Today had been a rollercoaster of emotions, far more than I had ever wanted on my wedding day. The morning had started off great, with Patrick actually sleeping later than normal, letting us lounge in bed for a bit. I’d fully intended to see how many times I could get Savannah to come before our son woke up, but then we’d gotten a call from Sine saying that the venue we’d reserved had been flooded, destroying everything we’d set up. She told us that Paige was finding a new location and that the rest of them were taking care of the preparations, but it’d still left a shadow over the day.

Until we arrived at Darius Stein’s gallery and saw what our friends had done.

I made a note on my phone to contact Mr. Stein to arrange a showing, then went over to where Everett was sitting, my son already on his lap. Patrick’s hands waved in the air, grabbing for Everett’s chin, hair, anything he could get his little hands on. He babbled happily at me, and I hoped he’d stay in this mood through the whole ceremony. Savannah and I were going to a hotel tonight for a one-night honeymoon, not wanting to be away from Patrick any longer than that. I closed my eyes, knowing that, if he started crying, I had a feeling both Savannah and I would end up changing our mind about having him spend the night with Savannah’s parents.

“How’s he been?” I asked.

Everett didn’t take his eyes off his godson. “Perfect, as always.”

As much as I loved my son, I was looking forward to enjoying a full night with my wife. It seemed like every time we managed to be alone, we were so exhausted, all we wanted to do was sleep. By the time Patrick had started sleeping through the night, we’d been in full wedding planning mode, which was almost as exhausting as a newborn.

And now, apparently, all that time had been for nothing.

I shook off the thought. “Do you have the ring?”

Everett looked up at me, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Don’t worry, no one swallowed it.”

“Alix is never going to live that down.” I shuddered, wondering how I’d have reacted if it had been Patrick choking like that. “But I’m just glad Elise is all right.”

“Me too,” Everett said as he turned his attention back to Patrick. He and his boyfriend were getting serious, and the way he looked at Patrick made me wonder if they’d be talking marriage and kids soon.

“What do you think?” Reb appeared beside us.

“I think Savannah and I have the best friends in the world.” It may have sounded like some sort of cliché, but I meant every word of it. “It’s perfect.”

Savannah and I had liked the original venue, but this, this was something else. Beautiful landscapes and abstracts lined the walls. The artists were different, but someone had arranged them in such a way that one flowed into the next. Simple white folding chairs sat in rows, and a small arrangement of roses had been fastened to the end of each one. Christmas lights had been strung from the ceiling, adding to the candles’ dim glow.

“We can never thank you guys enough,” I said. “Really.”

Before things could get too mushy, I heard Savannah’s mother behind me, calling for her grandson. Everett handed the baby off and then headed back to the office where the guys were changing. We’d debated about who’d be standing up with us and if we wanted things traditional and balanced. In the end, we’d decided not to have separate sides of the bridal party, putting all five guys and three women in a semi-circle around us. The minister would stand before us, with Alix on the end closest to me, and Everett on the end closest to Savannah.

At least the venue disaster hadn’t forced us to change that. And all of the dresses and tuxes hadn’t been there, so none of those had been ruined.

Once I started looking at how much worse things could have been, and how great things were turning out despite the insanity, I could see how fortunate I was. Besides, I was marrying the love of my life. We could be at city hall, an Elvis chapel, or anywhere else in the world, and it wouldn’t matter. All that mattered was that, by the end of the day, Savannah Birch would finally be my wife.

* * *

I didn’t consider myself an emotional guy, but the moment I saw Savannah appear at the back of the gallery, her dad at her side, my eyes began to burn. She’d always been delicately beautiful, to the point where I once worried that I’d hurt her, but she was stronger than she appeared. In her simple dove gray dress, her sepia brown curls tumbling over her shoulders, she looked like something out of a dream.

As she approached, I held out my hand, my gaze locking with hers. Her light gray eyes were shining, her smile blinding, as she laid her hand on mine. We hadn’t gone with a traditional ceremony, so the minister gave only a brief introduction before asking us for our vows.

I cleared my throat, suddenly wondering if I’d even be able to get the words out. “I’ll be honest, I asked the guys for some help. We all know words aren’t exactly my medium.” I used the few seconds of laughter to take a slow breath, then began. “I never had much in the way of role models, especially not when it came to love. I didn’t believe in it, not really. Not until I opened my door, expecting lunch, and found you instead. You taught me that love is hard. It’s work. It can rip your heart out and tear you up inside. But it can also make you feel like anything in the world is possible. You changed my life that day. You brought a joy to my work that I’d been missing. You forgave me when I didn’t deserve to be forgiven. You are my muse, my lover, the mother of my child, and so much more. You’re everything. I promise that I will spend the rest of my life trying to make myself worthy of you.”

Tears spilled over her cheeks, but she didn’t let go of my hands to brush them away.

“Savannah,” the minister prompted.

She nodded. “Jace, before I met you, you inspired me. Your talent. The beauty you found in the world. And then you opened your door, and I knew that I’d never be the same. You saw me in a way no one had ever seen me before, and you allowed me to see myself through your eyes. You gave me a beautiful son, and a life that is greater than any dream I’ve ever had.” Her voice shook, her fingers tightening around mine. “I love you with everything I have, and I know this is just the beginning.”

I couldn’t help it. I leaned down and kissed her, ignoring the chuckles coming from our friends and family. I didn’t care what anyone else thought. She was mine, and I was hers. That was all that mattered.