Authors: Jaime Whitley
“I love you,” she lazily says as I’m drawing circles on her shoulder with my finger.
“I love you, too.” I kiss the top of her head, nodding off into the most blissful sleep.
Epilogue
1 Year Later
Silas
I’m standing at the altar waiting for my bride to come walking down the aisle. I have been counting down the days to this very moment; the moment where I can finally make my family complete. Well, almost. Till this day, I still believe us meeting in the airport was meant to be. I saw her going through security and any man who didn’t see her had to have been blind. She has this glow about her and she lit up the whole damn airport like a meteor shower lights up the sky in the night. When I saw she was at my gate, I knew she was wrapped up in whatever she was doing. So I took a chance and told her there were no other seats and sat beside her. Of course, there were a million empty chairs, but if she looked around and said something, I would have found another reason to sit there. She looked like pure heaven and I wanted to be part of that, if only for a minute. Luck was on my side when our flights got canceled and I got to spend the best night of my life with her. I knew when I found Lilly again at the book signing, it was no coincidence. Fate was telling me something and I wasn’t going to let her slip away again. We booked Perry and his band for the reception. He suggested playing some love songs on the guitar with no lyrics for the party to walk down to. He starts playing his guitar and I turn to my best man.
“This is it, buddy, your mom should be coming down that aisle any minute,” he is smiling so contagiously big, it makes mine grow wider.
I look back and see Ava in her white dress skipping down the aisle, throwing the flowers up in the air. They eventually land on the floor, leaving a very crooked trail for everyone to see. Our guests are giggling and when she gets to Kim and hands her the basket, she says, “All done, and I didn’t miss a single petal.” Kim kisses her cheek.” No, you sure didn’t.,” She puts Ava on her lap in the pew and I give her a thumbs up.
Next to walk down is Owen, who is moving slower than molasses. We told him that the ring bearer is a very important job since he will be in charge of the rings. Lucas had to go and open his big mouth and follow it up with, be sure not to trip and lose the rings, so naturally that freaked him out a little. After he makes it to the front, he stands next to Lucas, who gives him a high-five for a job well done.
Laura and Megan are already halfway down the aisle when I look back up. My heart lodges in my throat knowing the next person is my one and only soul mate. I’m ready to start our forever together and spend every day cherishing her. Perry switches to play our wedding song, Jason Mraz, I Won’t Give Up, and out comes Lilly.
My world stops, along with my breathing as I take in the stunning sight before my eyes. I never thought Lilly could be any more bewitching than she already is, but today she looks angelic. That same glow from the airport is following her as she makes her way closer to me. She wouldn’t let me see her dress, no matter how many times I asked. The only thing she told me was that it is a white strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline. Seeing her in it makes me want to rip it right off her. That dress was made for her body and she was right not to show it to me. Her father kisses her cheek and places her hand in mine. I remove my hand from hers and place both of them on her protruding stomach. “Hey there, Delilah.” I lean down, placing a kiss on our little princess. I rise back up and see a tear falling from Lilly’s eye. “No tears, not until we’re done with our vows,” I say as I wipe the tear away with my thumb. We both turn and face the priest.
“Thank you, everyone for being here today to help us celebrate this holy matrimony. When Lilly and Silas came to me, they had asked me if it is allowed to just exchange vows in weddings. There are no rules when it comes to love. Respect each other and live for one another, and most importantly, don’t ever stop loving each other. With that, Silas, you can now recite your vows to Lilly.”
I grab Lilly’s hand in mine and begin. “From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were worth getting to know. You’re eyes were filled with so much wonder and life that I immediately had to emerge myself into it somehow. You have this pull, like gravity, and I’m so lucky that I fell into your orbit. Then I let you walk out of my life, but you’ve never left my heart. When we reconnected, I knew it was destiny. The universe was intervening and pulled me back in. I promise, I will spend every day cherishing you and our children. I will make your rainy days shine bright and be the glue that holds us together. You are my best friend and mother of my children, and I will love you always, even after my last dying breath.” I bring her hand up to my lips, placing a kiss on it. Lilly’s eyes look like a waterfall with tears flowing down them. Normally, this would break my heart, but I know they are tears of happiness and
that
is a beautiful sight.
“Lilly, you can now recite your vows to Silas,” the priest says.
“I tried very hard to write down vows and found myself struggling. Funny, considering I’m an author.” Her comment causes everyone to laugh as I cup her cheek and wipe away the tears that are starting to fall. “I’m going to speak from my heart, because you are my heart. When I met you in the airport, never did I think you were going to blow into my life like a tornado. You came and left, damaging me for any other man to come my way. You were always a part of my life, whether you were in it or not. There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by where you weren’t in my head, taking over my thoughts. You gave me the greatest gifts anyone could want. Unconditional love,” she’s still holding my hand. “A son,” she looks at Ezra holding out her free hand and she places it on top of ours. “And a daughter,” she says placing our three connecting hands on her belly. “When life gets hard, you make it easier. I promise I will continue to give you all of me and never stop fighting for us.”
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride,” the priest instructs and I waste no time. I grab Lilly by her waist, pulling her into me and place my lips on hers, sealing our forever. Everyone in the church starts clapping and we pull apart to face our friends and family. I lean into Lilly and whisper in her ear.
“It’s funny, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“That day we parted, we were never supposed to see each other again. Now, we have everything we both wanted and more all because of a little twist of fate.” Lilly’s cheeks spread across her smiling face and I grab her, kissing her one more time before leaving the church.
Acknowledgments
To my husband Scott, all the support you continue to give me every day on this journey does not go unnoticed. You have always been my biggest supporter, and I wouldn’t be able to do this without you. Thank you for all the hard work you put in to the house and taking care of our amazing kids while I write. You never complain and always dedicate your free time so I can get my work done. You are the best thing that could have ever happened to me, and I’m honored to be your wife. You gave me two beautiful children and are an amazing husband. I’m so lucky to be able to spend my life with you and I look forward to the years to come. I love you!!
To my kiddos, Aiden and Peyton, even though you are too young to read these right now, one day you won’t be. I want you both to know that, besides your father, you’re the biggest blessings I’ve ever received in my life, and I love you both to the moon and back.
Rachael Duncan, I couldn’t ask for a better bestow or writing partner. Who knew when we got together for a play date we would end up here? I’m so glad our love for reading brought us together. Thank you for not kicking me out of our two person book club while I slacked on the reading department to write. Your support throughout this has been amazing and greatly appreciated. I’m so happy you love this book, because your opinion was one that mattered most to me. I look forward to creating more stories with you and seeing you shine throughout your other stories. As our friendship continues, I can’t wait to see what crazy shenanigans we get into along the way. You know we are going to be those crazy old ladies yelling … THAT’S MY JAM!! And I wouldn’t have it any other way!! Xoxo
Kim, I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing it was to work with you. I love your honesty and value your input tremendously. Thank you for taking hour after hour away from your family to beta and help make Twist Of Fate what it is. You did an amazing job and I can’t wait to work with you again. I went into this with a beta reader and came out with a friend. It has truly been a pleasure getting to know you along the way, and I’m so happy for all the great things headed your way. And yes, I’m still envious of the fact that you can have a taylor ham egg and cheese for breakfast anytime you want. Xoxo
Laura Hansen, you are another special person I had the pleasure of meeting through our love of books. The friendship we have built will always be cherished and last forever. You never slack on the support department when it comes to me and I love you for it! Whatever time we spend together always ends up in fits of laughter, creating memories to last a lifetime. Even though you had a crazy busy couple of months, you still took the time to beta and I can’t thank you enough. Xoxo
Jennifer Santoro, what else can I say other than, WE SURVIVED A BUTCHER!!! I’m so glad I got to finally meet you in Cleveland and I can’t wait to see your beautiful face again. Thank you for offering to help beta for me. I know it took time away from your husband and kiddos and I truly appreciate it. You’re another friend I’ve made through my love of reading, and I look forward to many more great times with you. Xoxo
Ferris, thank you for letting me bounce my ideas off you, and more importantly, all of our sprinting dates. I had a lot of fun sprinting with you and I can’t wait to do it again. Xo
Kellie Dennis at Book Cover By Design, thank you for the amazing job you did on my cover! I absolutely love it. All you’re hard work you put into making it is very much appreciated.
Lance Jones, thank you for agreeing to be my cover model. You’ve been a huge help and I look forward to working with you in the future.
Cruz Gongalez with Pitch Black Images, thank you for letting me use your beautiful photo on my cover.
Espe, I can’t even begin to tell you how much of a lifesaver you are! Thank you for working so incredibly hard to make sure this book was edited to perfection!
Brenda, You are another lifesaver! You came highly recommended and lived up to every great thing I’ve heard about you. I can’t wait to use you on future projects and thank you for making the impossible happen.
Ena with Enticing Journey Book Promotions, thank you for the amazing job you did with the Twist Of Fate blog tour and cover reveal. I can’t wait to work with you more in the future.
To the bloggers, some of you may know my work from co-writing under Lena Nicole and stuck with me on my first solo project, and I am forever grateful for your continued support. For the ones who took a chance on Twist Of Fate without knowing who I am, I couldn’t be more thankful to you for taking time away from your busy schedules to read my book. All you amazing bloggers help keep the indie world alive with all your support. Sharing cover reveals, teasers, purchase links and so much more helps spread the word for us, and your hard work does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Thank you!!!
Last, but certainly not least, a huge thank you to the readers. Without your support and love for reading, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. I love creating stories for you to get lost in, and I hope to continue to give you more. Never give up your passion for reading and always find time to get lost in a book.
About The Author
Jaime Nicole Whitley is a wife and a stay-at-home mom to her two children. She grew up in New Jersey, where she continued her education and became a medical assistant. She now lives in North Carolina, where her husband is stationed with the Army. Jaime also co-writes novels under the name Lena Nicole.
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Other Books By This Author:
The One Left Behind
By: Lena Nicole
Shattered Lives Mended Hearts
By: Lena Nicole
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