“Are we still planning on the wedding night here? Or did we want to head to the airport early?”
That had been the only item we’d gone back and forth on. Archie had voted to go early, and we could do the wedding night on the plane. Bubba voted here because we had no idea how late the reception would run, but I didn’t think anyone would begrudge us disappearing early.
Coop abstained entirely. As long as the wedding night was with Frankie, he didn’t much care where we spent it. Honestly, I didn’t disagree, but…
“You want to get out of here,” Bubba said, looking at me, and I shrugged.
“It’s not that I don’t like the place. I do—I think we should make a point of coming back here again, but not with every single member of our rather extensive familial networks, complete with nosy sisters and pushy younger brothers. Not to mention the whole dad bromance thing is getting kind of weird.”
“Kind of?” Coop said with a grin. “I think it’s hilarious that your dads and their dads are all getting along. Just leave mine out of it. I heard them all betting on grandparent names last night before I came up.”
Grandparent names?”
“For real?” Bubba said with a groan and then scrubbed a hand over his face.
Yeah, I was with him on that.
“Oh, Eddie was pretty confident he would get his pick of the name after Hank. Apparently, Hank is definitely in pole position.” The exasperated amusement made me laugh, but Archie just shook his head.
“Look, as long as they harass each other and not us,” he suggested. “Let them do it. Kids are at least three or four years away.”
“You know,” I told him. “That doesn’t seem as long as it sounds like.” Honestly, she was going to be so damn beautiful. I kind of couldn’t wait for that part. To see her get all big-breasted and swollen abdomen. Not that she didn’t have the prettiest titties, but pregnancy was supposed to make them bigger.
“You’re totally picturing her pregnant right now,” Coop said, amusement in his eyes and his voice. “Aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” I admitted. Couldn’t help it. The image snuck in every now and then. Had for over a year. I was content to wait, but when it was time?
Hell. Yes.
IAN
Picturing her pregnant? Had I? I could admit to that. I let Coop rib Jake while I went to get water. We had another fifteen minutes, and then we’d head down. Asking the dads to give us the morning had been a solid plan. At the hour mark, we split up to head out to see our respective families.
The photographer would be doing candids throughout the ceremony. We’d skipped all posed photographs except for the wedding shot itself—that one we wanted to keep. Jake and I found our dads downstairs having a drink. Klara, Alicia, and my mother were nowhere to be found.
“Please tell me that all the women didn’t descend on Frankie,” I said, and Dad chuckled at me.
“Don’t worry, they had breakfast with her early on before it was time to get dressed, and right after that, they were all hustled out. I think the only one still up there was Hank—” Dad paused. “Nope. He’s not there, he is now with Kelly.”
I turned to see Frankie’s dad and stepmom coming into the lounge with their boys. Hank gave us a wave and nodded to Dad.
“Come on,” Dad said, giving me a firm shoulder pat. “Let’s take a walk.”
“We’re due to start in thirty-five minutes.” It was just a warning.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you be late for your wedding.”
I wasn’t worried. Nothing was allowed to mess up this day. Coop was coming down the stairs with his mother and sister. Archie was near the main doors with Eddie and a guy I didn’t recognize. Leaving them to their conversations, Dad and I headed out to a wide, shaded veranda.
The air coming from the mountains was blowing in cool. It was the perfect kind of breeze for the sunny warmth of the morning.
“How you doing?” Dad asked as we walked.
“I’m good.” Better than good, really. “This feels like a big deal and nothing at all.”
“Good.”
I blinked and glanced at him. “Good?”
“That’s how it should feel. Panic is somewhat normal. It’s the question of are you doing the right thing? But this relationship is one you’ve been committed to for a long time.”
This was true. “I had my moments.” I could admit that. “When we went to Dallas and had the conversation, I began to second guess everything.”
Shouldn’t have done that. Or maybe I needed to in order to get out of my own way so we could be here.
Together.
“The truth is, each time we’ve run into a challenge, they’re all the ones I lean on, and in turn, they lean on us. It works. I like that we can surround Frankie and protect her.” Then I grinned. “I like that she protects and looks after us. She pushes us to be better at tackling challenges we might not have otherwise. It’s good.”
“I’m really glad to hear that,” he said. “Now, I have a bit of wisdom for you."
“Yes, sir?” I kind of knew this was coming. It was one of the rights of passage. At least none of the parents had gotten on us about being too young to get married or settling down. That was one thing we’d all done already.
Picked each other. Moved in with each other. Worked and shaped our lives around each other.
Getting married was all about setting the table for the future and making sure everyone, ourselves included, understood the seriousness of our commitment.
The big reason to get married? We wanted it. We wanted her.
“Your mother and I have been married for close to thirty years. The secret to our success? It’s simple. If we disagree or fight, the person it’s the most important to, wins.”
I raised my brows.
“Sounds strange, I’m sure. But it works. There are some things that are just far more important to Sara than they are to me. Some things are more important to me than to her. So, when it comes down to fighting or just letting the person it’s more important to win, we always default to the latter.”
Chuckling, I turned that over in my head. In some ways, we already did that. “You told me this before, I think.”
“Probably,” Dad said, amused. “But it’s good advice and worth repeating. Course, how the five of you decide who it’s most important to—well, I won’t even begin to assume.”
Which was even better. “Thanks, Dad.”
I wrapped my arms around him for an embrace, and he patted my back. “Always, my boy. Always. Oh, and one last thing…”
Oh boy. “That is?”
“I convinced your mother to not aggravate you for a grandchild until at least your fifth anniversary.” He patted my shoulder. “You’re welcome.”
Laughing, I reached up to fix my tie as guests began to make their way out of the inn and toward the garden.
One glance at my watch was all it took to confirm.
It was time.
ARCHIE
“Archie,” Dad said when my watch alarm went off. It was time to get into position. Guests were making their way out. Coop passed with a glance at his watch and I nodded.