When we arrive at the designated location for the bouquet toss, Ally and I find a good position among the other assembled single women, and the newly minted Mrs. Rivers—wearing a stunning gown designed by her new sister-in-law, Violet—gets into position with her back facing the group.
“Are you ready, Georgie?” the wedding coordinator prompts, and when the bride whoops to signal her readiness, the woman counts down. A moment later, Georgina tosses her bridal bouquet up and back and it flies through the air in a perfect arc . . . that’s headed straight for me. Oh my God! Gasping, I reach out for the bouquet as it falls straight into my waiting palms . . . and then watch in slow motion as a pair of hands snatch it away at the very last second.
“Damn!” I shout, as Alessandra standing next to me bursts out laughing.
All the single ladies pose for a group photo with Georgina and her friend who caught the bouquet—a co-worker of Georgina’s from Rock ‘n’ Roll magazine, apparently. But when a loud cheer inside the house cuts through the party on the patio, everyone outside, including Ally and me, instantly begins traipsing indoors.
All night long, various “super-groups” have graced a large stage inside the house to perform their take on various classic party songs—everything from “Uptown Funk” to “Love Shack” to “Dancing Queen.” By now, we all know what loud cheers from inside the house mean: they’re surefire signs yet another random combination of famous musicians has walked onstage and is getting situated to perform another party tune.
As Ally and I walk toward the large house, the famous piano intro from one of my all-time favorite party songs—“I Will Survive”—begins blaring, followed by the instantly recognizable voice of Dean Masterson, the frontman of Red Card Riot, crooning the iconic first lyrics.
Shrieking excitedly, I grab Alessandra’s arm. “We have to find Fish and Colin to dance to this one! It’s my favorite!”
Alessandra agrees, and, together, we turn and survey the patio.
“There!” Alessandra yells, pointing. Quickly, we traipse over to where she’s spotted Fish, who’s currently chatting with Savage and Laila.
“Come dance with us, Matthew!” Ally yells to her boyfriend. And not only Fish, but Savage and Laila, as well, immediately begin following us toward the house.
“Have you seen Colin?” I yell to Fish, over the loud music as we walk.
“He’s onstage!” Fish yells back. “That’s him playing drums!”
“What?” I shriek. “Why didn’t Colin tell me he was going to play this song tonight—and with Dean Masterson!”
“It just happened, spontaneously,” Fish says, laughing. “I can’t believe it myself. I was just about to come find you two, when you found me.”
We pass that same bench from earlier, at a distance, and see Dax and Caleb sitting together, their body language relaxed and amiable. Clearly, whatever they’re saying to each other over there, it’s going well.
Fish looks elated as he takes in the sight of Dax and Caleb together and says, “Miracles never cease.”
“That’s thanks to Amy,” Alessandra reports. “She’s the one who talked some sense into Caleb.”
“I barely said anything,” I murmur.
“Well, whatever you said, you performed a miracle,” Fish says. “Thank you.”
When we make it inside the house, we find Violet already on the dance floor, whooping it up with her brother and new sister-in law, as well as Dax’s older sister, Kat, and her husband Josh, while Dean Masterson sings his heart out onstage, backed by an assortment of random musicians, none of them from his own band. Of course, my eyes immediately lock onto my hunky boyfriend behind the drum kit. And my heart swells to find him looking like he’s having the time of his life.
I begin dancing like a maniac with my friends and singing along to the lyrics, feeling electrified by the energy and excitement in the room. I’m pretty sure every person at this wedding, besides Dax and Caleb, is now crammed onto the dance floor, all of us lured by the dulcet sounds of Dean Masterson belting out this iconic banger.
One of Reed’s best friends—the adorable guy who officiated the wedding ceremony—begins performing a silly break dance routine in the center of the dance floor that makes everyone cheer and laugh and sends the already sky-high energy in the room through the roof.
Out the corner of my eye, I notice Dax joining Violet on the dance floor. And when I look around the large space, I discover Caleb leaning against a wall in the way back, watching the band and smiling from ear to ear.
My heart soaring at the sight of Caleb’s obvious joy, my eyes return to my boyfriend onstage. And this time, he’s looking at me. I blow Colin a two-handed, enthusiastic kiss, letting him know I love him and he’s gonna get lucky tonight—as always—and Colin laughs and winks at me in reply, without missing a beat in the song.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, even this amazing rendition of “I Will Survive.” As Colin pounds out the final beat of the song, the crowd, including me, goes apeshit, and starts demanding another one. I’m too sweaty and thirsty to keep going, however, so I lean into Fish and Ally to be heard above the din and shout, “I’m going outside to get a drink!”
Fish grabs my arm, keeping me in place. “Hang on,” he says, his tone a whole lot more insistent than I’m used to hearing from him.
A second later, Colin’s amplified voice says, “Don’t go anywhere, Ames. There’s something I need to ask you.”
Gasping, I turn to look at the stage, and, sure enough, Colin is standing front and center, holding a microphone and looking straight at me.
When my gaze meets his, Colin grins and says, “Mr. and Mrs. Rivers graciously gave me permission to ask you this question tonight, in front of all their guests. Thank you for that, Reed and Georgie.” The happy couple whoops from the center of the dance floor, as I stand frozen in place, feeling like my heart is physically lodged inside my throat like a meatball. Is this it?
“Amy,” Colin says. “My love.”
“Holy fuck,” I murmur. I clutch Fish’s arm to hold myself steady, just in case Colin’s next words confirm my hunch.
Colin’s Adam’s apple bobs. He clears his throat. “Amy, our love story started a lifetime ago, but our romance started six months ago at a wedding—so I figured a wedding would be the perfect place to start the next chapter of our story. Our engagement.”
Everyone around me cheers and claps, while I clutch Fish and whimper.
Visibly shaking, Colin kneels at the edge of the stage and holds up a small box, its tiny contents sparkling like crazy under the stage lights. “Amy O’Brien,” Colin chokes out, his voice quavering. “You make me swoon from down deep in my soul. I love you to the moon and back again. And I always will. Amy, will you marry me?”
“Yes!” I shout over the heads on the dance floor, and the crowd around me explodes with cheers.
Hooting gleefully, Colin rises, shoves his mic into a stand and then yells into it, “Make way! I’m gonna land there.” He points at a spot in front of him that’s currently covered by humans and barely waits for the crowd to part before leaping off the stage like the rock star he is. Once on the ground, Colin bounds toward me like a puppy in a field of tall poppies, and when my new fiancé reaches me, he slides the glittering ring onto my shaking finger and kisses me passionately, eliciting even more cheers and applause from our audience.