“Your dad put the fear of God into me when I called him, by the way. He gave me his blessing, no problem, but he suggested I should chat with you about marriage, before proposing, because, last he’d heard, you didn’t want to get married to anyone before age thirty.”
Georgina scoffs. “Well, yeah. I said that before I met you.”
“That’s what I told him!”
Laughing, Georgina says, “It’s easy for a girl to draw imaginary lines in the sand before she knows Reed Rivers exists in the world.”
We reach my mother’s door in the hallway and poke our heads inside her room, thinking we’ll share our happy news before heading out. But Mom is fast asleep, so we decide to let her stay that way.
“We’ll call her after we land,” I say, as we make our way down the hallway toward the lobby.
“Let’s call my dad and Alessandra in the car, though,” Georgina says excitedly. “I’m bursting to tell them. I want to tell the whole world!”
“Me, too. We’ll call CeeCee in the car, too. She helped me pick out the ring.”
“She did? Aw, that means so much to me.” Georgina looks at her hand and giggles. “No wonder it’s so big. You and CeeCee shopping together must have been like fire and gasoline. I can only imagine how much she goaded you on to ‘go big.’”
“Sweetheart, I didn’t need anyone to goad me on to do that. Trust me. If anything, CeeCee kept me from buying something that would make your knuckles physically drag on the ground when you put it on.”
Georgina laughs uproariously. “What about Amalia? Did she know you were going to ask me?”
“No. Only CeeCee, Josh, Henn, Kat, Hannah, my sister, and Dax.”
“Let’s call all of them from the car! I can’t wait to tell everyone!”
We’ve reached the lobby now. But instead of heading out the front door, and straight to Tony’s waiting sedan, we pause at the front desk.
“Hey, Oscar,” I say. “When my mother finishes tweaking her latest masterpiece, will you do me a favor and ship it to me in California?” I scribble my address onto a piece of paper and hand it to him, along with a bunch of bills. “That’s for shipping and your trouble.”
“Thanks. Sure. No problem. If you don’t mind me asking, why don’t you want her latest painting tossed onto the heap, with all the others? Is there something special about this one?”
“Yeah, there’s something special about this one.” I look into Georgina’s sparkling eyes. “This one is going to be a memento, forever, of the happiest day of my life.”
Chapter 40
Georgina
One year later
“And now, it’s time for you both to exchange your vows,” Henn says. “At least, that’s what the template says we should do now.”
Everyone seated in rows on our patio chuckles. And I don’t blame them. For his first time officiating a wedding, Henn is absolutely killing it.
There was never any serious question that Henn would officiate our wedding, while Josh served as Reed’s best man, any more than there was a question that Alessandra would be my maid of honor and Kat my bridesmaid. Or that Reed and I would get married here, on our patio, surrounded only by the people we love the most. Reed and I both knew long distance travel would be difficult for my father, thanks to some lasting side effects from chemo. And also that Reed’s mother would never want to fly internationally, even if Reed were to arrange a luxurious private flight for her. Plus, Eleanor hates hotels, so we knew she’d be most comfortable staying here, at our house, along with her favorite nurse, Tina. And so, in the end, Reed and I agreed to get hitched here, exactly like this, rather than in some far-flung exotic locale. And we couldn’t be happier about it.
“Georgie?” Henn prompts. “Why don’t you say your vows first. Show Reed how it’s done.”
Nerves rocket through me. Not because I have any doubt about pledging myself to Reed forever. But because I’m quite certain what I’ve come up with for vows won’t come close to expressing the depth of my love for Reed—the gorgeous, generous, enthralling man who’s become my world. My breathing stilted, I pull a piece of paper out of my cleavage. “Sorry,” I mumble, indicating the paper. “I didn’t want to mess this up.”
“You can’t mess it up,” Reed says soothingly, squeezing my hand. “No matter what you say, it will be perfect.”
I glance down at the paper. And then return to Reed’s chocolate eyes. I clear my throat. “Reed, loving you feels like the most natural thing in the world—like breathing and blinking and smiling.” I smile. “I never have to think about loving you, because I was born to do it. Designed to do it. But ‘love’ isn’t a big enough word for how I feel about you. There’s really no word for it, actually. No way for language to encapsulate the depth and endlessness of my devotion to you, any more than the word ‘infinite’ truly encapsulates the vastness of outer space. Please know that I love you as deeply as a human being can love. I adore you, with every drop of me. I admire and respect you. And I like you. My vow to you today is to love you fiercely and faithfully, forever. Until we’re old and gray. Which, in your case, will be in about three years.”
Reed hoots with laughter, along with Henn and Josh. Plus, I can hear Alessandra and Kat guffawing behind my back, as well, along with everyone in our audience.
“Try the veal, I’m here all week,” I say, making Reed chuckle again. I crumple my paper and toss it behind me, and then grab both of Reed’s hands. “It boils down to this. My beloved Reed, I promise to be yours, in sickness and health. For richer or poorer—”
“Don’t jinx me, baby.”
Again, everyone laughs, including me.
“Reed Rivers, I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, as your wife. I love you so much. I promise to give you, and only you, all of me. Forever.”
“Perfect.” He leans in and kisses me gently. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too. So, so much.”
“That was so beautiful, Georgie,” Henn says. He smiles at his best friend. “Okay, buddy. You’re up. Make it good.”
“I’ll do my best.” A huge smile overtakes Reed’s face. “To start, I feel the need to correct a few things I’ve said in the past—things that were true when I said them, but aren’t anymore. I once told you I’m a believer in ‘going big or going home.’ But now that I love you the way I do, I’ve realized that’s not an either-or proposition. Going home is going big, as long as I’m coming home to you.”
I clamp my lips together to keep my chin from trembling.
“Another thing,” Reed says. “I once called you the ‘Ginger Rogers of Spin.’ But I’ve since realized that’s too limiting. You’re the Ginger Rogers of Life. A badass at everything you do. Far more so than me. From the outside, people might look at us and assume I’m the teacher here—that I’m some sort of Svengali. But the truth is you’ve taught me far more than I’ve taught you. You’ve taught me how to love, Georgie. You’ve taught me how to be happy.”