Epilogue—Christmastime

Evan woke, and it took him a few seconds to remember he’d arrived on the island of Getaway Bay the night before. He’d wanted Riley to stay with him, but they weren’t married yet, and she had a house of her own on the island. In fact, once they were married, whenever they came to Getaway Bay, they’d live in her house.

Carl had bought the one Evan had rented fifteen months ago, and he had himself a girlfriend to boot.

A loud knock on the door told Evan that Carl was awake, and then his brother entered. “You’re getting married today.”

Evan smiled as he stood up. “I sure am.”

“And you’re late already. Come on. Get in the shower. We have to be over to the resort in an hour.”

“How long do you think it takes me to shower?”

“Think?” Carl asked. “Brother, I know how long it takes you to get ready, and we’re going to be late. Get in. Now.”

“Maybe I’ve changed this year,” Evan said.

Carl just laughed as he left Evan’s bedroom, and Evan couldn’t really argue. He had definitely changed in the last year, but that stemmed all the way back to when he’d walked into that coffee shop and seen that beautiful brunette.

Riley hadn’t gone back to the dark locks, not that Evan minded. He loved her auburn hair, her freckles, everything about her. She’d been back in Hawaii for a month now, finishing the preparations for their big day. They’d stay on the island chain for a few days, celebrate Christmas with her family, and then he was taking her around the world for thirty days to see all the amazing cities she hadn’t seen yet.

Osaka. Bangkok. Copenhagen. Berlin. London. Oslo. He hadn’t been to all the places they were going, and he couldn’t wait to experience them with his wife.

His wife.

He wanted to make new memories with that word and keep them with him for the rest of his life. So he let Carl retie his bow tie and drive them around the island to the patch of beach Riley could see from her back deck. His back deck soon enough.

Because Georgia Panic hadn’t been touring this year, they’d spent plenty of time on the island of Getaway Bay together. He had joined the billionaire club, and it turned out that he liked Fisher and Jasper and Tyler and the other men and women. A lot. Sure, some were a bit stuffier than others, but for the most part, they were just people—like him.

The ocean breeze rippled the sides of the tent, but Riley had said she didn’t care. She’d always envisioned herself getting married on the beach, even from childhood. As they’d talked and planned and visited various beaches, this one she’d had a bird’s eye view of for so long had become the clear favorite. Plus, then they could see it every time they ate dinner on the back deck, a constant reminder of how much they loved each other.

She’d had sketches she’d done at some point in the past for the altar, the tent over it, the chairs, the colors. Evan had simply sat with her at the table while she showed everything to him. Then they’d gone to Your Tidal Forever, and she’d given everything to Lisa and Charlotte.

Charlotte was a bit of a handywoman, and she’d helped build the altar. Lisa had taken care of absolutely everything else. Riley had not allowed him to pay for anything except the rehearsal dinner and the honeymoon, claiming she’d been “saving forever” to get married.

Evan would’ve done anything for her. Gone to any lengths. Paid any amount. He just wanted the woman to be by his side for the rest of his life.

“Hurry up, Evan,” Lisa said as soon as he opened the door. “Riley is going to be out in ten minutes, and you absolutely cannot see her in the dress before the wedding.” She tugged on his arm, and Evan chuckled.

“We’re not even late.”

“Uh,” Carl said at the same time Lisa said, “Yes, you are. Twenty minutes late.”

“Oh, sorry,” Evan said, shooting Carl a look. He just smiled and walked in the opposite direction. Evan watched him twine his fingers with his girlfriend’s, and they went to sit by Evan’s parents in the front row. Brett was there too, but he’d broken up with the woman he was dating and hadn’t brought anyone to Getaway Bay for these nuptials.

Lisa ushered him into a tent that was barely big enough for him to hold out both arms. It was divided by another tent flap, and she gave him a very stern look, those blue eyes blazing with fire. “You do not go on the other side of this. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, because he’d do whatever she said when she barked at him like that.

She nodded and went out the way she’d come in. A few seconds later, he heard her voice on the other side of the divider, and he knew: Riley was over there. Maybe he could just peek…

“Nope,” he muttered to himself. Not only did he not need Lisa’s wrath on his wedding day, he wanted Riley to be happy. And she didn’t want to see him yet. He paced from one end of the tent to the other, but it was only three steps for his long legs, and he was suddenly very glad he’d been twenty minutes late. Being cooped up here for a half an hour would’ve been torture.

The sound of fabric swishing met his ears, and he spun toward it. Lisa poked her head through. “I’m going to get her dad. I will come for you in two minutes.”

“Thanks, Lisa,” he said brightly.

She grinned and dropped the curtain. Evan immediately moved over to it and waited. Five seconds. Then ten. Satisfied that Lisa had left the tent on Riley’s side, he said in a soft voice, “Riley?”

Her perfectly manicured fingers moved through the tiny gap in the curtain, and he seized onto them. “Almost time,” she whispered.

“I love you,” he said.

“I was worried you wouldn’t show up,” she said. “Twenty minutes late? Who arrives to their wedding with only ten minutes to spare?”

“Hey, my manager has the day off,” he said. “And Carl wasn’t rushing me. Did you really think I wouldn’t show up?”

“No.” She squeezed his fingers. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“I don’t mind if you take a peek now,” he said. “It’s not my dress you can’t see.”

She giggled, and her hand slipped away from his to pull the curtain back hardly at all. He could see a sliver of her face, and she said, “Wow, you look great.”

“I’m sure you do too.”

“Riley,” Lisa said, and Riley ducked away from the curtain, her explanation that she hadn’t been too close and he hadn’t seen anything. Lisa’s frustrated face filled the gap and she narrowed her eyes at Evan. “Did you see her dress?’

“I swear I didn’t.” Evan held up both hands in surrender. “I didn’t touch that curtain.”

“He didn’t,” Riley said from the other side. “Go on, now. I don’t want this to start late. You know how I hate it when weddings start late.”

Lisa grumbled something under her breath, but she yanked the curtain closed in the next moment. Evan waited for her to make the trek from doorway to doorway, and he apologized again when she arrived.

She was a master at hiding her emotions, because she said, “All right, Evan. Time to get you in place. Come with me, please.” She led him out of the staging tent and toward the altar.

It was a beautiful piece of polished driftwood—at least that was what it looked like. The top had been sanded flat, and pink, white, and red flowers spilled off all the sides. He saw his parents smiling at him in the front row. His brothers. Riley’s parents and her mob of a family. He’d met them all several times throughout the past year or so, and he couldn’t help scooping up the toddler that ran toward him.

“Heya, Bri,” he cooed to the little girl.

Her mother, Riley’s sister, arrived a moment later. “Sorry, Evan.”

“It’s fine.” He passed the girl back to Lauren. “No problem.”

She turned and headed back to her seat, and Evan waved to his billionaire buddies, as well as Charlie and Amelia, and a few friends and neighbors he’d gotten to know.

His bandmates sat in the second and third row right behind his parents, and they all got up to give him hearty hugs. “Finally doing this,” Dan said. “I can’t believe it.”

“Congrats,” Hank said.

DJ just grabbed onto him and held him tight before returning to sit beside his girlfriend. They’d been dating for six years, and Evan had never asked him why they hadn’t gotten married. Peter did the band handshake and hugged Evan, saying, “She’s lucky to have you, man.”

But Evan felt like the lucky one. Beyond lucky.

“Right here,” Lisa said, positioning him in a little crook of the driftwood. “Don’t move.” She nodded to someone else, and then she went and took her seat with all of Riley’s friends from Your Tidal Forever.

Evan had attended all of the rehearsals possible. He had been in LA the last few days, simply to assure his agent and record producer that yes, Georgia Panic had been writing songs all year. They had four new tracks already recorded, thank you very much, and were easily going to meet the deadlines set forth by TriCities.

Music filled the air, and Evan turned around, despite Lisa’s warnings for him not to move. Riley stood at the end of the aisle now, her hand linked delicately in her father’s. She was stunning, with a gorgeous lace design on the top part of her dress. Her skin glistened in the gaps of the lace on her arms and shoulders, but her bodice was covered. The dress fell down in straight layers from there, and though she walked under a gauzy tent, the sunshine still illuminated something sparkly on the fabric.

She wore her hair up in a sophisticated style, with perfect makeup, and that smile. Oh, that smile could undo all of Evan’s defenses.

Pure joy filled him as their eyes locked. Her father whispered something to her and pressed a kiss to her cheek before passing her to Evan. “Bless you, my boy,” he said before going to sit down.

The wedding party took their spots on either side of the altar, and one of Riley’s brothers came around to the head of it. Jason smiled at both Riley and Evan before saying, “What a great day, right?”

Everyone cheered and laughed, and Evan’s dreams of a non-stuffy wedding came true. Jason gave a little advice and talked about the sanctity of marriage for a couple of minutes. Then he said, “And you two have your own vows to read. Riles?”

She cleared her throat and accepted a slip of paper from Winnie, her niece. She didn’t look at it, though, before she said, “Evan, I knew something magical was going to happen with you from the moment I laid eyes on you in that coffee shop. I didn’t know what. I didn’t even know who you were at the time. You never know what time it is, despite owning several watches.”

Evan chuckled and ducked his head, because she was right.

“You need someone to give you your schedule every day. You can’t cook.” She smiled through everything she said, tears gathering in those lovely eyes. “But you can sing. And you are the best entertainer in the world. The sexiest man alive, in fact. And you love me perfectly, which is all that really matters to me.”

Her voice broke, and Evan’s eyes started to burn as tears rushed into them.

“I love you, and I will do my best to be your wife, your companion, your support.” She handed the paper back to Winnie, and Evan’s stomach seized.

“I didn’t write anything down,” he said, glancing around like a niece would bring him a slip of paper to read from.

She squeezed his hands, and he looked at her again, the lyrics to a new love song coming to his mind.

“I knew when I saw you in the coffee shop that I was going to try to leave with your number. I’d never been so happy to lose my watch.” He drew in a deep breath. “You mean everything to me. You light the night for me. Make me feel alive. I don’t want to do anything by myself anymore, because everything is better with you.”

He took a micro-step closer, almost leaning in to say, “I love you, and I will do my best to make sure you’re happy for the rest of our lives together.” He was glad he hadn’t lost his composure, and they faced Jason again.

“Aw, you two are the cutest,” he said, and Riley giggled, though she’d told Evan she’d warned Jason against going off the script. “By the power vested in me by the state of Hawaii, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” He grinned at them. “You may kiss your bride, rockstar.”

Evan pulled Riley flush against him and leaned down. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

He kissed her to the best applause in the world—better than stadiums full of people, and music halls full of fans. Because these were their friends and family, and this was the beginning of the rest of their lives.

END