Loving Kate (Acceptance #3) (31 page)

“Yes,” he says with unwavering faith.

“Oh, thank God.” I exclaim and finally release the sobs I’ve been holding in. As I look over at our friends standing up here with us, there’s not a dry eye among them and they’re all laughing right now.

Mike mouths to me, “Fucking adorable,” and I choke on my tears with a laugh of my own.

“Are we ready to continue?” the minister asks, and we nod solemnly. “The rings, please.”

Then it hits me; I don’t have a ring. Jess walks up behind me and asks, “Remember this?”

It’s the ring I saw that I thought would be perfect. I can’t help it; I pull her into the biggest freaking hug ever. “I love you, Jessica Smythe, as big as the sky. Don’t you
ever
forget it.”

“I love you, too, Katie Grace,” she whispers. “As big as the sky.”

Mike hands Daniel the rings and they look beautiful together. Having my promise ring as my wedding band is perfect. As he slides the rings on my finger, I feel whole. Symbolic or not, now I’m legally his. When I put Daniel’s ring on, my hand trembles but I manage to get it on and it’s so fucking sexy. It means he’s mine.

Finally.

“By the powers vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

I’m not typically a PDA person, but Daniel takes my breath away with this kiss and as our tongues meet, I feel those butterflies take flight.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Daniel McCormick!”

“Did you hear that, Mrs. McCormick?” Daniel whispers in my ear. “That means you’re mine and I’m going to call you Mrs. McCormick
all night long
.” His words are seductive and I know he isn’t talking about the reception.

“How long do we have to stay?” I’m anxious to get him somewhere where we can be naked.

“A few hours,” he replies, kissing my hand as we walk back up the aisle together this time. Of course, the first thing on the agenda is pictures.

“Where’s Lucas?” I haven’t seen my baby since this morning and right now I need to hug him.

“He’s right there with my mom,” Daniel points and I tug his hand so I can see my son. As I reach out for Lucas, Bev holds him tight.

“Kate, you can’t hold a baby in a wedding dress. What if he spits up?’

“Then he spits up, it’s just a dress,” I tell her nonchalantly as I take my son away. “Lucas! Mommy missed you today.” I place kisses all over his face and he laughs and smiles. This is what it’s all about right here. After handing him back to his grandma, and suffering endless make-up touch ups, I’m able to pull Daniel to the side.

“Today was the last day I’m taking the pill. Let’s make some babies, Mr. McCormick.”

He pulls us behind the photo tent and places my hand on his cock. “Those might be the hottest words you’ve said to me yet. But if you don’t let go, we’re going to have an issue during pictures.”

Reluctantly, I let go, leaning in close, whispering in his ear, “You started it.”

“Whatever you two are doing, stop. I don’t want to have to bleach my eyes out,” Jake says, half covering his eyes and half trying to sneak a peek of what we were just doing. “Put that thing away,” he says pointing to Daniel’s erection. “It’s time for pictures and we need to keep it G-rated. There are children present.”

“Come on. The sooner we go do all the obligatory things, the sooner we can get started on the honeymoon.”

“Are we going on a honeymoon?” I didn’t even think about that but I don’t know about leaving Lucas.

“We are most definitely going on a honeymoon. We fly to Fiji in the morning for a week in our own private cabana over the ocean with glass bottomed floors.”

I stop dead in my tracks. “Lucas can’t go to Fiji, he doesn’t even have a passport.”

Daniel pulls me close. “Oh, Mrs. McCormick, this trip is rated X. Lucas is staying with Mike and Misty.”

“Oh.”

“Exactly. So get all your kisses in tonight because after we leave you’re mine for the next eight days.” A chill of excitement runs through me while I pull him back to the photo tent with a renewed sense of urgency.

Pictures took forever but we got some great shots and I can’t wait to see how they come out. We just finished up an amazing dinner and Mike and Jess are getting ready to give their speeches. When I look out at all the people here, I’m amazed. I don’t know many of them, but somehow or another they cared enough to come tonight. But seeing our parents, friends, and extended families makes my heart happy. Marc and Chad are flirting away with some girls, Marc more than Chad but eventually he’ll let down his walls, too. They’ve become good friends since they met a few months ago and actually hang out quite often. I can’t wait until I can be at their weddings.

I send a silent prayer up to Vanessa as Mike asks for everyone’s attention.

“My name is Michael Matthews, otherwise known as Mike to my friends.”

Claire is beaming with happiness and Hailey yells out, “My Daddy!”  He’s going to have his hands full with her when she grows up.

“Or also known as Daddy to my daughter Hailey,” he says with a chuckle. “We’re all here tonight because Daniel finally got smart and asked my beautiful best friend to marry him. Tonight, I feel like the lucky one, though. I got to be the best man while my two best friends married each other. Just remember, Daniel, don’t fight with her because I’ve known her longer so I’m always on
her
side,” he says with a wink.

Daniel calls out, “I figured as much. I
knew
I should have picked Jake for this job.” Jake stands and bows to the crowd. These guys.

“Seriously, enough joking around. If you’ve ever been in a room with Daniel and Kate you just instinctively
know
they belong to each other. They’re drawn together by a force that can only be described as magical. With our past history, I’m assuming it won’t be long before we’re sitting here watching Hailey and Lucas get married. Time passes in an instant, because I swear it was just yesterday I met ‘Katie Grace’ when I was seven years old. And here I am, seventeen years later, giving her to my best friend to watch over for eternity. I have
never
been happier for two people than I am for the both of you today.

“To Daniel and Kate,” he says, raising his glass. “May they live happily ever after.”

Are you allowed to ugly cry at your own wedding? Because I totally am and I don’t even care. Now it’s just going to get worse because Jess is standing to give her speech.

“My name is Jessica Smythe, and I’m Kate and Mike’s other best friend. When you grow up with best friends you keep them with you for life. Those of you who know us know that the past seven months have, without a doubt, never once been boring. And for those of you who don’t know us, just be happy you’re here witnessing this happily ever after for yourselves because it almost didn’t happen.

“This past year, we have found love with new people, we’ve revisited past sins, and survived tragic losses. We’ve grieved again for a child lost and learned a new way to move forward one day at a time. Daniel and Kate give me hope that one day I can be as open to love as they are. This is not a couple you’ll be wishing you had never spent so much money on for their wedding when they divorce five years from now. This is
the
couple you’ll spend twice the amount of money on when you celebrate their fiftieth anniversary with them.

“I never realized love could rip you open, spit you out, and make you whole again. True love is messy and complicated. It isn’t always roses and chocolates. It’s filled with compromise, compassion, empathy, trust, faith, and undeniable love. One of you is bound to fall out of love down the road, but that’s when the other one fights hard and shows you why you fell in love with them all over again. There will be sadness and loss. But the happy times will by far exceed the occasional pain.

“I’m not trying to sound ominous. As a matter of fact, everything I just said is something they have already gone through. And yet, we’re still here, on the other side, basking in a love so pure you would never know the tribulations they’ve already gone through. Kathrine Grace Moore, you are my best friend and constant inspiration. You are the Thelma to my Louise, you are my sister, and the mother to my beautiful nephew. You are
my
constant in life, and I love you more than you could ever possibly know. My wish for you today is for your life, and your marriage, to be blessed with eternal happiness and love.

“To Daniel and Kate,” Jess says, raising her glass, and in seconds we’re hugging and sobbing together. Jess isn’t an emotional person and I know how much that took for her to open herself up like that.

“I love you so much. Let love into your heart, Jess. Let it surround you and
fill
you where you’re hurting too much to let it in. I promise you it’s worth it, but more than that,
you’re
worth it.”

“I know and I’ll think about it,” she says, pushing me toward Daniel. “It’s time for your dance.”

Daniel leads me to the dance floor. “Ladies and Gentlemen, the first dance. Mr. and Mrs. McCormick, please take the floor.”

Daniel pulls me close as the beginning notes of
Peace
by OAR starts to play. As I suck in a breath, Daniel smiles. “I thought this song was perfect.”

“You picked this?” my voice is filled with awe.

“I listened to this song every night when I put Lucas to bed. It soothes him and it was healing for me. It says everything I wished I could have said to you then but didn’t know how. We might have lost two months, Kate, but you never left my heart once.”

He places a heart-stopping kiss on my lips as the music stops. “You are my entire world, Mr. McCormick,” I say whispering in his ear.

“And you are mine, Mrs. McCormick,” he whispers back.

Connor

Once Jess gives her speech, she sits back and sobs while watching the first dance and in turn, I watch her. She’s not crying happy tears; there’s something going on with her. She’s hurting and I have no idea how to make it better.

When she catches on that I’m watching her, she flashes me another forced smile. I’ve been getting a lot of those lately and I’m tired of it. The last thing I want to do tonight is make a scene at my best friend’s wedding, but I’ve had enough. A few minutes later she goes outside and when she doesn’t come back in, I decide to go and look for her.

After searching all the usual places, I realize there’s only one place she can be. My parents’ house is built on a hill that overlooks the ocean and Jess likes to sit on the benches on the bluff and think. Her silhouette glows under the moonlight but even from here, I can see her body is wracked with sobs.

The last thing I want to do is scare her when I come up behind her, so I call out her name softly, wrapping my arms around her from behind. For a long time I don’t say anything, instead I let her cry out whatever it is that’s bothering her.

“Jessica, please talk to me,” my voice cracks as I beg. She and I are two of the same; we deflect anything serious with sarcasm.

“I can’t, Connor. I’m sorry but I just can’t.”

Mike’s voice rings inside of my head,
‘Don’t let her shut you out, you’ll never get back in.’

Circling in front of her, I kneel between her legs and take her hands in mine. It’s warm out but she’s freezing. I take my jacket off and wrap it around her and carefully tilt her face until I can see those beautiful blue eyes of hers. Using my thumb to wipe away her tears seems to calm her a little bit.

“Okay, Jess, if you don’t want to talk you don’t have to, but I need to talk to you. I’ve got something to say and I’ve been holding it in for a while now.”

She nods and her shoulders slump in defeat. “It’s okay, Connor, I know you want to break up and maybe it’s for the best.”

No fucking way. 

“Angel, the last thing I want to do is break up with you. I’m not sure why you would even think that.” She sniffles and looks at me.

“You’ve been pulling away, spending more time at home, it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.”

I stand up and sit down next to her on the bench and pull her onto my lap. “I was trying to give you space. Mike said it would probably backfire and I guess it did. The past few weeks you’ve seemed really distant and standoffish. I thought if I gave you space you’d realize I’m not trying to suffocate you.”

“Why would you be suffocating me?”

“Jessica,” after taking a deep breath I continue, “you are not an easy person to love.” She tries to pull away but I hold on tight.

“That’s low, Connor.” She’s seething.

“Let me finish,
please.
” She stops fighting me so I continue. “You’re scarred by your mom and the definition of love you were provided by her. I don’t know what that’s like but I can imagine it’s why you’re so against falling in love. I’m constantly trying to walk a fine line of loving you enough but not too much to send you running for the hills. To be honest, it’s exhausting.”

“Then why do you do it?” she bites out and I grab her head and
make
her look at me.