Dr. Grant (Off-Limits)

I stare at myself through the mirror in my childhood bedroom, my heart racing as I touch up my lipstick. This entire morning has been a whirlwind of laughter, tears, and moments that I know I will always cherish. I smile as I think back to the way Mom and Leia helped me into my wedding dress, the champagne Aria brought in this morning along with a crystal hairpin that was her mother’s, for me to have as my something old. Leia let me borrow the anklet she always wears, telling me I needed something borrowed, while Dad gave me a thin bracelet with hidden blue stones on the inside.

He’s been so involved with our wedding, and I’ve loved it. He went with me to go cake tasting, and he sat through hours of me trying to pick table decorations. The wedding preparations helped us get to know each other again. It helped us form a relationship, and it helped Noah too. I don’t think Noah will ever be as close to Dad as he is to Grandpa, but they’re friendly, united by their mutual love for me.

I step back from the mirror when I hear a knock on my door. My room is empty now — Mom is already seated in the garden that Grandpa had transformed for me into the venue of my dreams. Aria and Leia, my two bridesmaids, should already be by the door to signal the start of the ceremony, walking down the aisle ahead of me.

We got ready together this morning, and what I thought would be a stressful morning turned out to be more than I ever could’ve hoped for. They made me feel so loved, and I’ve barely stopped smiling since I woke up.

I always thought the highlight of my wedding day would be the ceremony itself, but the happiness I feel in this moment has me doubting that. Is it possible to be even happier than I am right now?

I turn when Grandpa walks in, smiling when he stares at me in disbelief. “You look beautiful, Mari,” he whispers, his eyes filling with tears.

I walk up to him and raise my hand to his face, my thumb catching a tear that escapes his eyes. My throat closes up and I shake my head. “No tears, Grandpa. I’ll cry if you do.”

I’ve never seen Grandpa cry before, but today he’s emotional. He looks at me with pride and unconditional love, and I blink back my own tears.

“It’s not too late to have your father walk you down the aisle,” he tells me, a surprisingly nervous look in his eyes.

I grab his hand and shake my head. “No,” I whisper. “It has to be you. Dad will be seated in the front row, but it’s you I want walking me down the aisle. You’re the one that’s always been there for me, Grandpa. You were the one that always patched me up when I inevitably scraped my knees with my recklessness. You saw me off on prom night, and you took me out on every Father’s Day, so I’d never miss Dad.” I raise our joined hand to my cheek and smile up at him. “Because of you, I never felt the absence of my father. I’m happy to have him back in my life, but as I walk down the aisle and join my hand with Noah’s, I want you by my side… right where you’ve always been.”

Grandpa looks away and nods, visibly emotional, and I rise to my tiptoes to hug him. He holds me tightly, pressing a kiss on top of my head. “I’m proud of you, Amara,” he whispers, tightening his grip on me before letting go.

He offers me his arm, and I take it with a smile. “Ready?” I ask him, and he shakes his head.

“I’ll never be ready to let you go, Mari.”

I smile and rise to my feet to press a kiss to his cheek. “You’ll never lose me, Grandpa. You’ll always be my hero. I love Noah with all my heart, but I loved you first.”

He swallows hard, blinking back his tears, and then he nods. “I love you too, Amara.” He inhales deeply and straightens his back. “Let’s go, before Noah comes looking for you.”

I laugh, but I genuinely wouldn’t put it past Noah to come find me if I take too long. He’s been anxious lately, eager to finally truly make me his. It’s a feeling I understand all too well.

We pause at the edge of the aisle Grandpa had built just for me. There are white roses everywhere, and our garden looks like something right out of a fairytale. The sun is shining down on us, and the seats are filled with everyone Noah and I love.

My eyes find Noah’s, and everything else fades away. He’s all I can see as we walk down the aisle. Grandpa places my hand in Noah’s, and the two men look at each other.

“Take care of my little girl,” Grandpa murmurs, his voice breaking, and Noah nods as he tightens his grip on my hand.

“Always,” he promises.

Noah

She looks so beautiful, it’s unreal. I can’t believe I get to marry the woman of my dreams today. Everything about the last couple of months has been surreal. The odds were stacked against us, but we defied them and came out on top.

If there’s one thing we learned, it’s that happiness isn’t an end goal. It’s something you work toward every single day, with every choice you make. And she and I? We’ll always choose each other.

Amara is all I can see as the officiant asks us to repeat our vows after him. We’re surrounded by our loved ones, but for just a few moments, it’s as though it’s just the two of us.

I’m mesmerized as Amara smiles at me and says, “I do.”

We fought so hard to make it here, and hearing her say those words, saying them to her in return… it’s got me feeling like I must be dreaming.

I breathe a sigh of relief when the officiant tells me I can kiss the bride, and Amara chuckles as I wrap my hands around her waist, pulling her closer.

I kiss that smirk right off her face, and she melts into me, the way she always does. “I love you, Mrs. Grant,” I whisper as I pull away to look at her.

Amara smiles, the two of us finally becoming aware of the cheering that surrounds us. “I love you more,” she murmurs, pressing another lingering kiss to my lips.

Everything about this day is surreal. I’ve never before been this surrounded by love. Our family walks up to us to congratulate us, and Peter smiles at me.

“Thank you,” he says. “Thank you for making her so happy, for putting my daughter first.”

He looks pained, as though he knows I’m missing my parents today. He and I have come a long way. I doubt we’ll ever grab a drink together, but we’re civil, and having him in our lives no longer pains me. I can’t forgive him for what happened, but I’ve made peace with the past, and every day I choose to prioritize my future with Amara.

I nod at him and shake his hand. “Thank you for doing the same, Peter. I know how much courage it took to show up every time she needed you throughout the last couple of months, and I’m grateful you continue to put her needs above yours.” I see the pain in his eyes every time he looks at me. The guilt haunts him every time he sees me, yet he continues to show up with a smile on his face.

Harold walks up to us and places his hand on my shoulder, and I turn toward him with a smile on my face. “She might be your wife now,” he tells me, “but she’ll always be my little girl.”

I smile at those words. My wife. Finally. “I know,” I tell him, an indulgent smile on my face. Today is hard for him. He tries to hide it, but he’s no longer unreadable to me. “Thank you for trusting me with her heart. I won’t let you down.”

He nods. “I know you won’t.”

I glance at Amara, but she’s busy talking to Aria and Leia, her eyes drifting to mine every few seconds. I hesitate before asking Harold the one question I’ve been unable to get off my mind.

“Would you have let her marry Gregory?”

Harold looks at me and grins. “No. Never. When Amara came back home, she needed something to keep her mind off her heartache. She offered to marry Greg in return for your freedom, and I just let her be, figuring that she needed to feel like she was in control of the situation, of your future. She felt guilty, and that engagement helped relieve some of her guilt. Gregory knew he’d never marry her. I told him I wouldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t, not after I saw how happy she was with you. I couldn’t ask my little girl to settle for any less than that. Greg agreed to the engagement, nonetheless. Maybe he was hoping Amara would truly want to marry him someday, but it’s far more likely he went through with it because he knew what effect their engagement would have on his father’s stock price.”

I stare at him, but there isn’t a trace of a lie on his face. I think he’s telling the truth.

“To be perfectly honest, Noah… I also knew news of Amara’s engagement would hit you hard, and I was banking on it being enough to make you snap out of your misplaced righteousness. I knew you loved her, and I hoped that love would be your salvation. I wanted to protect Amara, but once you two discovered the truth, there was no longer any need to protect her. At that point, my priorities shifted toward ensuring her happiness — and Amara’s happiness lies with you.” I stare at him in surprise, and he smiles at me knowingly. “So will you forgive me?”

Harold Astor asking me for forgiveness… I never thought I’d see the day. “Yes,” I tell him. “But don’t even dream of interfering in our lives again.”

He and I both glance at Amara. She’s brimming with happiness today, and I’m going to ensure she smiles the way she does right now every single day for the rest of our lives. “I won’t have to,” Harold says, smiling at me with full faith in his eyes.

I look down at my feet, hesitating before I raise my head to look at him. “I’ll take the job,” I tell him. Harold has been offering me a seat on his board for months now, and I’ve continuously been declining his offers, in part because I held a grudge. I’m not proud of it, but I couldn’t help myself. I hated him for letting Amara get engaged to Gregory, but it looks like my anger might have been misplaced. Things are never what they seem with Harold. I should have known. Despite his cold exterior, the man loves deeply.

“Good,” he says, his eyes on Amara. “Because I don’t think Amara can take the workload, and she’s about to get even busier. She doesn’t know it yet, but my wedding gift to her is a sizable investment in her company. She won’t be able to run her company and simultaneously learn how to run the Astor holdings. Her cousin returned to the States to help you, and between the two of you, you should be able to manage the company just fine. He’s a lot like Amara and he refuses to give up his day job, but he promised to help.”

I look at him with raised brows. “So you’d already assumed I’d end up taking the job?”

He smirks and ignores my words, nodding at a man that approaches us instead, two miniature versions of him in tow, a boy and a girl. “Speak of the devil,” he says.

Amara gasps and rushes up to him, and he lifts her up in his arms, twirling her around. “Adrian!” she yells. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

I take a step toward them, Harold’s laughter drowned out by the jealousy I feel. I don’t know who this guy is, but if he doesn’t get his hands off my wife, we’re going to have a problem.

I exhale in relief when he puts her down, and Amara walks up to me, her eyes lit up with excitement. “Noah,” she says, “meet my cousin, Adrian. He’s a mathematics professor, and he’ll be working at Astor college. You two are going to love each other.”

So this is the elusive Adrian Astor. Amara’s uncle’s son. Her uncle married a British woman, and Adrian grew up in England. From what I understand, Harold has been trying to get him to move back here from England for years now. I wonder what finally convinced him.

I offer him my hand, and he shakes it absentmindedly, but his eyes aren’t on me. No. They’re on Leia, who is staring at him in shock. She looks from him to the children behind him, and then she pulls it together and pastes a polite smile on her face. Her smile doesn’t fool me, though. She’s clearly stricken. Leia walks away in a rush, and Adrian follows her. Whatever is going on between them leaves me intrigued, but my attention is swiftly stolen by my wife, who twirls Adrian’s two kids around in her arms.

She looks so incredibly happy, and I’m going to do all I can to protect that happiness. Amara looks up at me, her eyes filled with love, and I smile at her. I can’t believe I married the girl of my dreams. I can’t believe I get to spend the rest of my life with her. There will be challenges, I’m sure… but she and I can get through anything so long as we’re together.

“I love you,” I tell her.

She grins at me, her niece in her arms. “I love you more, Noah.”

I doubt hearing her say that will ever get old. I’ll never get enough of her. She’s my every dream come true, and I’m going to make sure she knows it — every day for the rest of our lives.