LITMIR.BIZ

       EPILOGUE

      ‘WE SHOULD HAVE eloped to Hawaii,’ Archer murmured in Callie’s ear after the umpteenth back-slap and congratulatory kiss.

      Callie elbowed her new husband. ‘And miss out on sharing another Flett Christmas Eve wedding with our families? No way.’

      ‘You’re such a romantic sap,’ he said, sliding an arm around her waist and holding her close.

      ‘So sue me.’ She sighed and snuggled into him. ‘Thank you.’

      ‘For?’

      ‘This.’

      She waved towards the festivities in full swing on the beach foreshore in front of the Winki Pop Surf School.

      Artie, resplendent in tux and Santa hat, was mixing up another batch of his secret sangria.

      Izzy, too cute in an eclectic Christmas elf-fairy costume, was racing around Tom in a demented version of Ring-a-Rosie. Travis and Shelly were canoodling, and Archer’s folks were sitting hand in hand alongside Nora, watching the fun with benign smiles.

      Even the recalcitrant Bruno had made a rare appearance, resurfacing from the Middle East sans wife, and trying to make it up to Nora and his daughter.

      Let him keep trying. Callie wasn’t buying it, even if she’d generously agreed to let him come to the wedding and to Christmas lunch tomorrow.

      The wedding ceremony on the beach had been incredible, but it had been earlier, when Archer had carried Nora in his arms and gently deposited her in a front row seat, that Callie had lost it.

      He’d wiped away her tears to a chorus of sniffles from their small crowd of guests and she’d managed to hold it together for the vows. Just.

      The fact that she’d married her first love, her only love, was so surreal she kept smoothing her strapless calf-length ivory silk wedding dress to ensure it was real.

      Lucky for her, Archer rarely released her hand, and his solid presence was all the reassurance she needed.

      His gaze followed hers. ‘You sure your mum’s going to be okay while we honeymoon in Capri? Because I’m happy to stay here—’

      ‘She’ll be fine.’

      Callie had had a long talk with her mum when she’d almost lost Archer twelve months ago, resulting in her letting go of her residual fears and starting to live life in the moment.

      Sure, watching her mum deteriorate a little every day sliced her in two, but Nora was making the most of the time she had left. The least Callie could do was the same.

      It was what Nora had wanted—to see Callie happy—and they’d brought the wedding forward for that very reason.

      Not that she or Archer minded. They’d been living together anyway, spending Monday to Friday in Melbourne and the weekends in Torquay.

      He didn’t mind the commute, and she didn’t mind a sexy surfer crowding her space. They hadn’t decided on permanent living arrangements yet. Time enough when they returned from Capri.

      She couldn’t believe they were returning to the beautiful town where they’d met, where this amazing guy had wooed her with wine and moonlight and sea.

      ‘What are you thinking?’

      She glanced into her husband’s deep blue eyes and smiled. ‘I’m thinking about old memories of Capri.’

      ‘Well, I’m thinking about creating new ones.’

      His exaggerated eyebrow-wiggle made her laugh.

      ‘You know we’re going to have an amazing life together, right?’ He cradled her face in his hands, his thumbs caressing her cheeks.

      ‘You bet.’

      For whatever they faced in the future she’d do it with her incredible husband by her side.

      Life didn’t get any better than this.

      He lowered his head and kissed her, a soft, tender melding of lips that quickly escalated into heat and passion and need.

      Maybe it did...

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