“Nope,” I say, feeling a little bit of a sting knowing that had she not been backed against the wall, she probably would have never married me.
“Let me see,” Kallie says from beside us. “Let’s see the ring.”
“It’s …” Savannah says, looking down at her finger and then looking up at me again with tears in her eyes. “It’s beautiful and too much.”
“Holy crap,” Kallie says, then hits my shoulder. “You did good, Beau.”
“Let me see this,” Olivia says, taking Savannah’s hand and looking over at me. “Princess cut.” She whistles. “What is this, four or five carats?” I look down at my hand still around Savannah’s waist.
“Four,” I say, trying to avoid Savannah’s eyes.
“With the eternity band,” Olivia now says. “That, right there, is the dream. Look at the side,” Olivia says, turning it.
“It’s the infinity symbol,” I say and look down at her finger with my ring on it. “Means forever.”
“Beau,” Savannah whispers, and my eyes go from her ring to her eyes. “It’s …” She brings the ring closer to her. “It’s too much.”
“It’s forever,” I say, grabbing her hand and kissing it.
“Let’s eat.” I hear Charlotte and Cristine.
“What is that?” Savannah points at the far yard where more lights are strung.
“It’s our reception,” I say, grabbing her hands.
“We need a picture,” Kallie says to us. “Pose over there under the canopy of flowers.”
I grab Savannah’s hand and link our fingers together. “How do we pose?” she asks when we get under the canopy.
I wrap my arms around her waist. “We pose like we are a couple in love,” I say, and she stops talking. “Smile and pretend that today is the best day of your life.”
I hear the clicks and see the flashes of the phones, and then I lean in. I’m about to kiss her when she puts her hands on my chest. “But what if it is?” she says with a soft smile. “After having Ethan, today is the best day of my life.” That’s the last thing she says before I bend to kiss her. This time, I don’t stop, and my tongue slips with hers. One of my hands goes to her face, and I move my head to the side, taking the kiss deeper. I kiss her until we are both breathless. “I think they got the picture,” she says.
“You guys need to get a room,” Casey says, making everyone laugh. “Good thing we got you that wedding gift.”
Savannah looks at me, and I shrug. “No clue.”
“Well, we didn’t know what to get you two.” Casey comes over to us now. “You know, since you gave us five hours’ notice. So …” He looks at Olivia. “We did the only thing we could. We are giving you my cabin in the woods for the weekend.”
“You leave tomorrow,” Olivia says, all excited. “It’s a one bedroom in the middle of nowhere. There isn’t even a Wi-Fi signal.” She folds her arms over her chest, side-eyeing him.
“I bought it so I can get away,” he says, putting his arm around her shoulder.
“Humanity,” Olivia says. “It’s perfect for newlyweds.”
“Um,” Savannah starts, mumbling, “we can’t.”
“Trust me, you can and you will,” Kallie says. “We already fixed it up with Ethan.”
“Well, then,” I say, and she looks at me. “Looks like we have a honeymoon.”
“I guess so,” she says, and Billy comes over with two glasses of champagne.
“Here you guys are. It’s time for the toast, Jacob.” Billy looks over at Jacob, who nods and walks toward the two tables set up around a wooden dance floor.
“Is that a dance floor?” Savannah leans in and asks, and all I can do is nod. I take her hand in mine and walk over, sitting down in a chair, and she sits next to me. “These are real plates.” She looks down. “Who had time to do this?”
“I think it was Kallie and Olivia,” I say, and she gets tears in her eyes. One slips out and starts to roll down her face. “No tears on our wedding day.” I lean in now and kiss her on the lips, something that I have been dreaming about forever.
“It’s just a little bit,” she starts to say. “I don’t deserve all this.”
I take her cheek in my hand. “You deserve everything.” I’m about to kiss her again when I hear the sound of clinking glasses and look up to see Jacob standing in the middle of the dance floor with his own glass of champagne.
“If I can have everyone’s attention,” he says, and we both look over at Jacob. “Time for the best man’s speech.” He looks at us. “Usually, you are given time to prepare a speech, but it’s just like these two to just YOLO everything.” Everyone laughs, and I look around to see a handful of people who have attended, and I also note the people who attended are the only ones I would want at my wedding. There will be no drama; there will be no one trying to one-up. Or no one making sure we follow all the rules at a wedding. It’s perfect, and it’s us. “Savannah and Beau, you are my two oldest and dearest friends, and I couldn’t be happier for you like I am now.” He holds up his glass of champagne. “To your happily ever after.”
Everyone picks up their glass and holds them with a smile. “To happily ever after.” I clink my glass with Savannah and take a sip.
“We need to say something,” I say, and she looks like a deer caught in a headlight. “Okay, fine, I’ll say something. You stand beside me looking beautiful,” I say, and we get up, walking to the dance floor.
“If I can have everyone’s attention,” I say, and they stop, looking over at us. “Before the food comes out, and the party starts. I …” I slip my hand into Savannah’s. “We just want to thank you all for coming this evening on such short notice.” Everyone laughs. “Ethan”—I turn to look at him—“thank you for allowing me to marry your mom.” He smiles and nods at me.
“You’re welcome, Uncle Beau,” he says loudly, making everyone laugh.
“Kallie and Olivia, who pulled off this amazing wedding in the short time. For Charlotte and Cristine for organizing all the food.” I look over, and they all just look at us with love. “And to each and every one of you who showed up today to be a part of this day. And to my wife.” I look over at her. “Thank you for making me the luckiest guy around.”
Everyone cheers, and Savannah looks down almost as if she’s shy. “Time for the first dance,” Casey says, going over to the small DJ booth they have set up.
“We are going to dance?” Savannah asks from beside me, looking around. “What song?”
“I have no idea,” I say, finishing my champagne and walking to the table to put down the empty glass. She follows me, downing the champagne. “We’ve danced before.”
“But not in a wedding dress and suit and all this,” she says nervously, looking around.
“Relax,” I say softly, “It’ll be okay. Just pretend it’s only you and me. Just look at me.” I turn and lead her to the dance floor.