Page 31 of Sweet Music (Sugarville Grove #7)

BELLA

B ella stood at the center of the park a few days after Christmas, as the sun set pink over the snow-frosted pavilion.

She wore a pretty dress under her warm winter coat, and a big smile on her face.

“How do you feel?” Cody asked from beside her.

She glanced up at him and smiled. The teen looked really sharp in his suit with the red scarf around his neck that Maggie Lawrence had knitted for him.

And Bella apparently wasn’t the only one who thought so. Annika Corbin was sitting in the front row of the plastic chairs that the Lawrences had arranged in front of the pavilion, and she kept sneaking glances at Cody.

The rest of the family was there as well. Bella’s parents had even come up from Florida for the occasion. They had been having a great time getting together with all their old friends this week, and Bella strongly suspected that they would be visiting more often now .

Aside from the family, all sorts of people were gathering in the park now. When Bella and Cash talked about their wedding plans, they had been torn. While they very much wanted a small, family-only ceremony, they also knew that plenty of people in Sugarville Grove would want to attend.

And when his band insisted on coming back to play for them, it became clear that even people outside Sugarville Grove might want to be there too.

Getting married in the pavilion with just the three of them, with family and friends in the chairs just below, and everyone else who wanted to be there milling around the park felt like the perfect compromise.

And the journalists in attendance had agreed to confine themselves to the sidewalks surrounding the park.

Looking around, Bella thought that everyone seemed to be happy and relaxed. Even her own nerves had barely shown themselves. They had managed to keep today about the joy of becoming a family together.

The first notes of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” floated into the air from the musicians gathered on the steps of the pavilion. A handful of Bella’s old friends from the county All-Stars Orchestra had also agreed to play today, along with Cash’s band.

As the bass added its notes to the song and the electric guitar kicked in. the crowd made noises of surprise and appreciation.

“It’s the perfect mix of the two of you,” Cody murmured to her.

She smiled. He was right, of course. And the whole thing had been his idea .

“Are you ready?” he asked her.

“Definitely,” she told him, slipping off her coat and handing it to Allie Lawrence. It would be worth shivering through the quick ceremony so that Cash could see the pretty dress Maggie had made for her.

The musicians moved to the side as Cody led her up the steps, revealing Cash.

The big man looked absolutely incredible in his suit. His expression went soft as he took her in, and Bella felt beautiful, as she always did whenever she saw herself through his eyes.

Cody walked her all the way to Cash, who took her hand. But he stayed there with them, as they had planned.

The pastor moved closer and smiled at the three of them.

“This is such a special day,” he began.

The ceremony was simple and sweet. When Cash looked into her eyes and spoke the old-fashioned words in his deep voice, she felt her heart melting. And she managed to say her parts without her voice shaking too much.

Then they each made promises to Cody, which surprised and touched the teen so much that he dropped all ceremony and wrapped an arm around each of them to hug them tightly.

We’ve got him, Harper, Bella told her cousin inwardly. Don’t worry.

By the time they were finished, the three of them all had tears in their eyes, and even the pastor’s voice was husky with emotion.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” he said. “Cash, you may kiss your bride.”

He and Cody stepped back, and Cash met Bella’s eyes.

She smiled and nodded, grateful that he was making sure she was okay getting a kiss in front of a crowd and cameras.

He grinned at her, then swept her up in his arms and dipped her low.

She was so surprised that she let out a giggle.

But it was cut off quickly when he sealed his lips to hers.

Happiness lit her up from within as he kissed her. But he stopped too soon and pulled her back to her feet.

“You’re getting a better kiss than that in private,” he murmured as the crowd below cheered.

They made their way down to greet friends and family as the band kicked into an instrumental version of one of Cash’s big songs, and a couple of guys from the firehouse set up patio heaters in the square.

“You did it,” Tripp said, pulling Cash into a big hug.

“When’s it going to be your turn?” Cash teased him.

“It was beautiful,” Maggie said, embracing Bella. “I love the way you two included Cody in your promises.”

“Thank you,” Bella told her. “And thank you for the dress.”

“Here’s your coat,” Allie told her, holding it out. But her hands dropped before Bella could take it. “Wait, is that… no , it can’t be…”

But it turned out that it could be, and it was.

Cash had put the word out to a few of his friends in the business, and it looked like some of them had actually shown up to join the celebration.

It was only a handful of celebrity guests, but that was plenty to get the whole town aflutter as they spotted them in the crowd.

One or two even stepped in to sing some of the upbeat hits the band was playing, much to the guests’ delight.

“Cash is still the biggest celebrity here,” Cody said to Bella at one point.

“Yes, but everyone in this town grew up with him,” Bella laughed. “These others are something new.”

A stand was set up to hand out hot chocolate and sweet roasted nuts to anyone who wanted them. The scent was delicious on the air, and everyone was charmed at the warm treats.

The band finally played a slow song, and Cash took Bella’s hand and led her to the center of the square. Bella had never considered herself much of a dancer, and her heart thundered at the idea that so many people were watching.

But as soon as he pulled her close, the rest of the world faded away, and it was just the two of them swaying and spinning under the big trees.

“I think it’s my turn to sing now,” he told her when the dance was over. “As long as you don’t mind me working a little today.”

He winked at her, and she laughed.

“I’ll make an exception for you,” she told him. “As long as I don’t have to re-shelve any books.”

“That’s fair,” he said.

“Though I do wish I could memorialize all this somehow for the Vermont music section,” she mused.

“We’ll have plenty of photos and recordings,” he told her. “I made a deal with the journalists.”

She had to smile at his foresight.

“See you in a minute,” he told her, kissing the top of her head before he jogged off to join the band.

When the guests noticed where he was headed, a hush fell over the crowd.

“ I’m only going to sing one song today,” Cash said into the mic. “And I think my son is going to help me out on this one.”

Bella’s heart melted as she saw the look on Cody’s face. The boy took off across the park instantly to join his father on the steps of the pavilion.

When Cash handed off his personal guitar to Cody the teen’s jaw dropped. Then the two embraced.

“He did it,” Maggie said, shaking her head with a happy smile on her face.

“What did he do?” Bella asked.

“He gave him his great-grandfather’s guitar,” Maggie said. “He asked his father’s permission this morning, told him that he wanted to give the boy something special today.”

“Wow,” Bella said softly. She’d heard Cash talk about how much that guitar meant to him, and how many of his best songs were written on it.

Cody strummed the first chord and suddenly she was fighting back tears.

My song…

Maggie wrapped an arm around her, and they both listened as Cash sang to her about how much he had loved her since long before he saw her face .

When the song was over, Cash’s manager jogged up to him and the two of them talked for a few minutes before he and Cody headed back over to Bella.

“That was beautiful, boys,” Bella told them both. “Thank you.”

“You two pulled me out of my songwriting dry spell,” Cash said, looking between them.

“ Cash just got invited to do a huge New Year’s concert ,” Cody said, the words bursting out of him like he couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“That’s why Aimee came up to talk to us,” Cash said, nodding with a smile. “But I don’t have to go.”

“Of course you do,” Bella told him.

It hurt to think of him leaving right away while they were still newlyweds. But this was what it was going to be like to be married to a rock star, so she might as well get used to it.

“I’ll only go if the two of you come with me,” Cash said.

She searched his face, but the man was dead serious.

“ It’s in New York City ,” Cody said, breaking into delighted laughter. “ We get to go to New York. ”

He took off, clearly in search of Annika so that he could share the exciting news.

“We still don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Cash said softly.

“I can’t wait,” Bella told him, finding that she meant it.

“Really?” he asked her.

“I know, I know,” she said. “I’m a homebody. And I do love Sugarville Grove.”

“For good reason,” Cash said approvingly.

“But exploring the world a little bit sounds like fun,” she said. “Now that I have someone to explore it with.”

“You’re amazing,” he told her, hugging her close. “And don’t worry, Sugarville Grove will always be our home.”

“Wherever you and Cody are,” she told him, pulling back and meeting his eyes so that he would know she meant it. “That will always be home for me.”

When he kissed her this time, she found herself getting lost in the happiness that radiated from his heart to hers.

We’ll never lose each other again.

***

Thanks for reading Sweet Music !