“So, we’re split apart this morning, huh?” I say to Chase, who is still in bed. “Bride’s brunch and the groom’s water fight. Seems a little sexist.”
“Not really. I think your dad is going to your brunch.”
“Is he?” I grin big. Knowing my dad is coming to what’s sort of a girlie thing makes me happy.
“You should see the smile on your face,” Chase says. “You’re definitely a daddy’s girl.”
“Always have been,” I tease. “You’ve got big shoes to fill.”
“Luckily, my feet are bigger than your dad’s,” he says with a wink.
I saunter over to the bed, dressed but with my heels dangling from one hand, and lean over and mess up his hair. He grabs me and pulls me on top of him, bringing my face close to his. It feels like a romantic moment until he licks my nose.
“What, are you a dog?” I laugh as I wipe the slobber off my face.
He doesn’t say anything, just makes a sad little puppy whine. “I don’t want you to leave me.”
I roll my eyes but smile at him. “I’m pretty sure there’s no reason why you can’t come to the brunch first, have some food, then go to the water fight. It starts an hour later.”
“And you’re sure you can’t come to the water fight? Sneak out?”
“I’m the guest of honor. I think they’d miss me,” I manage to tell him with a straight face even though I happen to have a bikini on underneath this dress. “Come on. Don’t you want some food?”
But as soon as I say that, I hear my brother’s voice outside the bedroom door. “Dude! Let’s go eat!”
I shrug my shoulders at Chase.
He says, “See ya sometime today.”
I open the door and come face-to-face with Damon. “Good morning!”
“Oh boy, look at you, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Is Chase getting up, or did he already?”
“You and your dirty mind,” I say.
“Whose mind is in the gutter now?” he asks. “I just wanted to know if he was already at breakfast, not did he get it up already. I mean, logic tells me, it’s always hard in the morning, so theoretically, it was already up, but I think you thought, Get it on. So you tell me, sis. Which is it?”
“I give up,” I say, then prance out of the boathouse and up to the main house.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” Mimi says the second I walk in the back door.
Papa is there, too, sitting at the kitchen table.
“Look at you.” She takes my face in her hands. “I can’t believe you’re getting married today. That you are grown up enough to do so.”
“Are you going to lecture me about getting married young, too? Don’t worry. I know the drill. What everyone thinks.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Mimi says. “You’re our first grandchild. It feels like yesterday when we were holding you in our arms after you were born. You’ve always had the most beautiful and expressive eyes.”
“You always know how to make me feel good,” I say with a smile.
“That’s what grandmothers are for.”
“And grandfathers,” Papa chimes in. “We were hoping we’d get to see you this morning, Devaney. Before things got busy.”
Mimi says, “Papa and I would love to give you a little something. Do you remember how you missed the shopping trip that summer but then came to our cottage to tell me you were sorry?”
“I do remember that.” I touch the delicate pair of twisted copper-and-silver earrings I’m wearing. “Even though I was being a little jerk about, well, everything, you all shopped for me.”
“You cried when I gave you the earrings,” Mimi says, taking my hand in hers.
“And then you spilled your guts about everything,” Papa says with a laugh.
“I did.” I start laughing, too. “But you gave me good advice about my own happiness. And family. And life. And love.”
“I’m glad we were able to help,” Mimi says. “Anyway, when we heard you were coming this summer, we had something made for you.”
“It was supposed to be just a gift,” Papa says, “but now, it’s turned into a little wedding present.”
Mimi smiles at me. “And it’s incredibly fitting on this day. Makes it feel a bit like fate.”
She hands me a wrapped package.
“Should I wait to open it with Chase?”
“No,” Papa says, “this is for you.”
“Okay,” I say, smiling at them both and wondering what they got for me.
I open the paper, then the box, and find a beautiful silver picture frame staring back at me. I get a little choked up, thinking about how I will be able to put a photo from our wedding in it.
“It’s beaut—” I start to say, but then I notice the engraving toward the bottom and read it aloud, “Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.”
“Hans Christian Andersen wrote that,” Papa says. “Do you remember the fairy tale book we gave you when you were little?”
“Of course I do. It sat next to my bed until I moved to college.”
“We originally got this for you because we want you to remember that life isn’t always perfect,” Mimi says, “but that it can be the most wonderful fairy tale.” She gets tears in her eyes. “And it just seems so fitting to be giving this to you on your wedding day.”
I hold it together until I see Papa wiping his eyes. Then I start crying. “Thank you so much.”
I hug Mimi tightly, and then Papa stands up and wraps me in his arms.
“We’re very proud of the woman you’ve become, Devaney,” Papa says. “And we wish you and Chase a wonderful and happy life together.”
“I’m so glad you aren’t mad at me,” I sob.
“Mad at you?” Mimi scoffs. “More likely, we would have been upset if you weren’t marrying Chase. It’s so clear you’re meant to be together.”
“All right,” Papa says, “enough of the waterworks. You need to get the bride-to-be to her breakfast.”
Most epic.
Chase
“Are you taking me out to the wilderness to kill me?” I tease Damon, who I’m supposed to be going to breakfast with.
“I have to say, I’m really disappointed in you, Chase. I’m your best man. I would have planned the most epic bachelor party if I’d had just a little notice. Instead, I was forced to bring strippers into the wilderness on the morning of your wedding.” He rolls his eyes. “Your dad told me that you’d better be sober in time for the ceremony, but I think that point is debatable.”
“Damon, tell me you’re joking.”
He shrugs, then points at one of the guest cottages between the two main homes.
“No freaking way. Are you nuts? I’m in love with your sister.”
“Just get in there,” he says.
I hold my ground. “No.”
Damon lets out a big sigh. “Fine. There are, unfortunately, no strippers. Just go with it, please?”
“Okay.”
He opens the door to the guest cottage, and I walk in.
“Happy wedding day, Chase!” is yelled out.
I turn to see my dad, Uncle Danny, Grandpa Mac, Papa, and my little brothers, Ryder and Madden, standing in the living room.
“Well, at least there are no strippers.” I chuckle.
“There were going to be strippers?” Ryder, who will be a freshman this fall and is one hundred percent girl crazy, asks.
He had something, like, six different girlfriends last semester and wants to be just like Damon. He even switched from running back to wide receiver, which, honestly, is a good choice because he’s shot up in the last two years and he’ll probably end up about as tall as me.
“That’s gross,” Madden says. He’ll start middle school in the fall, and even though we’ve always called him Crusher because he’s been a beast on every athletic field he’s ever played on since a young age, off the field, he’s funny and sweet, sort of a big teddy bear. And who knows what he will end up doing? He’s been trying to talk Mom and Dad into letting him try out for a UK youth academy that identifies high potential players at a young age to ultimately become professionals. They have a similar setup with some of the US teams. But if he does that, he won’t be allowed to play on any other team. Including his high school team.
“He’s in love with Dani. Why would he want to be around naked girls?” he asks.
Of course, Damon and Ryder just grin along with the grandparents, but both my dad and Dani’s dad shake their heads, like it wouldn’t be worth the trouble.
“We’re doing a little bachelor brunch,” Damon says. “Just the family—at least while we are all still friendly before I have to best you all with my water gun–fighting abilities.”
“I’m going to win,” Ryder scoffs. “I’m faster than you. And—”
“No way,” Damon says. “The dogs don’t get to play this time.”
Ryder scowls. “No fair.”
“Actually, it is fair—” Madden starts to say, but Damon cuts him off.
“As I was saying,” Damon says, “bachelor brunch. Everyone, grab a plate and take a seat in the living room.”
We all do as requested, filling our plates up with breakfast burritos, hash browns, chips, and salsa. I can’t help but smile. Damon and I used to stop at the gas station and sneak breakfast burritos sometimes before school. I say sneak because the kind we got probably wasn’t the healthiest option, but it was quick fuel.
When he sees the look on my face, he says, “I had to do something bad. There is no turkey bacon. They used, like, lard in the tortillas, and the queso is loaded with fake cheese.”
“Cheers to that,” I tell him.
“Speaking of cheers,” my dad says the second I sit down, “a toast. To Chase, on his big day.” He holds his glass of orange juice in the air. “I wish you and Dani a lifetime of happiness.”
“Dad,” Ryder says, “everyone and their brother is going to say the same thing to them today.”
“What would you say then, Ryder?” my dad asks.
“I wanted to do a toast at your wedding,” Ryder says to me, “but I was turned down. So, I’m going to have to do it here. Now.”
And in that moment, my little brother suddenly doesn’t look like a kid anymore. He’s grown up more than I realized.
He stands up and says, “To the groom. Congratulations on your marriage and the fact that you have a really hot wife, who you now get to have sex with all the time.”
Or maybe not.
“Sex all the time because they are married,” my dad stresses.
And I have a feeling this has been a topic of discussion lately.
Damon holds back a smirk.
Dani’s dad stands up. “And on that note, I’m off to the bride’s brunch.”
As soon as he’s out the door, Damon smacks Ryder in the shoulder. “You can’t say stuff like that in front of a girl’s dad. No matter how old she is. You’re lucky my dad or I didn’t clock you.”
Ryder rolls his eyes. “Everyone is so touchy about sex. I mean, none of us would be here without it, right?”
“Right,” my dad says. “Was there more to the toast? I heard you practicing earlier.”
“Oh yeah, of course. They say when you do a toast, you have to start with a joke, something funny. That was the funny part. Then, you move on to the serious part. To the bride and groom. May your love continue to grow for all the days of your lives.”
I smile at my brother and clink my glass of juice with his. “Thank you, Ry. That means a lot.”
To which, he grins big.
“Oh, I wanna toast,” Madden says, not wanting to be left out. “To my brother. May you dominate in your marriage the way you do on the football field.”
Damon about chokes on his drink. My dad tries not to smile, but fails.
“Cheers,” Ryder says. “Cool toast, Crusher.”
“Let’s eat,” I suggest.
“Oh, it’s breakfast and a show,” Damon says, grabbing the TV remote.
I give him a warning look because he’d better not be turning on porn. He shrugs and hits the button anyway, causing a yoga class to come on the screen.
At first, I don’t get it. It’s just girls working out.
But when they bend over into downward dog, both my little brothers turn their heads sideways.
“The best I could do on short notice, bro,” Damon says. “Gotta love girls working out.”
As we’re headed to the water gun fight later, Damon pulls me aside and says, “Oh my freaking gosh. Were you not dying when Crusher toasted to you dominating in your marriage?”
“He probably wasn’t suggesting anything kinky.”
“I know.” Damon starts laughing. “That’s why it was the best. Ah, to be so innocent.”
“Also glad Ryder was vetoed on his toast,” I whisper.
“In case you didn’t know it,” Damon says, “while you’ve been off, having fun at college, Ryder’s been a bit of a handful at home. Sneaking out. Sneaking girls in. Had the nerve to throw a little party in the basement while your parents were asleep.”
“Wow. That doesn’t sound like him.”
“It’s the ladies,” Damon says with a knowing look. “They’re messing with his head—well, one of them anyway.”
“You don’t think he’s having sex yet, do you?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this when it was the only thing I wanted back in the day, but I hope not.”
“Have you talked to him about it?”
“Yeah, both me and Haley. Not sure how much gets through all the testosterone. It doesn’t help that he’s a good athlete. A good-looking kid. And he’s like me—got the gift.”
“Hmm.”
Damon slaps me on the back. “Don’t worry, bro. Overall, he’s a good kid. Plus, I think after the party, he basically got grounded until college.”
“As he should have been.”
“Your parents have had it easy with you and Haley. You’re both motivated by sports. The threat of not being able to do what you love kept you out of trouble.”
“And he isn’t?”
“He tries to act like he isn’t. But think about it. The kid’s not dumb. That’s part of his appeal. He loses that, and he might lose the girls. At least in his fourteen-year-old mind. So, I think he’s pushing boundaries to see how far they move. He’ll be okay.”
“If you say so.”
“It’s your wedding day. No more talk about anything other than how in love you are and how I’m not going to let you win the fight just because we’re going to be brothers.”
“Brothers,” I say, stopping in my tracks.
“I know, right?” Damon says, emotion showing on his face.
I wrap my arm around his shoulders as we walk. “We’ve always been brothers.”
“Yeah, but this is official.”
I can’t help but break out in a smile. “Yeah, very official.”
“Look, I don’t want to rain on the parade, but do you really feel like you and Dani are ready for this big of a step?”
“You’ve been telling us that Ainsley is your future wife. Would you marry her today if you could?”
To this, I get a grin.
“Absolutely.”
“Then, you understand.”
“Yeah. Now, I have to get her on the same page.”
I laugh. “Now, you really understand how I felt about your sister that summer!”
“Freaking torture, dude. Women …”
A little bored.
Devaney
The bridal brunch is as lovely as I expected, and I know it’s something my mom really wanted me to do. But my dad and I are both getting a little bored.
I lean over and whisper to him, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“That I wish I were at the water gun fight?”
“Yeah. And”—I look at my watch again—“we’re both sneaking out of here as soon as they bring out the dessert trays.”
“Really?” Dad gives me a huge grin. “But you’re all dressed up.”
“In a dress that I might happen to have a swimsuit on underneath.”
Dad high-fives me. “That’s my girl.”
Distracted you.
Chase
The water gun fight is so much fun. I don’t think anyone is actually going to win. Although there were teams chosen and some pretty vague instructions about flags that will be involved at some point, right now, we’re all just having fun, soaking each other.
But then I see movement out of the corner of my eye, up on top of a ladder, where our flag is supposed to go.
It’s Dani.
In a white bikini.
Water machine gun strapped across her chest.
Wow.
The sight of her takes my breath away.
And I’m now thinking about Ryder’s toast.
I get to have sex with this woman for the rest of my life.
And with the way she looks all badass in that bikini, I’d like to start right now.
“Where’s my groom?” she yells out.
I raise my hand and smile.
“Get up here,” she says, and I gladly go join her, climbing up the ladder to give her a kiss.
But she stops me.
“What you have been doing up until now has been your warm-ups,” she announces. “The rest of the battle gear is being rolled out. Each team has been allocated an equal number of weapons. White team is the bride’s team. The blue team is the groom’s. Flags are being raised. Rules are simple. You will defend your team’s flag, but if you run out of ammo—or water—before capturing the flag, then you lose. Steal the other team’s flag, and your team wins.”
“And what do the winners get?” I openly flirt with her in front of everyone.
“Oh, Chase,” she says loudly. “It’s not about what the winners get. It’s what the losers will have to do.”
“And what’s that?” I ask.
This time, Damon answers, and I realize they were conspiring on this, “The losers have to dance together at the wedding to a song of the winning team’s choosing. Okay, teams, break up. You have five minutes to plan your strategy, and then it will be go time!”
Our team’s plan seems overly complicated, but as long as we win, I don’t really care. Mostly because I’m distracted, watching Dani gather up supplies—tucking little squirt guns into the sides of her bikini bottoms, then putting four water balloons on a string over her shoulder, like a handbag, and grabbing more capsules for her water cannon. She gives me an evil grin, and I can tell she’s planning to come after me.
I decide to make the first move, running straight at her with a bucket of water and dousing her.
And I wouldn’t say her bikini is see-through, but I can confirm that it looks even better wet.
I grab her and twirl her around. “You look so hot. I can barely control myself.”
She laughs. “You’re just saying that because you want to steal my flag.”
“What I’d like to do is steal you and take you back to my room. Maybe our first look should involve a stripped-off wet bikini and a whole lot of nakedness.”
She smiles at me, says, “Sounds fun,” then backs up and shoots me in the chest with a succession of water cannons.
“You’re ruthless,” I tell her as my dad tosses water balloons in my direction.
“Get him!” Dani yells at her team, and very quickly, I’m thoroughly soaked.
Damon comes to rescue me, pulling me out of their camp.
“I have a plan,” he says. “They only have three guarding the flag, one of whom is my sister. If you try to distract her, she’ll be onto the plan, but what if I do?”
“How will you do that?”
“I thought I’d tell her about the strippers.”
“There were no strippers,” I counter.
“Yeah, but she doesn’t know that.”
“I don’t want to upset her. And neither should you.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll fake an injury. She’ll stop to check on me. You sneak in and steal the flag.”
“That I can do.”
We high-five, put more water in our guns, and make our approach—me off to the side, looking like maybe I’m talking to someone just watching, and him straight up to Dani.
She is ruthless, shooting him right in the forehead with a water cannon.
I watch as Damon goes down, holding his head and seemingly writhing in pain.
Dani immediately goes to check on him, as does my dad, who was helping to guard their flag.
That just leaves me and Carter Crawford.
A worthy opponent.
“Oh crap,” I say, sounding worried. “I sure hope Damon didn’t get hurt. All those NIL deals you were going to get him.”
Carter’s eyes narrow, and his focus turns to Damon just long enough for me to rush past him and grab the flag.
Damon jumps up off the ground, magically cured, and says, “We won! We won! We won!”
Our team joins him, cheering about our victory.
There might be some good-humored taunting. And a few more “errant” water balloons tossed in our direction by the other team.
Which isn’t helped by the fact that Damon and his dad are yelling out random songs they think will be embarrassing for the losing team to dance to.
I saunter up to Dani, pull her into my arms, and hand her the flag. “I stole this for you, my fair lady.”
“You stole my own flag for me?” she says, putting her hand on her hip. “More like you and Damon cheated. You planned it, didn’t you?”
“We did come up with a strategy, if that’s what you mean,” I fire back, my eyebrows raised in challenge.
“You cheated. Faked an injury.”
“I didn’t do any such thing. Damon is the one who was faking.”
“See, I knew it. You’re lucky it was him, not you.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because if you had come up to me, I could have moved my top over a little and distracted you from winning.”
“That definitely would have worked,” I say, leaning in to give her a kiss, but again, she backs away.
“Chase, I know we are bucking tradition in just about every way, but I would like our first kiss today to be at the altar once we are married.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t even think of that. I love the idea.” But it doesn’t stop me from bending down and kissing her neck.
“Chase!” she screeches, and then we both laugh.
“You probably have to go get ready, huh?” I say, still holding her in my arms.
“Well, Ariela has been giving me the eye for about ten minutes now, so thank goodness someone finally won. I will see you soon.”
“In your wedding dress.”
“Yes, in my wedding dress. Crazy, huh?”
“Not at all,” I say. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this. I mean, when was the last time we got married?”
“Gosh, I don’t know. Third grade maybe? Fourth?”
“I suspect this will feel a little different.”
“Part of me wants to say it’d better be,” she says, “but the other part of me knows you always took it seriously.” She kisses my cheek. “Okay, I really have to go if I want to be ready in time.”
“I love you,” I yell out.
And as she takes off in her golf cart, it really sinks in.
The next time I see her, she will be in her wedding dress.
Ready to marry me.
Totally mess up.
Devaney
“You’re the last one to arrive,” Ariela tells me. “Your mother, Jennifer, Jadyn, Haley, and the grandmas are already in various stages of hair and makeup.”
“Did I totally mess up the timeline?”
Ariela smiles. “It will be fine. The water fight looked fun.”
“It really was. Thank you for working it into my schedule.”
“You are a bit of a mess though,” Ariela says with a laugh. “I’m glad we tinted your lashes, so at least you don’t have mascara streaming down your face.”
“That is a bonus.” I laugh, too.
“To avoid the fuss over how you look, I’m going to take you in the back, straight to the primary bedroom in the cottage, so you can wash your hair and rinse off some of the mud. Your mother will be there to meet you when you come out.”
“And she’ll take me into the main room?”
“Eventually,” Ariela says cryptically.
When I squint my eyes at her, she says, “She just wants to spend a few moments alone with her daughter on her wedding day.”
“Oh, that’s sweet. Thank you.”
I get cleaned up and dried off, and I wrap myself up in a fluffy resort robe. And I can’t help but laugh, remembering when Chase and I caught one on fire that summer.
“Sweetheart, are you done?” I hear my mother’s voice call out.
“Yeah, just drying off,” I tell her, then open the door.
Her makeup is done, and she looks beautiful.
“Wow, Mom. You look amazing!”
“The makeup artist is very talented,” she says. “I need to hire her to do my makeup every day!”
“Or maybe she could teach you how to do it.”
“I always thought I did a pretty good job of it, but I will admit, even I’m impressed.”
“Which isn’t easy to do,” I tease.
“You impress me, Devaney,” Mom says seriously. “I’ve watched your interviews at the spring game about a hundred times. Van finally had a recording made for me with all the clips of you, so I didn’t have to keep fast-forwarding and rewinding. You have such presence on the camera. Yet at the same time, you have a way of making the audience feel like they know you. It’s a combination that I suspect will take you far in life.”
“Thank you.”
“And I wanted to have a couple moments alone with you so that I could give you a gift.”
“Mom, you helped Chase with all of this. That was gift enough.”
She pats my leg. “Speaking of gifts, you might not get many. No one knew to bring anything, and Chase and I never thought to set up a registry.”
“Like I said, this weekend—this day—is more than enough. Really, Mom. I still can’t believe that you and Chase did all this together. It just”—I put my hand up to cover my heart—“means so much to me.”
“I will say, he caught me a little off guard when he first presented the idea.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t tell him he was crazy.”
“He was too serious for that. He’d thought it all through. And how could I ever turn down something I knew would make my daughter happy?”
She sets a pale purple velvet box in front of me.
I open it to find a pair of pearl drop earrings with swirling yellow gold threads, accented by pavé diamonds. “They’re beautiful. And the color. They’re ivory, like my dress! Can I wear them?”
“Of course you can,” my mother says. “Do you really like them?”
“I love them, Mom. And thank you for not going too extravagant, you know?”
“Oh, trust me, I know. The other pair I picked out were all diamonds. Van told me they were lovely but that you’d never wear them, for fear of losing them.” She tucks her hair behind her ear and turns her head toward me. “I bought them anyway. And someday, when your daughter gets married, you can wear them to her wedding.”
Mom’s earrings are gorgeous—two sparkling pear-shaped diamonds, suspended from a pair of round brilliant diamonds. Each of the four diamonds probably weighs in at a couple carats, but I’m thinking more about what she said.
When your daughter gets married.
And I can sort of picture it. She’d have Chase’s eyes. My smile.
I think to this morning with Mimi and Papa. How they remember holding me in their arms. How much I’ve grown. And how fast it all seems to have happened. I think about what Chase said about our past, present, and future being inexplicably tied together.
And then I can see it all so clearly.
“I hope to have a daughter someday,” I tell my mom, tears welling up in my eyes.
“Do you and Chase want children?”
“Yes, but not for a while. So, don’t put me on baby watch or anything, okay?”
“Whenever you are ready, I’ll be ready.”
Ariela steps in the room. “Don’t want to rush you, but—”
“It’s okay,” Mom says, taking ahold of my hand. “I appreciate the time we had.”
I give her a hug. “Me, too, Mom.”
“Now, let’s go get you glammed up.”
Changed my mind.
Chase
“How long do we have to keep these things on?” I ask Dani in reference to the blindfold I am wearing. Because I’m dying to see her.
“Just until they get a few pictures,” she says. “Keep smiling.”
“Smiling today is not a problem, Dani. I think my smile has been permanently etched on my face ever since you told me that you’d marry me this weekend.”
“I think mine has, too,” she says, reaching out and taking my hand in hers.
“Tell me about your dress now. Like, give me all the details. Because I know once I look, all I’ll see is you—in a wedding dress, wanting to marry me.”
“Um, okay,” she says. “So, it’s surprisingly traditional. The whole top of it is lace. Underneath the lace is a nude lining. High collar. Long sleeves. You should pay attention to the lace when you see it. The detail is amazing.”
“Will do. What else should I know?”
“Oh yeah, about that. I also changed my mind.”
“About what?” I say, momentarily panicking.
“The veil. I wasn’t going to wear it until I went down the aisle, but I have it on now. I figured you might as well get the full first look.”
“What’s the skirt like?” I ask, reaching out to touch it. “It feels soft.”
“It’s silk,” she says. “Banded waist. The skirt is A-line, so not big and princessy at all. It sort of sounds boring, the way I’m describing it, but the dress does have real drama.”
“Just like our relationship,” I tease.
“Thank goodness we’re over that,” she says. “Actually, I’m not gonna tell you about the dramatic part. That you’ll have to see for yourself.”
“I’m getting desperate,” I say as the camera continues to click away and the photographer keeps making us switch positions. “This is ridiculous,” I whisper, before calling out, “I’m taking off my blindfold. Now!”
“I’m taking off mine, too,” she says.
We do.
And, my gosh …
Standing in front of me is Dani. That sounds weird to say. She has been standing in front of me for the last five minutes. We were just chatting. But I was chatting with my best friend, my future wife. And this version of Dani—no, Devaney—not only is she my perfect pass, but she’s also my bride.
She’s actually going to marry me.
Her face is glowing, her hair pulled back, eyes sparkling.
“Chase,” she says, “in this case, you’re supposed to look down. Check me out. Look at the dress, not just me.”
I grab her hands, still focused on her face. “You look so beautiful. I can’t even …”
“Thank you. Now, will you look at all of me? Get the full picture?”
I nod, but my eyes are still locked with hers. “I can’t believe you’re going to marry me. I’m so happy.”
“I’m incredibly happy, too, Chase.”
“Good,” I say, and then I let go of her hand and take two steps backward.
A wave of emotion hits me, and I’m overcome. I cover my face with my hands and shake my head.
I am seriously so lucky.
It takes me a second, but I quickly wipe my eyes, then pull her into a hug.
“I’m honestly speechless,” I whisper to her. “You are like a dream come true. Your dress is stunning. You are stunning. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone look so beautiful as you do right now.”
“Oh, Chase,” she says, and I can tell she’s getting choked up.
I release her from my arms and back away again.
“Okay, sorry. I need to really look at this dress.” So, I do, noting the intricate lace design across her chest and down her sleeves, the band that highlights her waist, and the skirt that flows down her legs. I reach over and lift up the skirt. “I gotta see your shoes.”
She blushes slightly. Then sticks one foot out from under her skirt, showing off a sparkling silver shoe. “My dad picked them because they were crusted with crystals and reminded him of my dance recitals when I was little.”
“I love them.” I move to the side, circling her, and I see the back of the dress. “Damn,” I blurt out. “Now, that’s a back. Actually, it is mostly your back and very little dress.”
“It’s called a plunging back,” she says.
I allow my hand to trail softly down her spine.
“Chase,” she says.
“I just decided we need a first look at our honeymoon.”
“You’re bad,” she says, looking over her shoulder at me.
“And you are gorgeous. Wow. Talk about drama. And the veil, it’s so long.”
“Ariela says—and I quote—The dress will photograph well. Now, come back around, so I can look at you.”
“Trust me, no one is going to be looking at me with you looking like you do.”
“Still,” she says, and I move to stand in front of her again.
I swear I melt.
Devaney
Chase is smiling as big as I think I’ve ever seen. And I’m so happy. His reaction, honestly, was even more than I’d expected. I think every girl hopes her groom will be affected emotionally when he first sees his bride, but people show emotions differently, and Chase has never been outwardly emotional. It shocked me when he cried. It also made me really happy.
And don’t even get me started on how Chase looks. The word delicious comes to mind. He even smells yummy, like a crisp apple with warm caramel on a sunny fall day.
His hair is parted on the side, his long bangs pushed back, and styled perfectly to show off his high cheekbones, strong jaw, and his long eyelashes. His tall frame is highlighted in a black tuxedo with a white shirt and black bow tie. The tuxedo jacket has gold buttons, the pants have a slim leg, and on his feet are black velvet smoking shoes with a gold-and-ivory embroidered crest.
“You look very stylish and very handsome, Chase,” I tell him.
“Good enough to marry?” he asks.
“Hmm. I’d better look again.” I allow myself to appreciate him for a few more seconds, then happily nod my head. “Yeah, I think so.”
“I want to kiss you so bad right now, Dani,” he says in his low, dreamy voice.
“Cheek? For now?” I suggest, trying my hardest to stay firm on this even though I want to kiss him so bad right now, too.
He pulls me close, looks into my eyes, then kisses my forehead instead.
And I swear I melt.
“I love you,” I tell him.
“Good thing,” he says with a laugh, “because as soon as we say I do, you’re going to be stuck with me.”
“No, I’m going to be married to you.”
“I can’t wait. Should we go see the reception space now?” When he nods, I say, “Ariela, I think we’re ready.”
“Great,” she says.
We get back in the golf cart and go down through the woods, taking what I assume is a service route so no one sees us, and pull up to the back side of the glass pavilions.
Ariela told me when I chose this as the reception space that it’s something new in the industry. First, it was clear tents, but those are still susceptible to wind and rain. The glass houses are a permanent version. They are set among the trees, but the space around them has been cleared with a pretty lawn, and at night, I know you can see the stars through the glass roof.
Ariela takes us around to the front entrance and on the brick walkway to the patio. When I was last here, the space was completely empty, but now, it’s fully decorated and ready for tonight.
“Your guests will enter here and walk the brick path to the patio and through the floral arch to cocktail hour. Let’s get a couple photos of you here.”
She positions us under the arch and with the forest to our backs.
“I’m obsessed with the arch,” I say, taking in the soft pastel hydrangeas, mixed with peonies, roses, and greenery.
“The photographers will be taking photos of everyone as they arrive. Tripp has a whole team in his office tonight that will be editing the photos practically as they are taken, so the individual photos can be texted and pushed out to social media. Which is super cool,” she says, sounding excited. “Usually, you have to wait weeks for your wedding photos. The majority of yours will be done tomorrow.”
We see the brick courtyard, where cocktail tables are set up. They have vintage floral cloths over them and a simple mason jar, filled with water and a few stems of peonies, in their center.
She takes us in the smaller of the glass houses. “If it happens to rain—although it’s not supposed to—cocktail hour will be moved in here fully, but basically, attendees will come inside to graze from the massive charcuterie boards, champagne bar, and cupcake table.”
“Cupcake table?” Chase says.
“I wanted to include our cupcakes at the wedding, but do you remember when I got to take cupcake decorating lessons from the pastry chef here?”
“Oh, I remember,” Chase says.
Which, obviously, he would remember the cupcake that became so important to us, but I didn’t know if he remembered about the chef. Although I shouldn’t be surprised. He remembers everything.
“When we were there, he was working on a beautiful wedding cake. I had to have him make me a cake, and I can’t wait to see it.”
Ariela glances at her watch. “It should be in place now. Let’s go check it out.”
And while cocktail hour is simply decorated—as the church will be, too, in order to highlight the space’s architectural beauty—the reception space is the most ornate.
The dance floor is set in the center of the room with a little alcove off to the side with room for a DJ and the five-piece orchestra that will play quietly during dinner.
“The dance floor decor is what really sets the tone for the whole room,” Ariela says to Chase. “Dani wanted to feel like she was dancing outside, under the stars.”
“Just like we did when we got engaged,” Chase says.
“But in a garden,” I add.
“That’s exactly what it feels like,” Chase says, looking up at what is essentially a square metal chandelier, but instead of having lights, it is filled with ribbons, covered in florals that drop from the metal rails to the floor, surrounding the dance floor completely and making it feel like a secret garden.
From the four corners of the rails, more floral streamers come to meet at the peak of the roof.
“It’s like a floral tent,” Chase says.
Ariela looks up and laughs. “I never even thought of that, but you’re right. And how fitting for you two. I love when stuff you don’t intend turns out to feel intentional!”
We part the flowers and walk onto the dance floor and look up.
“Incredible,” Chase says.
Ariela shows us the dining space, which flanks the dance floor. Tables are round, a rustic bleached wood, and set for eight. Chairs are a natural linen Parsons style. Dinner will be served family-style on white china with gold rims, layered with vintage chintz plates and an antique gold-plated service. Goblets are crystal with gold rims.
To accommodate all the food, there are no centerpieces on the tables. There is a crystal chandelier hanging low over each table.
It’s rustic, simple, and beautiful.
Ariela takes us to the other side of the dance floor to what she calls the cake alcove.
And in the center of a rustic wooden table is, “My cake.”
“Our cake, maybe?” Chase says with a chuckle.
“No, I’m pretty sure this is mine.”
“Did you design it?”
“No.”
“Did you tell him what you wanted?”
“No. I told him to make the cake he’s always wanted to make. He said he would for me.”
And it’s gorgeous. There are three groups of two-tiered cakes in graduating sizes, set between rows of florals. Each tier has the palest of pink icing with accents of white and light green and pressed botanicals.
“Your mom is going to love the cake,” I tell Chase. “She loves gardening and cake!”
“It’s rustic and elegant,” Chase says. “Kinda like you.”
“I’m rustic and elegant?”
“Yeah, like right now, you’re the epitome of elegant bride, but earlier today, in that bikini, you were badass rustic.”
I can’t help but laugh.
Ariela’s phone alarm goes off. “Oh, that means our time here is up. Let’s get you back to your cottages.”
This day.
Chase
After the first look, I go back to the groom’s cottage and take some photos with Damon and then my family.
My brothers and Damon are driven to the chapel, but my parents want to talk to me alone.
“Normally, this is the time that your parents would wish you well and give you a wonderfully sentimental gift,” my mom says. “But since we didn’t know about the wedding—”
“It’s okay—” I start to say before my mom interrupts me.
“Is it, Chase? Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I honestly figured Uncle Danny would tell you. He tells you everything. And …”
“And what?” Mom asks.
I let out a sigh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, Mom. You basically helped plan our wedding weekend. You just didn’t know it. If you had, would you have done anything differently?”
“Probably not. Other than we would have had something to give you on this day.”
“But that’s the thing. It’s this day. My wedding day.”
“Obviously, we knew you were going to propose since your dad helped you pick out the ring. And honestly, I should have known something was up at spring break when Jennifer and Lori were making Dani try on wedding dresses.”
“So, are you mad at me or mad at yourself?” I tease. It’s a question my mom would often ask me when I was young.
She laughs. “I’m mad at you. It’s just … you know I don’t like surprises.”
“That’s because you like being in control.” My dad chuckles.
And even though they are laughing, I hang my head. “That’s why I didn’t tell you, Mom.”
“Because you didn’t want me—”
“No, it’s because of the reaction you had when Dad surprised you with an engagement party. I didn’t want anyone to know because I didn’t want Dani to feel the pressure you’d felt. I wanted her to marry me this weekend because it’s what she wanted more than anything. I didn’t do it to make anyone mad. I did it to keep her happy.”
Mom narrows her eyes, like she’s looking at me in a new light. Her eyes study my face. She glances over to my dad and then back to me again. “When I was pregnant with you, that’s a lesson your father had to learn the hard way. Once you get married, you become a family unit and need to act like one. That includes telling your own mother no sometimes.” Dad nods in agreement while Mom continues, “You’ve already learned that, Chase, and that’s one of the keys to a good marriage. Being a team, protecting the other person fiercely. Passionately.”
Mom hugs me. Then starts crying. “You look so handsome today. So happy. There’s no way I could be mad at you.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I say, hugging her back.
“I actually do have a present,” my dad says, causing my mom to look surprised.
Dad pulls a couple of cigars out of his breast pocket. “From the ones I saved from our wedding. For you and me. Tonight. I had Joey break into our house and bring them with him.”
“That’s amazing, Dad. And, Mom, I know that was your gift to him. So, thank you.”
“Did you get Dani a gift?” my mom asks.
“I did. Not sure when I’ll give it to her.” I reach in my own pocket and pull out a small box and show it to them.
“Oh, Chase,” Mom says, getting teary again. “That’s perfect for her.”
“Perfect for us,” I reply.
“Mackenzies,” Ariela’s assistant, Kyle, says, pulling up in a golf cart. “Let’s go get your son married.”
Brighten my way.
Devaney
“Time to head to the chapel,” Ariela says.
Haley and the flower girls take off in one of the waiting golf carts.
I’m in the second one with Ariela, and we meet my dad outside the chapel.
I smile at him. “Well, what do you think?”
Dad just shakes his head. His eyes get misty, and he’s quiet for a moment before finally saying, “I swear I just saw your whole life flash in front of my eyes. I can’t believe my baby girl is getting married. I also can’t believe how beautiful you look. I’m so proud of you, Devaney.”
Tears fill my eyes. “You are? You’re not mad I’m getting married so young?”
He takes my hand and looks into my eyes. “I’m not. I love you, and I love Chase like a son. You have always been mature for your age. And a bit stubborn.”
I laugh and raise an eyebrow in his direction.
“Okay, a lot stubborn. But I’m glad. You’re strong. Smart. You getting married isn’t going to stop you from getting your degree or having your own career. Because I know how important those things are to you.”
I’d normally launch myself into his arms at this moment, but the dress makes that a little difficult. But Dad must know what I need because he wraps me in a hug.
“I swore to everyone I wouldn’t cry like a baby,” he says. “Now, look at me.”
“Maybe you can get it out of your system now and not in the chapel,” I tease.
He turns toward the camera that’s been quietly clicking in the background. “There’s going to be photographic evidence either way,” he says with a laugh.
“I love you, Dad. And I want to thank you for so many things. For raising me to be a strong woman. For bringing Jennifer and my little sisters into my life. For being such an amazing man. For showing me the kind of guy I’d want to marry someday.”
Dad lets out a little chuckle.
I laugh, too. “I know. I know. I dated some guys who didn’t quite fall into the category. But at least, in the end, I chose right. Chase is a good man, and I know he will be a good husband and a father someday. Speaking of that—and this is one of the most important things because this day and my life wouldn’t be the same without it—thank you for being the kind of man who could forgive Mom after what she did to you and for allowing us to be a wonderful, crazy blended family. And most of all, for your example of what it means to have lifelong friends by living next door to the Mackenzies, allowing me to grow up next door to Chase.”
“You know when you two were kids, I used to wonder if you’d get married someday or if you would be like me and Jadyn. I figured either way …” He starts crying again. Grabs a hankie and wipes his eyes. Shakes his head. “I love you, Devaney.”
“I love you, too, Dad. Are you ready to go walk me down the aisle?”
Dad takes a deep breath and shakes his head. I know he is not saying no, just simply that he can hardly believe it. “I can’t believe I am saying this, but, yeah, I’m ready.”
Ariela clears her throat and pats her chest above her heart.
Dad goes, “Oh shit, I almost forgot.” He smiles, reaches in his breast pocket, pulls out a box, and hands it to me.
“What’s this?”
“A gift for you. Just from me.”
“Oh, Dad.” I start to tear up again.
“Do you remember when I would tuck you in and tell you I’d give you the sun, the moon, and the stars?”
“Yes. The sun to happily warm my face. The moon to protect me as I slept. And the stars to brighten my way in the dark.”
He nods and eyes the box in my hand.
I open it to find a beautiful watch. It’s got a deep navy band, and the bezel is surrounded by rose gold and stainless steel. The navy face is highlighted by rose gold Roman numerals, and inside the watch are free-floating diamond stars, a moon, and a sun.
“Not to wear on your wedding day,” he tells me, “but I know you’ll be starting a new journey of life without me”—he starts tearing up again—“and I wanted you to have something to wear every day that would let you know that wherever that journey takes you, I still want those things for you.”
“It’s amazing, Dad. Seriously, I will cherish it forever. And I will definitely wear it every day. I love you.”
“I suppose we’d better get going,” he says, glancing at Ariela, who is giving him a hand signal to indicate we need to get to the chapel.
As we get lined up, he says, “You truly look beautiful, Devaney. And the dress you chose is just stunning.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Oh,” he continues, “if I faint or something, just toss me into the nearest row and keep going without me.”
I roll my eyes at him and give him a mischievous smile. “I can just say you had a flashback, thought some big defensive lineman was coming to tackle you, and you needed to duck and hide.”
This causes him to laugh.
“Don’t the girls look adorable?” I say to him. “I can’t believe how old they look.”
“Their little dresses are so cute,” my dad says.
And they are. The tops of their dresses are a tank style with a ruffled cap sleeve that matches the ruffled flowers covering the long tulle skirt. They were twirling around in the dresses when they put them on and squealed with delight when they each got a matching flower crown to wear and a bouquet to carry. Their dresses are the same, but each is in a different shade—Emersyn’s is a pale pink, Weston’s a light purple, and Easton’s a soft green. The colors match the hydrangeas that are in the floral arrangements at the reception.
Haley makes her way down the aisle, followed by the flower girls. Haley looks gorgeous. Soft curls are flowing down her back. Her dress is light purple and features a high neck, long lace sleeves, and a plunging back, like mine. There’s a pretty rhinestone belt around her waist, and she’s carrying a bigger version of the flower girl bouquets.
Ariela says, “It’s almost time,” and hands me my bouquet.
I think flowers are pretty, and I love them, but I am obsessed with this bouquet. It looks effortlessly chic with its cream hydrangeas, pink roses, and peonies with sprays of greenery and small florals that give it a just-picked vibe.
The wedding march starts playing, and Ariela doesn’t have to tell us to go. Dad and I both take a step forward.
“You’re cool with all this?” he asks me seriously just as the doors to the chapel reopen and I see Chase standing at the altar, waiting for me.
I smile big because I can’t imagine anything better than this.
“Yeah, Dad, I am.”
Our history.
Devaney
We join hands and say some traditional vows—for better or for worse, that sort of thing—and exchange rings, but Chase indicated in his planning that he wanted some time in the ceremony where we could just talk to each other. I was nervous about writing this part.
And on short notice.
I had something planned that was sort of lame, but when I was in the golf cart, coming back from our first look, I made my driver pull over while I scribbled a bunch of words on a golf score card with a pencil.
And somehow, they are ingrained in my brain already.
“So, this isn’t the first time we’ve gotten married,” I say to Chase, holding his hands and looking straight into his eyes. I can hear our guests chuckle—some not understanding, others knowing our history.
And as I begin my words of love—thinking of our life, our history—I tear up. This moment, this life I’m starting with him, is everything.
Everything I’ve dreamed about.
It’s our cupcake dream.
I take a deep breath, wanting to be able to get through this.
“Chase, you are the boy I have always wanted to walk down the aisle to. The boy I have always loved. Will always love. I used to tell everyone you were the sweetest boy ever, but really, I was just sweet on you. You have always been my rock. The person who could make me laugh, even when it felt like my world was falling apart.”
I pause again, trying to stay in control of my emotions as I feel happy tears slip down my cheeks. “I love you, Chase. The boy you were. The man you are now. The husband you’ve yet to become. And there is no one else I’d rather walk down this path of life with than you—side by side, hand in hand. Forever.”
Chase grins at me, emotion written all over his face as he squeezes my hands tightly in his.
“Devaney,” he says, “I told you the other day about a moment—how I could see us living it at many ages. You add sparkle and adventure to my life. You know how to pull me off my narrow-focused path, so we can have some fun. Just seeing your face brightens my day. My heart, my soul, my everything have always known it was you.”
Although he has tears in his eyes, his face breaks out into a big smile. “The reason I married you many times when we were kids is because my reward was the kiss at the end. Only now, there won’t be an end. It will be forever. And I vow that my winks and pennies will all be saved for you.”
And I love his vows. I want to be his forever too.
The officiant then says, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
Chase doesn’t kiss me right away. He continues to hold my gaze.
His hands come up to cup my cheeks.
He whispers, “I love you,” before slowly leaning in and giving me the most perfect soft kiss.
Just like he did when we were kids.
Our song.
Devaney
We take photos in the chapel with our families, are announced as Mr. and Mrs. Mackenzie at what is left of the cocktail hour, and then are taken to the reception space.
The reception so far feels like a bit of a blur. We work our way around the room and thank everyone for coming. I have a wonderful dinner of butternut squash ravioli with brown butter sage sauce. Chase chose the lobster risotto. We cut the cake and are toasted with champagne.
“Time for the first dance,” Ariela says. “Go take your places.”
Chase and I go out to the center of the dance floor and assume the position one does when starting to dance.
There’s an awkward moment when the music doesn’t come on, but Chase smiles at me and says, “I suppose I can sing if I have to.”
The DJ must figure things out though because our song starts playing.
But then it sort of changes. Chase twirls me around toward the stage, and that’s when I see him.
“Ohmigosh! Chase! It’s Daine Kirkwood. He’s here. Singing. Our song. At our wedding! How did he know?”
“Maybe because I told him,” he whispers as we continue to sway.
“I know, but how?”
“Haley and his cousin are still social media friends. She reached out on my behalf. We got put in touch. He said he’d be honored.”
“I can’t believe he’s here. Singing our song. All the times we’ve danced to this.”
“All special. Because I was with you.”
“Today has been so perfect, Chase.”
“Best night ever,” he says, singing along to the song.
“It most definitely is.”
After our dance, we greet Daine, who is still as down-to-earth as he was when we met him three years ago despite having had some big hits since then. He congratulates us, we take a few pictures, and then he’s off with Haley for some cake.
“All right, everyone,” the DJ says, “the brother of the bride just informed me that we’re going to get this party started with the losing team from today’s water fight. If you losers would all make your way to the dance floor.”
I quickly realize that it’s not really the losing team out there because my brother and my dad are in the front row, seemingly leading the pack.
Damon takes the microphone and says, “When Chase’s parents got married, my dad and the groomsmen surprised the happy couple with a dance. I thought it would be fun to re-create that moment.”
The song “Fergalicious” starts playing—only, somehow, they’ve changed the words to Danilicious. And what commences is a hilarious rendition of all sorts of popular-when-our-parents-were-married dances. The DJ calls them out. Something called the Stanky Leg. The Dougie. And then they move on to stuff I know. The Macarena, The Whip, and a fun country line dance.
I look over at Chase’s mom, who is screaming, clapping, and laughing her butt off. I suspect she probably looked like that at her own wedding.
And when my dad and Damon start busting out—some quasi–break dancing and some moves I don’t think anyone has ever done or seen before (and probably shouldn’t again)—I can’t help but do the same.
Let’s just say, after that, the party has officially started.
And everyone, including Chase and I, joins them on the dance floor.
Us someday.
Chase
We’ve been having a ball, dancing and enjoying our time as husband and wife, when Dani slides her eyes to the side, indicating there’s something for me to look at.
What I see is Damon standing next to Ainsley.
“You know this is going to be us someday,” Damon tells her.
“Us what?” Ainsley says.
“Getting married,” Damon replies in a tone that doesn’t sound like he’s joking. Ainsley laughs, but Damon continues, “But we have to start somewhere, so how about with a dance?”
She doesn’t say anything. She just holds out her hand to him in agreement, and then they make their way past us to the middle of the dance floor.
“Start of something between them?” I say to Dani.
“He has been telling us she’s his future wifey,” Dani says with a giggle.
“At first, I thought it was just, you know, the hot older girl. But he told me he’d marry her today if he could.”
“Hmm,” Dani says. “Right now, I think all you should be concerned about is your wifey.”
“Oh, I am. In fact”—I check my watch—“don’t you think it’s about time we make our escape?”
“You mean, our grand exit?”
“Exactly what I meant,” I tease just as Ariela is at our side.
“We’re about to make the announcement, get everyone lined up.”
“Awesome,” Dani says. “I can’t wait to get out of these heels.”
“I can’t wait to get you out of a lot more than that,” I whisper to her.
When the song playing comes to an end, the DJ makes the announcement and instructs everyone to make their way outside.
Once they are in place, I take Dani’s hand in mine, turn to her, and say, “What did you decide for this part?”
She giggles again. “Just imagine it’s your birthday.”
And as we run out to cheers and congrats from our friends and family, we are pelted with—I look down at the ground and smile—mini foam footballs with the letter N on them as well as some confetti.
I notice Haley, Damon, Ainsley, and my little brothers down at the end of the line, closest to the pretty white Bentley we will be leaving in.
Just as we get to them, they pull cannon-like guns out from behind their backs and shower us with massive amounts of confetti. And I can’t help but laugh. Especially when I look at Dani, whose hair is covered in it.
She’s laughing when I stop, grab her around the waist, and give her a big kiss.
And I don’t care who is watching.
Your secret.
Devaney
The car whisks us away and drives us to the house, so Chase and I can enjoy the fireworks in our favorite spot—on the boathouse’s roof.
I’m helped out of my wedding dress and into a white robe, and when Chase and I meet up on the deck, he’s changed out of his tuxedo and into a matching robe.
We climb up the ladder and lie on the blanket that was spread out for us just as the fireworks go off.
I’m not sure, but if I had to guess, Ariela probably just radioed them and told them to start. The timing is a little too perfect, even for her.
Chase reaches over and slides his fingers against my hand. Like he did that first night. When we weren’t yet sure.
“The fireworks are beautiful,” I say, watching my favorite white ones rain down toward us.
“You say that every time,” Chase says with a laugh. “I guess that means I can tell you that you’re the most beautiful thing about tonight.”
“You can,” I say with a smile. “I’ll never grow tired of hearing that from you.”
We watch the rest of the show in silence. Just loving being so close, our fingers and shoulders barely touching.
Pretty soon, there are a bunch of big booms, indicating the finale. Colors stream down from the sky, and at the very end is a single heart.
I clap. “That was amazing!”
“And you know what that means,” Chase says. “It’s time to start our honeymoon.”
“Oh, about that. We can’t just yet.”
“Why not?”
“We have to go to the afterparty.”
“Afterparty? But I didn’t plan—”
“No, I did,” I say with a smirk.
“Then why did we just leave?”
“Because now, everyone feels like they can leave. The little kids can be put to bed. Grandparents. Anyone who is tired or whatever. And we had to sort of behave a certain way at our reception. The music was tamer, the dancing too. For example, I can grind on you at the afterparty.”
“Hmm. The naughty reception it is then.”
“It’s called the afterparty.”
“No, it is the naughty reception, which will lead to our very private afterparty,” he says, rolling over toward me and kissing me.
“I like the sound of that,” I tell him.
“So, this was your secret then, huh?”
“Um, one of them.”
“Where is it at? Back at the glass house?”
I shake my head. “You’ll have to wait and see. Come on. We need to get changed.”
Inside the boathouse, Ariela is waiting for us along with the glam team.
“Chase,” she says, “your change of clothing is in your room. If you wouldn’t mind, please stay up there and relax for a few minutes, and we’ll call you down when Dani is ready.”
“Cool,” he says, then gives me a kiss.
I’m seated at the kitchen table, where my updo is untwisted and brushed out, my makeup is touched up, my hair is restyled, and then my party dress is on me in record time.
“We’re ready for you, Chase,” Ariela calls out.
“That was fast,” he says, coming down the steps. He’s halfway down when he spots me.
And stops.
His face breaks out into a wide smile.
I take a few steps toward him and do a little pirouette.
By the time I’m facing him, he’s in front of me and wrapping his arms around me.
“You have daisies in your braid,” he says.
“And on my dress.”
“I’ve been waiting for them all night,” he admits, pulling a small box from his pocket. “My wedding gift to you.”
“Chase! That’s not fair. I didn’t get you anything.”
“Considering you didn’t know about the wedding,” he says with a grin then motions for me to open the box.
I do so, finding an adorable daisy necklace. The petals are white and the inside a bright yellow. The whole thing outlined in gold.
“I love it,” I tell him. “And it’s perfect with my dress!” I lean in and give him a kiss.
“I kind of thought the whole wedding would be daisies, and when you didn’t choose them, I was really surprised.”
“Well, it’s Jennifer’s fault really. At some point during spring break, I mentioned the daisies, and she had the couture designer she works with make me this dress.”
“You look absolutely adorable.”
And I have to agree with him. I love this dress. It’s got a sweetheart neckline, held up by thin straps with little daisy appliqués. It features a fitted waist before going into a short, softly layered tulle skirt, which will be perfect for dancing.
“It’s truly a masterpiece,” I say.
Chase slowly circles me, studying the subtle embroidery in soft colors on the dress, starting with a heart on the top that is scattered with daisies.
He holds the skirt out a little. “There is the word dream along with copper pennies, pink hearts, more daisies, cupcakes, stars, fireworks, and the number one-eleven.” He stops moving. “Oh my gosh, Dani. Is that Angel?”
“The original,” I tell him. “And do you see the microphone? Our birthdates? Our zodiac signs in stars? And the lyrics to our first dance song.”
“It’s like the cupcake has come alive in a truly artistic way,” he says in awe, still circling me. “It’s like the story of our lives. How did Jennifer know all this?”
Jennifer, my mom, and Jadyn step out of the bathroom. They all must have been crammed in there, waiting. I can’t help but laugh.
“I didn’t know about the wedding,” Chase’s mom says, “but I did know you were planning on proposing. And we were told—”
“By me,” my mom says with a grin.
“That they were going to make a poster collage with things important to you,” Mom says. “To your story.”
“Yeah, we lied,” Jennifer says. She’s laughing and loving that she was in on the secret. With my mom. They are truly friends, which is starting to feel normal and not so hard to believe anymore.
“What do you think of it?” Jennifer asks Chase.
He gives Jennifer a hug and says, “It’s a work of art that we’ll cherish forever.”
“If you’re ready then,” Ariela says, dangling keys in front of Chase, “you should get going. The golf cart is yours for the rest of the night, and you are free to sneak out of the party whenever you want.”
“Or stay up till dawn with the rest of us,” my mom adds.
“You guys will all be there?” Chase asks.
“Of course,” Chase’s mom says. “All the formalities are done, and now, we can let loose and party!”
“Even me,” Ariela says. “My husband has finally arrived. And just in time to dance with me.”
“Riley’s here?!” Jennifer says, looking excited.
“Yes, but he’s mine.”
“As long as I get to give him a big hug,” Jennifer says. “It’s been too long.”
“It’s been three months,” Ariela says with a laugh.
“See! Too long!” Jennifer says.
The perfect ending.
Devaney
The afterparty has started without us. And I’m actually surprised at how many people are still ready to dance. Daine Kirkwood and his band are currently playing a rowdy song that people are line dancing to, but I know there’s also a DJ, who was brought in from Nashville to keep the party going.
We’re back at the area where we were for the picnic the first night, but set up around the lawn are adorable boho-style tents. And at an area off to the side is a wood-fire pizza oven, where they are grilling up homemade pizzas.
I grab a bottle of champagne from the bar near the entrance—something I guess you can do with no questions asked when you are the bride—and show Chase around.
“This is insane. Twinkle lights above us. Daine freaking Kirkwood playing. Tents and pizza. My dream wedding is complete,” Chase says, grabbing the bottle of champagne from me. “I love that you did this. And look at everyone already out there, dancing!”
“I know! Let’s go join them!”
We hold hands and run down to the dance floor.
Daine must notice because he stops singing and yells loudly, “Mr. and Mrs. Mackenzie are in! The! Houuuuuse!”
Everyone claps, and the band goes back to playing. Chase pops the champagne and hands it to me. I drink it straight from the bottle. Chase does the same, then grabs me and twirls me around.
We dance and dance. With each other. With our friends. Even with our parents.
It’s so much fun—not caring if we look silly. Not caring that we’re chugging champagne straight from a bottle. Not caring when Chase grinds on me.
The music for the night is eclectic. The DJ plays a lot of dance songs. Daine and the band play off and on. And some of my father’s former teammates even go up and do some rap songs. Who knew they were so good?
I’m happy and possibly a little tipsy for the first time tonight.
Chase pulls me close and says, “What do you say we get some pizza and check out one of those tents?”
“I’d love that!”
We each grab a pizza. His, the Groom’s Favorite, has red sauce, hamburger, Canadian bacon, olives, and a bunch of cheese on a thick crust. And mine, the Bride’s Favorite, has white sauce on a thin crust with chicken, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, and a little Parmesan cheese. We take them into the tent marked for the bride and groom. The tents are a tepee style, made from a creamy canvas, and have pom-poms running down the flaps, which are pulled back. Flameless candles light the inside area and show off the cute pillows for lounging on.
Chase puts the pizza box down next to the candle, and then we sit cross-legged on either side of it.
“This is the perfect ending to our night,” Chase says.
As we lie in the tent, eating pizza, relaxing like the eve of our wedding was the big game—and in a way, it was the biggest game in our lives—I decide to bring up the honeymoon subject.
“So, the honeymoon, tell me the options,” I say before taking another bite.
“Option one,” Chase says, “pack up and leave first thing tomorrow. A plane will take us to a private Caribbean island, owned by some really wealthy friends of the Archibalds, where we will spend two and a half glorious weeks. I’m told they have a chef and full staff to take care of our every desire.”
“How in the world could you afford that, Chase? You told me you spent all your money on my ring.”
“Not all of it, but you are right. I couldn’t afford it. Apparently, like how Tripp wants the grand reopening and our wedding to be plastered all over social media, this guy is looking for that, too. The island has been private to the family for years, and the kids have decided it is a waste to let such a beautiful place sit unused most of the time. So, we will be their first guests. There will be a photographer there to take some pretty photos of us, but other than that, we relax.”
“Sounds dreamy,” I say. “Do they have a place for you to work out?”
“There is a small gym. I might have to bench press you,” he teases.
“I think I might be okay with that,” I say, waggling my eyebrows at him.
“Option two,” he says, “our honeymoon takes place here. We finish out our three weeks in the Ozarks with the family. The resort won’t open until we leave, and the family will be staying on the private compound in the two houses and the guest cottages.”
“Including the honeymoon cottage?”
“It’s not a honeymoon cottage anymore,” he says. “When they added the additional cottages, house, and the shared space between them, it meant that cottage lost the privacy it once had.”
“Bummer.”
“Well, not exactly. If we stayed, we would stay in the shiny, new penthouse on the top floor of the hotel. It has a massive veranda overlooking the lake and includes a private pool and hot tub. We would even be able to order room service and all that. The staff is back and serving our families for the next few weeks to help them work any kinks out before they open to the public.”
“That sounds nice, too.”
“Option three,” he continues, “we split our time. Spend the next week with the family, then go to the island.”
“I vote for option three,” I say. “Best of both worlds. With the festivities and all the people here, I feel like we didn’t get to spend much time with our families.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” He looks around.
“What are you looking for?”
“Ariela and her alarm. I’m pretty sure I just heard it beep. And you know what that means.”
“Time to start our honeymoon?”
“Most definitely.” Chase stands up quickly and holds out his hand to me. “I’ve been waiting for this moment all day.”
“Maybe you should show me this penthouse now,” I reply, taking his hand and allowing him to pull me up and lead me out of the tent.
Country music is playing loudly. The sounds of everyone dancing, laughing, and having fun fill the air.
And as we walk toward the hotel, I can’t help but stop and turn around. I know that years from now, we’ll look back and remember the summer we got engaged. The day we got married. The day that changed everything in so many ways in the place that had changed our relationship.
“This is the start of our first day together as husband and wife,” I say dreamily to Chase.
“That means our forever starts today then,” he replies, holding me tightly.
I lean up on my tiptoes, kiss my husband, and say, “Our forever started a long time ago, Chase.”
