“OHH!” MY FRIENDS gasped when I entered the room wearing my white, vintage-style sheath wedding gown with a train that puddled near my feet. While my dress was soft and glamorous, I was sure to wear a gorgeous pair of spiked-heel stilettos. Because while I would soon be an Anderson, I wanted to maintain everything that made me Charlie Washington Reeves, Esquire.

And that included fabulous shoes.

“You look stunning,” Abigail told me, tears glistening in her eyes.

“Like a movie star,” Sophie added. The two of them were dressed in matching emerald satin dresses. Abigail’s blond hair was curled in soft waves, and Sophie’s darker locks framed her full cheeks to perfection. They both wore dangling earrings and soft pink lipstick. “Gorgeous,” Sophie said, clasping her hands at her breast.

“Really, you think so?” I stepped in front of the full-length mirror in the honeymoon suite at The Monticello Historic Hotel. The newly finished hotel hadn’t officially opened for guests, but Sebastian and I would be the first to stay the night before the grand opening next month. But all of our wedding guests, including most of New Elwood, would get a preview this evening at our nuptials.

Perks of marrying the owner.

It was the first event since the Wine Festival a year and a half before, and I couldn’t wait to show off all the work we’d done to the space. And, fine, I couldn’t wait to show off my dress, my shoes, my ring, and my soon-to-be new husband, either. Little bubbles of excitement had been fizzing in my blood all day. As I stroked the fine fabric of my gown, it finally hit me that this was really happening.

“Are you kidding, Charlie? You look like a dream,” Sophie assured me.

I beamed at both of them and let my shoulders relax. It had been a year since Sebastian got down on one knee at Radcliffe House and asked me to marry him. Between building the hotel, remodeling our home, and planning a wedding, it’d been a very busy twelve months.

We were finally able to move into our newly remodeled Second Empire home the weekend of the Wine Festival. It turned out perfectly, from the freshly painted shutters to the cozy new fireplace in the living room. Not to mention our huge bed that’d been taken over by plushy throw pillows, courtesy of yours truly.

My favorite feature, though, had to be the hole. A well-constructed, Plexiglass-covered opening gave us a view from the bedroom right up to that attic apartment that had meant so much for me—a constant reminder of how I fell for Sebastian Anderson. Literally.

My old apartment had become my own little haven, where I could soak in my old, porcelain clawfoot tub and watch the sunset out the window. Of course, Sebastian liked to join me for a little bubble bath from time to time. And I always smiled when I passed the George Washington stained glass window we installed on the top floor.

It was where I read and relaxed and worked in the evenings, and where I remembered my parents and all they had meant to me—something Sebastian proved he understood better than I could have ever imagined.

On the day we moved in, there was a new fixture in front of the house that hadn’t been there just two days before. Where the old Radcliffe House Apartments sign was posted, a new one was in its place. Only this sign read Reeves House.

“It’s to honor your parents,” Sebastian had said when he showed it to me. He studied my expression, a soft smile touching his lips.

My eyes stung, and my throat prickled. I’d wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned my head against his chest, looking at that sign, imagining the beaming smile my dad would have given us.

“I love it,” I’d told him. “Thank you. I wish you could have met them.”

“Me too,” he’d replied, then slipped his hand into mine and towed me into our new home.

Now, as I took in my bridal glow in the mirror one last time, I took in a deep breath. Life had been a whirlwind, and I was so glad to have found someone to share it with. “Okay, I’m ready,” I said.

My girls escorted me down the elevator. It was a smooth ride. The moment the doors opened, the sweeping sounds of a string quartet filled the space along with chatter from our guests.

“There you are,” Albert said with a big grin, his white hair slicked back, looking sharp as ever in his black tux. “Wow, Charlie. You look wonderful. Your parents would have been so proud. I wish they could see you.”

I swallowed back a small lump in my throat. “Me too, Albert. But I’m glad you could be here.”

“Of course, kiddo. I may not live below you anymore, but I’ll always be there for you,” he said and patted my flushed cheek. Albert came to town for the wedding to walk me down the aisle in place of my parents. I told him that if there was anyone they would trust to do the job, it would be him.

Albert bowed his arm, and I slid my hand in his little nook. The four of us walked on toward the updated lobby, with a shining chandelier and the same stunning flooring Sebastian had found during our initial restoration. Chairs had been set up in neat rows, with a small dais at the end of a petal-strewn aisle.

Abigail and Sophie smiled at me as Albert and I hid off to the side and waited for everyone to take their seats.

The last time we had been all dressed up in the Monticello lobby, it was the night of the gala. I shuddered thinking of how horrible it was when the sprinkler system spewed sludge all over us. It was my wedding day, and I didn’t want any shenanigans. We’d had plenty of those.

“There won’t be any fire alarms going off tonight, right, Abigail?” I shot her a playful look, though I was completely serious.

“As long as Sebastian behaves himself,” she said, reflecting my playfulness back at me. But her smile was soft and sincere, and I knew she had my back. She always had.
After a moment of silence, the music began to play. Rex and another one of Sebastian’s friends from Arlington proceeded down the aisle. Sophie and Abigail followed behind in a slow saunter toward my soon-to-be husband and our wedding officiant—Mayor Green.

Sebastian and I went back and forth on that decision, but the truth was that if it hadn’t been for the mayor taking charge, none of this would have happened. And while it had its very rough patches, I couldn’t imagine my life without my love and the new Monticello hotel.

Finally, Albert and I turned the corner and all of the guests rose to their feet. Minnie, Evelyn, and Ida were seated near the front, watching me with big, watering eyes and proud smiles. My bouquet shook in my hands as I took one step in my four-inch heels after the other, and I used Albert to steady me.

But then I looked ahead at Sebastian. He stood tall in his fine tux, clean-shaven chin held high, and green eyes that drew me closer and closer. My breath caught in my throat. It was happening. I was actually marrying Sebastian Anderson. The man who drove me absolutely crazy over this venue. The one who challenged me in the best way. The one who taught me that love could overcome business and demolition and could be built on the foundations that lay beneath.

But most importantly, the man who loved me for me. Deep down, all the way to my core, the real me. The history-loving, shoe-hoarding, throw-pillow-obsessed me.

I knew it by the look on his face as he watched me walk to him, the way his throat bobbed with a hard swallow. He held his hands clasped in front of him, his shoulders back, but his eyes told another story.

This was the man I loved right back, the one who had come to town to right an old wrong—and decided to stay here. For me. For us.

Albert let me go with a kiss on my cheek, and Sebastian took my hand. I smiled, filled with all the happiness in the world.

He smiled right back and said, “You look beautiful, sweetheart.”