It was the morning of our wedding. Not a usual time to be running to the drugstore, but I had to know, so I left my hair appointment and ran in. Of course, everyone looked at me strangely, so I felt I had to tell a few fellow customers that I’d be getting married in a few hours. After they congratulated me, I continued down the aisle. The cashier had the best reaction. I smiled at her, told her that I was about to be married, and she raised an eyebrow at me.

“I guess your timing is perfect, then.” She scanned the pregnancy test and dropped it into a bag. “Congratulations. On both counts.”

“Maybe,” I said. “I won’t know until after I take this.” I didn’t know which was making my stomach worse—the wedding, or the possibility I could have been pregnant.

Ever since our second time together and the conversation we’d had about it, we’d only been mildly careful about using protection. We figured it’d be better to wait until we were married to get pregnant—if for nothing else than to be able to enjoy sitting on the beach during our honeymoon without having morning sickness. Even if the test results were positive, we’d both be thrilled. But I hadn’t been feeling sick yet.

When I pulled up to the house, women—and a general fog of hairspray—were everywhere. I’d opted to get my hair done professionally, but my bridal party decided to style their own. We’d tried to keep the wedding small, and I hadn’t put any restrictions on my bridesmaids. They’d each picked a blue dress, both in varying shade and style, and I told them to do whatever they’d like with their hair, including nothing, if that was what they wanted. But, of course, who wouldn’t want an excuse to get all dolled-up?

“Here she is!” My mother wrapped me tightly in her arms. “Finally! Here, come eat something. I have a tray of deli sandwiches over in the kitchen.”

My stomach turned again. “I have to go to the bathroom first.”

I turned to walk down the hall, but Gabby stopped me. “Oh, there you are! Hey, do these earrings look okay? I have these, too.” She held a different earring to each ear.

“I’d go with the left one, for sure.”

She blew me a kiss and rushed off. I made it a few more steps before someone else called my name. I turned toward Alexis.

“Hey, sorry,” she said. “I think someone is at the door. Maybe it’s the guy with the flowers? I didn’t want to just let anyone in.”

“Thanks.” I pivoted to walk back toward the front door.

“Have you eaten yet?” my grandmother asked as she intercepted me, pushing a chicken salad sandwich my way.

“Not yet, Grandma. I have to answer the door.”

“Oh, well now, you shouldn’t have to do that on your wedding day. Come now. Eat.”

She took my arm and tried to lead me away. “I’ll be right there, Grandma. I promise.”

I smiled as I gently removed her hand from my arm to open the door. The delivery guy stood there, looking not too happy at my delay.

“They can go right on the table.” I pointed to the dining room and he carried the boxes of flowers inside, sat them on the table and shoved a clipboard at me.

“Thanks,” I said, signing my maiden name for the last time.

“Yeah, have a good day. Oh, and congratulations.” He turned and hurried to his truck.

I took in a long breath, trying to clear my thoughts. No wonder brides lost it; everything was chaos. Luckily, my mom was handling a lot of the details, and for most things, I actually didn’t care that much. I mean, yes, I had my pinboard and a thick planner of ideas that hadn’t left my hands in months. But at the end of the day, I realized as long as Jace and I were there and we had someone to make it official, that’s all that really mattered. And in that moment, what mattered most was that I could take five minutes to go to the freaking bathroom.

I walked away, determined. But there was my mother again. “You still haven’t eaten anything, and the photographer will be here before you know it.”

I put my hands on her shoulders. “Mother, I will eat. I promise. Right now, my bladder is about to explode, so I’m going to the bathroom and I’m going to take a few minutes to collect myself.” I flashed her a big smile and pointedly walked away.

I overheard her say, “She’ll be right in,” to someone.

I dashed upstairs to my parents’ bathroom. No one would be in there, and since I’d had Gabby and Alexis sleep over the night before, the guest room and bathroom were full of our things. And at least one person would be in there as well, finishing up.

Safe in my seclusion, I opened the test and aimed the stick under me as I sat on the toilet, doing my best to not make a complete mess. I set it down, looked at the time, and tried to breathe. It was hard not to watch it. I forced myself to stare at the wall until the three minutes had passed, then picked up the stick and my heart leapt in my chest.

Positive.

My pulse quickened as a wave of joy rushed over me, hard enough to make me sob.

As shocked and excited as I was, I had to pull myself together; I was already running out of time and I couldn’t ruin my makeup. I took a deep breath, then carefully dabbed my eyes. The hard part now would be hiding the news when all I wanted to do was rush out of the room and scream it to the world. I have to tell Jace first. It’ll be the perfect wedding gift.

Somehow, I managed to keep silent throughout the remainder of the primping process. Shoving a sandwich into my mouth along the way certainly helped—and finally satisfied my mother and grandmother. After brushing the crumbs from my lips and giving my hands a quick wash, it was time to slip into my dress: an embellished white, fitted gown with a lace overlay that flared slightly at the knee. Gabby fastened the last of the silk-covered buttons along the backside of the keyhole bodice and adjusted my cap sleeves, and I was finally ready.

As we piled into the limo and rode to the church, I had to keep biting my lip to keep from grinning too much. But then I thought, Well that’s stupid. It’s my wedding day. People will expect me to be beaming. So, I let it fly and everyone commented on how happy I looked.

Jace and I had decided to be traditional and stick with the ‘no-contact-the-day-of’ rule—what a stupid idea that had been. I pictured a few different ways of how to tell him, but none of them felt right. I already felt like a traitor, having the information for hours and not telling him.

The black stretch limo pulled up to the rear of the church, and as we began to file out, I whispered to Gabby, “I need Jace.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, holding my modest lace train as I carefully stepped outside. “You’re about to marry him; you’ll see him in a few minutes. We’ve got to head up to the bride’s room.”

“I know, but I need to see him now. I need you to go find him and get him to meet me upstairs in front of the fountain. Hurry, it’s important.”

She looked worried but rushed off. A few minutes later, she returned, looking even more concerned. “He’s waiting.”

I quickly gathered the skirt of my dress and rushed to him. When he saw me, his face lit up.

“What are you doing?” he asked, laughing, wiping a tear away. “You look amazing, but I’m not supposed to see you.”

“I know, but something came up.”

A look of unease spread over his face. “Something came up?”

With a shaking hand, I reached into the tiny beaded clutch I’d brought along. I wanted to speak the words, but all I could do was hand the test to him. He stared at it, then at me, and his eyes widened.

“No way!” He snatched me into a tight hug and swirled me around. “Oh, man.” He stared at the test in his hand, then laughed again, tears running down his face. “This really is the best day of my life. Not only do I get to marry the woman of my dreams, my lifelong best friend and soulmate, but now I find out we’re going to have a baby?” He gently rested his hand on my belly. “I’m going to be a father,” he whispered, and I wiped fresh tears away, too.

“I’ve been dying to tell you all afternoon. I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer.”

“How long have you known?”

“About three hours.”

He laughed and kissed me.

“I couldn’t focus on anything until I told you,” I said. “I wouldn’t have heard a word of the ceremony if I hadn’t told you first.”

“I’m glad you did.”

I nodded and flashed him a teary smile. “Ready to go do this?”

“I’ve been ready to marry you for my entire life.” Jace stuck his arm out and I wound mine through it.

We walked away from the fountain together, our tiny, hidden secret nestled safely in our hearts, ready to embark on our new, wild journey together.