Page 172 of Until August

“We are. Are you… happy about it?”

“Am I happy about it? I’m fucking over the moon. How can you even ask?” He pulls me into his arms, but then his body tenses. “Are you feeling all right? Do you need to sit down? Do you need me to get you anything?”

I laugh. “No. I’m fine.”

“We need to make a doctor’s appointment first thing. Are you supposed to be flying? Should we push off the honeymoon?”

I laugh again and swat his arm. “Stop. I’m fine. Pregnant women can do all kinds of things, including flying.” I kiss him because I think he needs reassurance. He kisses me back more gently than he’s ever kissed me.

“Will you marry me?” I ask.

“I will marry the shit out of you.”

The door flies open, severing our romantic moment, and my mother stands in the doorway with her hands on her hips. She aims her glare at August. “You need to get out of here,” she says, huffing as she grabs his arm and steers him toward the door.

He winks at me over his shoulder, a smile playing on his lips as the door closes. My parents have come to love and accept August, although it didn’t happen overnight. He’s had to work to get into their good graces, but they love their daughter and see how much he loves me and how happy he makes me. So, in the end, that was enough to win them over.

When they’re gone, I have a few precious moments alone, and I use the time to fix my makeup.

Then I take a final look in the mirror, take a deep breath, and say a few silent words to my first love.

“I love you, Cruz Vega, always and forever. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for giving me your blessing to move on. August makes me happy. So very happy. And we’re starting a family together. I don’t know why it wasn’t meant for us. Or why the universe has decided that this is my time to be a mother. But I know that wherever you are, you’re a big enough man to be happy for me.”

I press my fingers to my lips and blow an air kiss toward the ceiling, and then I gather up the skirt of my dress and step into the hallway where my best friend and my cousin are waiting for me.

Scarlett thrusts my bouquet into my hands. “Let’s do this.”

I smile. “I’ve never been more ready to do anything.”

I can’t wait to get started with the rest of my life.

* * *

Our wedding is a small, intimate affair on a vineyard in the Temecula Valley overlooking the Santa Ana mountains. But as I walk down the makeshift aisle between the rows of chairs, I don’t notice the view or our friends and family who are sharing our special day.

All I can see is August Harper standing so tall and proud.

My rock. My strength. My true love.

The man who put the sun back in the sky.

The man who calls me Honey Bun. Who holds my hand and wipes my tears. Who loves me even when I’m not feeling especially lovable.

We argue and fight. We don’t always see eye to eye. But we love hard, and I never turn my back on him.

I’ve learned so much about love.

I’ve learned that life can be fleeting, so you have to make every moment count. Savor it. Be grateful for the time you’re given. And let go of the burdens that are too heavy to carry.

But most of all, I’ve learned that love is infinite.

And August’s smile, his heart, and his very being are worth their weight in gold.

He is worth everything.

“I love you so fucking much,” he says before he kisses me in front of all our friends and family.

He steals my breath and then gives it back to me.

And now I know how lucky I am to have found not one but two amazing men to love and cherish.

Because how many people get that lucky?

I’ve found two great loves in one lifetime.

I am the luckiest girl in the world.