“By the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may… Well, he took care of that,” Ramsey said.
I ignored him and kissed my wife. Chastely. Mostly. A little church tongue. Because I couldn’t resist her.
My wife.
I took her hand and led her to the back of the space, giving us a minute alone before the crowd descended. “I love you.”
She smiled, her face brightening. She was finally feeling better, the second trimester giving her energy she hadn’t had during the first. “I love you. Husband.”
“Fuck,” I hissed, resting my forehead against hers. “You need to watch that, or I’ll skip this reception and take you home.”
She chuckled. “I’ll make sure to say it often later.”
“Please do, wife.”
She shivered. “Yeah, I like that.”
“God, I love you.”
“I love you.”
“All right, you two, there are children here,” Andre said, grinning and clapping me on the back. “Congratulations.” He hugged me tight, then turned to Casey. “And condolences.”
My wife giggled.
“Some best man you are.” I shook my head at him.
“Just bringing you back down to earth before you run out that door and disappear,” Andre said, all too observant.
“Just wait,” I told him.
Andre winked. “Trust me, I’m not questioning you. Just making sure you enjoy the rest of the day. I hear it’s fun.”
“It is fun,” Melody said. “And we’re all here to celebrate with you.” She hugged Casey. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you,” Casey said.
“And I’m so happy you found each other.” Melody hugged me.
Being welcomed into the group of friends so completely was something I never expected. Casey and Melody were close, and Ramsey accepted me without question. With his friendship, the rest of the men who met every week became my friends, too. Ian, Hudson, James, Nico, all of them. And they all showed up for our wedding, to celebrate Casey and me.
“Thank you for being here,” I told Melody.
She grinned. “There’s nowhere else we’d rather be. I told you that when you asked me if I thought this was a good idea.”
“And I appreciate that you said yes,” Casey teased. “He seems to know what I want and need without me even knowing, and I thank you for going along with it.”
“You two are perfect together,” Melody said.
“She’s perfect. I just bask in her glow.” I hugged my wife to my side and kissed her. “The flowers are pretty good, right?”
“The flowers are amazing. Just like you are.”
I smiled at her. Everything worked out the way it was supposed to. It was hard to end things with Reegan. To think I would be alone forever. To wonder if I’d ever find someone who turned me inside out and made me want more.
But then Casey walked into my shop and tripped over my display and stole my heart when I wasn’t even looking for her. She gave me a happiness I didn’t know was possible.
Trent and Finley MacKellar offered their house for our reception since their group usually spent the evening there for New Year’s Eve. It was an easy choice to go with the flow and let our wedding reception be a party that we didn’t have to stress out about. Melody assured me Casey would be okay with it, and once Casey found out, she loved the idea of a family event that didn’t make her the center of attention.
