A Vine Mess (Love on the Vine #4)

Extended Epilogue Ella

ONE YEAR AFTER THE TRIP

“I can’t believe the big day is already tomorrow,” Mom said, leaning back in her chair and resting a hand on her stomach. My and Liam’s rehearsal dinner had, of course, been catered by Ezra and Brie, and we’d had more food than we knew what to do with. Each of us girls and my parents would be eating leftovers for the next several weeks.

And that was saying nothing of the feast they’d curated for tomorrow. Even though they were both in the wedding party, they’d been very adamant about having a hand in what we served, saying it was their gift to us, and Liam and I weren’t about to turn that down.

Brie, however, refused to allow anyone else to make my cake, and I was grateful for that. That, even though she’d be standing next to me along with Chloe, Amara, and Delia, someone so special to me had created the cake Liam and I would ceremonially cut.

After we’d finished eating, and had shared a nightcap of Delatou & Danvers Lena’s Best Sangria, the wait staff—which Owen had brought in from Birdie’s—handled the cleanup while we prepared to part for the night.

Tonight marked the first time since we’d set off on our road trip a year ago that Liam and I had spent apart. I hated the thought of sleeping without him, but my sisters insisted it was tradition, and I couldn’t argue with that.

It also marked the first night in a long time that I was truly off work, leaving the reins of the flower shop to my lone employee. I’d taken over Blossom’s last fall, after Fanny settled all of her affairs in Michigan and went to Arizona for the winter, only to never come back save this weekend. I’d been royally pissed when I realized she’d given all of my inventory to Liam for our proposal, but I couldn’t stay mad for long. I was, after all, getting the love of my life and a wedding out of the deal.

The guys were spending the night at Cal and Amara’s while us girls were staying here. Tomorrow, we’d get ready at the Villa before the ceremony was held at the winery—exactly as I’d envisioned since I was a little girl.

The guys rushed outside toward Owen’s truck, piling inside, but Liam remained in the doorway with me, as unwilling to leave me as I was to let him go.

“I love you,” he murmured, bending to kiss me, one of those slow, gentle ones he knew really got me going. But now wasn’t the time or place for that, especially not when Logan rolled down the window to the truck and shouted.

“Let’s go, lovebirds! Save the kissing for tomorrow.”

“Your brother-in-law is a pain in my ass,” he grumbled against my lips.

“You love him.”

“I do,” he agreed. “I love all of them, but not nearly as much as I love you.”

“Well I would certainly hope not,” I teased. “After all, you’re not fucking any of them. Or are you?” I tapped my pointer to my chin contemplatively. “I’ve always thought your and Ezra’s bromance skewed a little more romance than bro…”

Liam pinched my sides and leaned in to nip at my neck. “Wicked girl. You know there’s only one person in the world for me.”

“She must be incredible to have snagged a catch like you.”

“Incredible doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

My cheeks heated, and I pushed him away before I could give into my urge to drag him upstairs and have my way with him.

“I love you,” he said as he bounded down the steps.

“And I love you.”

“See you tomorrow.”

I grinned. “I’ll be the one in white.”

Actually, my dress was more cream than white, and adorned with wildflowers that started on the base of the bodice and flowed all the way down the full skirt. I’d be changing into something easier to move in for the reception, but I figured since I was only getting married once, I was going full send on the dress for the ceremony.

“I can’t believe you’re getting married before me,” Amara pouted as she wove delicate purple flowers into my hair .

I snorted. “It’s literally two weeks, Princess ,” I said, emphasizing Cal’s nickname for her. “I think you’ll survive.”

Amara sighed. “I suppose you’re right,” she said, stepping back to survey her work, her hand immediately falling to her stomach and the bump growing there. “As long as we get married before this little one arrives, I don’t really care when it happens.”

“But sooner rather than later,” Delia said as she approached us, holding my earrings in one hand and necklace in the other. She handed the necklace off to Chloe, who went around behind me while Delia hooked the teardrop amethysts into my ears. “You don’t want to be a cow on your wedding day.”

Amara smacked her. “Don’t call pregnant women cows, Lia. Frankly, it’s fucking rude. I can’t wait to see how big you get when you and Owen eventually have kids.”

“Seriously,” Brie snorted as she joined us as well, having just put on her dress. “Have you seen that man? He’s huge. And his brothers are just as big.”

“Aria is tall as hell too,” I reminded them. “And we’re not exactly…petite.”

Delia sighed. “Fuck. I’m going to have monster, ten-pound babies, aren’t I?”

We all devolved into laughter, but quickly sobered. I reached for the two nearest to me—Chloe and Delia—linking my hands with theirs. Around we went until we were all connected.

While Brie and Chloe were both already married, Amara and Cal had only gotten engaged a few months before on their daughter’s first birthday. Owen had proposed to Delia last November, and they were planning a ceremony for the upcoming October, right before Delia’s birthday .

“I couldn’t do life without you guys,” I said to them, sniffing and tipping my head back to avoid any tears spilling free and ruining the makeup Delia had painstakingly applied.

Seriously, she threatened bodily harm if I ruined it.

“Ditto,” Brie said, and we squeezed each other’s hands. “But this is just the beginning for us. The guys…they’ve only made things better, haven’t they?”

“They have,” Chloe agreed. “And the babies.”

I grinned as I thought of my nieces—Aleah, Cora, and Brie and Ezra’s daughter, Harley. They were the lights of our lives, and I was seriously looking forward to the day when Liam and I welcomed our first into the family.

“Our last names are changing,” I said, trying to smile through the tears, “but we’re Delatous forever.”

“Forever,” they agreed. I don’t know which of us moved first, but suddenly, we were pulled into a group hug, each of us sobbing noisily.

“What the hell is going on in here?” someone asked, and we broke apart to find Mom standing in the doorway, hands on her hips, glaring at us. “I mean, seriously? Can’t you guys hold it together for like…I don’t know. An hour?”

“No,” we all blurted at once, then immediately started laughing.

“Well, figure it out,” Mom said, moving toward the bed and gathering two of the bouquets—which I’d designed and Fanny arranged when she’d arrived a few days ago from Arizona—and handed them to Brie and Delia. “The ceremony starts in ten minutes.”

My sisters and I all shared a shocked and horrified look, then burst into motion. Delia quickly touched up everyone’s makeup, Chloe and Amara made sure the girls were ready to walk down the aisle with their flower baskets, and Brie called Ezra to make sure he had the rings.

It was pure chaos, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

All the nervous and excited butterflies I’d been feeling up to that point flew away as I stood before the closed patio doors of the winery, Dad on my right. This was finally the moment all my dreams came true, and I couldn’t wait to get down the aisle, marry Liam, and start our forever together.

“You’re happy?” he asked me.

“More than I’ve ever been before.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you five. These men…I couldn’t have asked for better for my babies.”

“Stop it,” I hissed, taking the hanky from his hand and dabbing at my eyes. “If you make me cry, Delia will kill you.”

Dad scoffed. “I can take your sister.”

One by one, my sisters disappeared with their partners until all that stood between me and Liam were Aleah, Cora, and baby Harley, who the older two towed behind them in a little red wagon.

I could hear my guest’s laughter and coos of happiness and excitement as the girls made their way down, and I waited for my cue, the moment the song I’d chosen to walk down the aisle to would kick on.

The opening strings of “God Bless the Broken Road” filtered through the doors, and Dad glanced at me.

“Ready? ”

“Let’s do this.”

Any hope I had of not crying evaporated the moment I laid eyes on Liam, who was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen, standing beneath the archway I’d spent hours on in his cream-colored suit, almost the same shade as my dress. And the second he saw me walking toward him, he choked out a sob, doing his best to keep his eyes on me and hold it together. Ezra, who was his best man, settled a hand on his shoulder and whispered something that had Liam laughing and swiping at his eyes.

At last, we reached the end of the aisle, and while I’d given the officiant strict instructions not to ask the archaic “who gives this woman to be wedded to this man” question, Dad still approached Liam and shook his hand, then joined our hands before letting go.

“I love you, my girl,” he whispered as he kissed my cheek, then went to take his place next to Mom.

“Hi, Wildflower,” Liam mouthed.

“Hey, Wills,” I grinned.

As we’d opted for traditional vows, the ceremony passed in a blur, though it felt as though Liam and I were the only two people on the planet as we exchanged them and placed rings on fingers. The ceremony wasn’t the important part, anyway.

Everything that came after was.

And when the officiant pronounced us husband and wife, I didn’t even wait for him to give the instruction to Liam to kiss me before I threw myself into his arms and did it myself.

I pulled away, Liam wearing a grin that rivaled my own in size, and I wiped some gloss from his lips as we turned to our guests.

“And now, for the first time,” the officiant began, “I am pleased to announce Mr. and Mrs. Danvers!”

To cheers and bubbles and the bass-heavy opening of “Let’s Get Married” by Jagged Edge, Liam and I sauntered back up the aisle and into the winery, where we’d take a breather before heading out to the vineyard to take pictures.

Liam pulled me against him the second we were alone, and I yelped in surprise as the thick length of him pressed into my stomach.

“Have you had that the whole time?” I asked, curious how he’d managed to hide it.

“Nah,” he said, leaning in to nuzzle my neck. “Only popped up when that guy said ‘Mr. and Mrs. Danvers.’”

“You liked that, huh?”

He pulled away to look at me. “Baby, I’ve been dying to give you my last name since the day I met you.”

“Well, Mr. Danvers,” I said, tugging on his tie until his mouth was a breath away from mine. “What do you say we get in some trouble before we have to greet our guests?”

Liam’s grin was positively feral as he took my hand and said, “Lead the way, Mrs. Danvers.”

As had the ceremony, the rest of the day—photos, guests congratulating us, cocktail hour, and dinner—sped by in a blur.

My sisters had us all crying and laughing as they stood up and made speeches, particularly Chloe, who used her gift with words and experience as a married woman and now mother to offer us some advice. I was grateful in that moment that we’d elected to hire a videographer, because once the Chateau Delatou bubbly started flowing, and we hit the dance floor, I had no hope of remembering anything but how alive I felt, how fucking happy I was, and how amazing it was to have all of my favorite people in one place, celebrating me and the love of my life.

We shared our first dance to “Cover Me Up” by Morgan Wallen, which I let Liam pick and ultimately decided was pretty perfect for us. We cut the gorgeous chocolate cake made by my sister, and took a million photos. We danced until our feet hurt, until the DJ announced it was time for our guests to head outside for our sendoff.

Liam and I changed once again, this time into comfy travel clothes. It was late, and we were only heading as far as our house, but I wanted our photographer to catch us leaving, looking like we were heading off to some tropical locale instead of just to our cabin on the outskirts of town.

The true star of the show wasn’t even me and Liam.

No, it was the purple VW van waiting for us outside the entrance to the winery. After the road trip, neither of us could stand to part with it, so we’d purchased it from the company Liam had rented it from for a pretty penny. It was worth it, though. I smiled every time I looked at it, stored safely in our garage to protect it from the elements, and I couldn’t wait to take more adventures in it alongside my husband .

When we pushed out onto the walkway, we were greeted by all of our guests twirling sparklers in the air, cheering and offering us congratulations one final time.

At last, we were settled in the van—me behind the wheel and Liam in the passenger seat—both of us hanging out the windows shouting thank yous to everyone for coming.

And then it was time to go, the engine sounding like music to my ears when I turned it over. Riley Green played softly from the speakers, the soundtrack to the rest of our lives.

I turned to Liam, and my world narrowed to that point. To his face, to those blue eyes and his pearly white smile. To his entire person. Straight to the heart of the man beneath, the heart that belonged to me.

“What do you say, Wills? You ready for our next adventure?”

Liam leaned back in his seat and tapped the dash.

“Take me away, Wildflower.”