She's Got a Way (38 page)

He pulled back, smiling. “I love you, Gabriela. And that's not for rom-com effect. That's … from my heart.”

Gabi laughed, the butterflies settling down for the first time since he'd driven into the rest area in his beat-up old truck that somehow was exactly perfect for him.

“You know what?” She shook her head like she could hardly believe what she was about to say. “It turns out … I love you, too.”

 

Epilogue

“Oh, Gabi. It's perfect.” Piper's eyes got all watery as she did a circle around Gabi, pulling gently at the layers of white satin. “It's so … you.”

Gabi looked in the mirrors, twisting left and right to see how the wedding gown looked from all angles. It was stunning. Absolutely stunning.

Laura stood up from the fancy wingback chair in the corner, and Gabi's hand went to her mouth as she saw the tears in the older woman's eyes.

“Oh, Gabriela.” She circled slowly, touching the pearls, the lace, the satin. “I never thought I'd be so proud as I was the moment you agreed to wear my dress. But seeing you in it right now? I'm just bursting. You look … so beautiful.”

Gabi reached out to hug her. “Thank you for saying so. And for asking me to wear your dress. You can't possibly know how much it means.”

“Well, I do claim some responsibility for this wedding, so it seemed only appropriate.” Laura smiled. “And I hope you'll have a marriage as long and as happy as mine was. I never had a daughter to pass this along to.” Laura hugged her tightly. “Thank you for wearing it.”

Piper wiped her eyes with a tissue, then shook her head like she was pulling herself together.

“Hannah just texted from the salon. She's on her way.”

Gabi smiled, picturing the blond bombshell that ran Hannah's Hair Palace. She operated at two speeds—fast and super-fast, and over the past year, she'd become one of Gabi's closest friends. For the first time in—well, ever, Gabi actually
had
a circle of friends she could picture keeping for longer than a semester, and she marveled at the fact that she'd never considered that Luke might come with a prepackaged group of people he was more than willing to share.

An hour later, Hannah turned her toward the mirror, and Gabi gasped. Her hair was pulled back in a gentle updo, with strands left loose to frame her face. Hannah had done her makeup, as well, and Gabi felt like she'd just stepped out of a magazine.

“You guys!” Her eyes welled up. “I look like a … bride!”

Piper, in a dark blue strapless bridesmaid dress that matched Hannah's, dabbed at her eyes. “That you do, my dear. Luke is going to
flip
when he sees you.”

The subtle bell on the bridal salon door rang, and Laura looked at her silver watch. “Now, who could that possibly be?”

Piper went to the door, and Gabi fluffed out her dress in the mirror, wishing she was already walking up the aisle. She smiled as Piper returned with a box, a mystified look on her face.

“What is it?” Gabi asked.

“I don't know.” Piper handed it to her.

Gabi looked down, and her smile turned into a contented sigh as she saw Luke's handwriting. She opened the box, then laughed out loud when she realized what was inside.

“What's in there?” Hannah crowded close, then laughed as well. “DVDs?”

Piper peered over her other shoulder. “Good Lord, there are, like, twenty of them. Has Luke not heard of video streaming?”

Gabi just smiled as she picked up one of the movies and turned it to see the cover.
“Pretty Woman.”
She put it back in, picked up another.
“Sleepless in Seattle.”
Her smile grew bigger as she pulled out rom-com after rom-com.
“Dirty Dancing,
Love Actually,
The Proposal.”

She put a hand to her mouth. “How in the world did I ever doubt this man?”

Piper laughed. “Is he promising to actually
watch
those with you? Because that would pretty much seal the deal. I mean—you know—besides the whole wedding ring and dress and everything.”

“Oh, you'd better believe it.” Gabi finished pulling the movies out of the box, then reached in to find a creamy envelope lettered in gold.

“Why'd he put a copy of your wedding invitation in there?” Hannah asked.

“I … don't know.” Gabi smiled as she opened it, then sank down onto the antique settee behind her as she read the words he'd printed inside the card.

Piper sat down beside her. “What does it say?”

Gabi laughed quietly, then wiped her eyes. “It says, ‘When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
When Harry Met Sally,
1989.'”

“Aww. He stole a rom-com line?”

“He totally did.”

Laura pulled the curtains aside. “I believe our ride is here, ladies. Gabi? Are you ready to go meet your groom?”

Gabi looked out at the white limo, then at Luke's words, and then back at the three women who, one year ago, she'd barely known, and her face broke into a huge grin.

“I've never been more ready for anything.”

Piper held the door for her as she walked out of the bridal salon, then tip-tapped on her heels over to the limo, kissing the driver full on the lips.

“At your service, ma'am.” Noah smiled and bowed as he helped Gabi's dress follow her into the limo. “I'm in charge of making sure the bride doesn't head for the hills before the wedding. Apparently it's a thing.”

He closed the door and walked around to the driver's seat, and fifteen minutes later, the limo was bouncing down the dirt road toward Camp Echo. As they pulled closer, Gabi could see car after car parked at the edge of the dirt road, and she felt the flutter of nerves.

“Who invited all of these people?” Her voice was shaky, and Piper took her hand.

“You did. And they all said yes.”

Finally the limo parked, and Noah opened the door and helped each of them out. He put one arm out for Piper and one for Laura, and they disappeared up the pathway toward the dining hall, which looked like it was lit with a hundred thousand twinkling white lights. In the autumn evening darkness, the entire camp looked magical.

The new school buildings peeked over the hilltop behind Luke's cabin, all freshly constructed with logs from the surrounding forest. In just two weeks, the first fifty students would arrive, and Gabi and Luke had both been running from dawn till dusk to make it happen.

But tonight? Tonight was about them.

“Well, Ms. O'Brien.” Oliver's voice came from behind her. “May I escort you to your wedding?”

Gabi turned toward him, but instead of holding out an elbow for her arm, he held both hands wide. She laughed and leaped into his arms, almost toppling him over.

“I can't believe you guys did this. Look at this place!”

Lights covered the cottages, the remodeled administration building, and were even strung down the dock. She pointed at the Adirondack chairs by the beach, which were glowing with pink bulbs.

“Look at the chairs!”

Oliver smiled. “We had a little help with the decorating.”

Gabi spun. “I can't believe you did this all this afternoon. I wasn't even gone for four hours!”

“Well, when you hire the best…” A familiar voice came from behind the limo, and Gabi's face felt like it might actually crack as Sam stepped into the light. “We might be girlish and pretty, but we're workhorses, right, Oliver?”

Gabi smiled as she pulled Sam into her arms. “Thank you, Sam. It looks unbelievable.”

“Well, I had a little help.” Sam pointed to another car. “Come on, girls. Show your ugly faces.”

The door opened, and Gabi squeaked as Eve, Waverly, and Madison stepped out, and suddenly she felt tears flying down her cheeks, probably ruining Hannah's careful makeup job as she hugged each of them.

“I can't believe you guys are here!” Gabi turned to Sam. “How—”

Sam grinned. “Well, since not all of them can be lucky enough to live here now, like I do, we went to get them.”

“Who did?”

“Me and Luke. This morning.”

Gabi put her hand to her chest. “So he wasn't in town doing errands … obviously.”

“Nope. Halfway to Massachusetts before you even woke up.” Sam squeezed her hand. “He knew you'd want them here.”

Waverly smiled, adjusting her dress. “We
are
kind of the reason you're getting married in the first place. If we'd never gotten in trouble, you'd never have met the man of your dreams.”

“Yeah.” Madison smiled. “You're welcome, Gabi. And look what we did.”

She pointed behind Oliver, where Luke's dogs sat quietly, little blue bows around their necks. Gabi laughed when she saw the ring boxes attached to their collars.

“You added Puff-n-Fluff to my bridal party?”

Sam smiled as she grabbed their leashes. “It seemed apt.”

Oliver motioned toward the dining hall. “Ladies? I think we've got some people waiting, and a very anxious groom.”

Gabi took a deep breath, looking up the pathway, lit with even more white lights. The girls and dogs headed toward the building, and once they heard the door close, Oliver crooked his arm and held out his elbow for Gabi.

“Shall we go meet your groom, Gabriela?”

She took his arm, dabbing quickly at her eyes as she felt a huge smile take over her face. “Absolutely, Oliver. Let's go meet my groom.”

*   *   *

At midnight, Gabi stood on the dock under the twinkling white lights, her back nestled against Luke.

“Are you happy, Gabriela?” His voice was soft in her ear, and shivers cascaded down her entire body.

“I'm happier than I ever knew anybody
could
be.” She turned, smiling. “And you?”

“I'm feeling like the luckiest guy on Earth, yeah.” He kissed her softly, brushing her loose tendrils of hair back with gentle fingers.

She pulled back a tiny bit. “So is this the part of the rom-com where you deliver the super-cheesy romantic line, and then we fade to black?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay.” She smiled. “I'm ready.”

“Okay.” He nodded, letting his eyes dart back and forth like he was thinking. “Um, okay. Ooh—nobody puts Baby in a corner?”

She laughed. “Um…”

“You complete me? You had me at hello?” He cringed. “Anything there?”

“Mm, no-o.”

“Oh, I've got it. Best one ever.”

“I can't wait.”

He laced his fingers with hers, pulling her close. “Say you love me, Gabriela.”

“You love me, Gabriela.” She bit her lip, then squeaked as he tickled her. “Okay, okay. I love you.”

He took a deep breath, like he was about to utter the single most epic rom-com line in history, then slid his hands up to cradle her jaw. He looked into her eyes, so serious that her breath caught.

Then, with his eyes crinkling at the corners, he whispered, “Ditto.”

 

Don't miss the first two novels in this heartwarming series by bestselling author

Maggie McGinnis

Forever This Time

Heart Like Mine

From St. Martin's Paperbacks

 

Also by
Maggie McGinnis

Forever This Time

Heart Like Mine

Snowflake Wishes
(novella)

PRAISE FOR

FOREVER THIS TIME

“McGinnis weaves an engrossing and uplifting tale of enduring love.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“
Maggie McGinnis
really outshines herself with this well written story.”

—
Night Owl Reviews
(5 stars! Top Pick!)

“Finely crafted, well-rounded characters, and the delightful plot make this a must-read.”

—
Reader to Reader Reviews

“Such a heartrending story of growing up, running away, then coming back to find where you left your heart.”

—
Romance Junkies

HEART LIKE MINE

“An engaging plot, genuine, relatable characters, and a sweet yet sexy romance will keep readers turning the pages.”

—
RT Book Reviews

“A book that can [make you] laugh and cry while reading. Read it in one sitting, just couldn't put it down.”

—
Fresh Fiction

“Magical. A sweet and inspirational romance that will tug at every reader's heart.
Heart Like Mine
is an outstanding novel.”

—
Manhattan Book Review
(5 stars!)

“If you're looking for a sweet romance that has slow kisses and a heartwarming adventure, I would highly recommend meeting the characters of Echo Lake!”

—
Lush Book Reviews

“I cannot wait to read the next book in this series!”

—
Always Reading Reviews
(5 stars!)

“An amazing read with captivating characters and filled with romance.”

—
Harlequin Junkie
(5 stars! Top Pick!)

 

About the Author