out of the room to calm her down while the others had seen to Kade, who always tended to explode when his ex-friend showed up. Kade looked out for Kendall like a big brother, and after what Julian had done, he didn’t want the man anywhere near her.
He didn’t have to worry. Kendall didn’t want anything to do with the man who’d deliberately dated her, used her, set her up to hurt Kade and her sister. And because Kendall hadn’t been on the right medications, hadn’t cared who she hurt when she was on a high, she’d fallen right into Julian’s trap.
Unfortunately she’d fallen in love with him too. Something else she did too easily, too fast, too impulsively. In Julian’s case, she’d fallen for the man he’d pretended to be in order to get her to do his bidding. She was just reaching the point where she was getting over him.
“Kendall?” Cassie placed a hand on her arm and glanced at her with concern in her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’m fine. And no, I’m not thinking about Julian.”
Cassie blew out a relieved breath.
She’d probably been well briefed by Derek on Julian’s behavior. About how stupid Kendall had been to fall for him.
The good news was she was well-medicated, holding down a job, living her life, making friends, not alienating people.
Suddenly music started, and Kendall turned toward the back of the room in time to see the groomsmen start down the aisle. Kade, wearing a tuxedo, walked with Lexie, who looked beautiful in a pale blue bridesmaid’s dress. Next came Derek and Maxie’s friend, Bailey, followed by the groom. Lucas strode down the aisle and turned to wait for his bride.
The music changed to the traditional “Here Comes the Bride,” and Maxie stepped onto the carpeted aisle, framed by drapes on either side.
Kendall pivoted in time to catch Lucas’s expression as he viewed the woman he loved in her ivory gown, her blonde hair falling in curls around her shoulders and the small swell of a baby bump at her stomach. A huge smile lit his face, and Kendall sighed at the love she saw there. A lump formed in her throat, and she had tears in her eyes, so happy for the couple she’d come to know.
Someday, she thought, reminding herself that she’d been working so hard to live a well-functioning life. She knew what she had to do, keep to her routine, healthy diet, exercise, and avoidance of stress. Not to mention keeping up with her therapy appointments. If she did all this, she thought, listening to the wedding vows, she had to believe that, someday, the happiness Kade and Lexie, Maxie and Lucas, and now Derek and Cassie had found could be hers, as well.