“Tyler must have closed on the house.” He cupped her chin in his hand.
“Guys, look what I have.” Tyler waved a key at them as he climbed down to the beach and up on the side of the lawn they were standing on. “What the heck do I do now? I’ve never owned anything like this before. I don’t know where to start.” He paused beside them and glanced at the glasses in their hands. “Did I interrupt something?”
“No. Ruby’s forgiven me so everything is alright in my world.”
She blushed under his gaze and Simon dropped a kiss on her forehead.
Tyler’s mouth dropped open. “You two are sweet now? No more arguments or misunderstood words?”
“No. I have my girl back at last.” Simon cupped her chin and pressed his lips to hers in a swoon worthy kiss that made his head spin.
Epilogue
Simon woke up so excited he could hardly contain himself. He threw the blankets back, slid out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweat pants before he ran out to the back yard with George at his heels. They raced through the gate he’d had put in between his and Tyler’s house and up onto the patio where Tyler paced back and forth.
“Hey, man. What’s going on?”
“I’ve never been a best man before.” Tyler stopped pacing for a few seconds to stare at him and the continued. “I don’t want to stuff it up, Simon. I had nightmares about losing the rings.”
Simon laughed. “Not going to happen. Nothing you do will ruin my day so stop stressing out.”
“If you’re sure I can’t ruin things, fine. I’ll still do it.” He grinned. “Bonus is I get to sit with the lovely, Carly all day. Right?”
“You sure do. Make the most of it, man. I want you to have a good day too. You’ve been mooning over her for years. Time to make your move. Now, do you have any coffee? We don’t have to get ready for a few hours and I want to see what you’ve decided to do to the house for now until you can get hold of a good architect. Walk me through it and tell me the plans.” As he followed Tyler into the house, he texted a quick message to Ruby.
You’re right. He’s freaking out. Tell Carly to go easy on him.
A message pinged back.
Today is make or break day for her. If he doesn’t try, she’s moving on. She can only take so much, she said. It was followed by sad face emojis.
He knows. Poor guy has cold feet.
Isn’t that my job today?
Simon had a moment of panic. Surely not? I thought you and I were on the same page.
Sorry. There was a laughing emoji. Couldn’t resist it. He’ll be fine.
Phew, you had me worried for a moment. And I know he will. But will we? I love you, Ruby.
Love you too. Go and sort Tyler out. I have to get ready to blow your socks off. Xoxoxo
Tyler passed him a mug of coffee as he slid the phone into his pocket. “I should’ve plucked up the courage to ask her out on a date before today. Would’ve saved me the stress of trying to impress her when half the city is watching on.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But you don’t have to worry about impressing her. If she wasn’t already blown away with that big brain of yours, do you really think she’d still be looking at you the way she does?”
Tyler shrugged, a hint of a smile on his face. “I don’t know, I guess.”
“I don’t guess. I know. So no more talk about it. Just go out and be the charming guy I know you can be.”
Tyler sipped his coffee. “Right.”
Three hours later, he stood beside Simon holding the lead for George who sat beside him, not a care in the world.
The music started. The guests turned their faces as Ruby approached.
* * *
She stood at the door while Carly adjusted her veil. Her best friend leaned in and whispered. “He looks so damned handsome.”
“He does, doesn’t he? And to think I almost lost him.”
“Not him—Tyler.” She grinned and gave Ruby a wink. “If he thinks playing the shy guy is going to stop me, he’s got another thought coming.”
“About time you stood up and took what you wanted.”
Carly moved to stand in front of her, glancing over her shoulder. “Ready? Let’s get this show on the road, girlfriend.” As the music raised in volume to signal the beginning of the procession, Carly stepped forward and took her place in front of the bride.
Ruby gave Carly time to get down to the front of the tiny church before she took her father’s arm.
“Ready, my sweet girl?” her father asked, his blue eyes glassy with tears.
“I’ve been ready for years, Daddy. I just didn’t know how much until this moment.” She kissed his cheek and her eyes begin to fill. Furiously she blinked. “Thank you so much for coming to give me away. It’s a big ask for you to come this far. I know you’re busy with work.”
“I’ll always be busy with work. Part of being a diplomat, sweetheart. But I wouldn’t miss your wedding for the world, no matter how far away we lived. Your mom was so excited to come back to San Francisco for a few weeks to get to know Simon again too. Now, are we good to go? Your man is waiting patiently and I can see your mom frowning wondering what we’re doing standing here talking. If we don’t start down the aisle, I’ll never live it down. Better get a move on, eh?”
Ruby took the first step and then another. A smile broke out on Simon’s face and she laughed. This was the day she’d been waiting for ever since that day in school when they’d first met. The day they would become man and wife and more importantly, a team. She lifted her chin and smiled at
