“What do you mean there aren’t any flights?” I tried to keep my voice as low and calm as possible. “What about a red-eye?” As the airline attendant looked at me with a drooping smile, I had an inkling of what Ana had been going through the past month.

“I’m so sorry, sir. We didn’t expect a hurricane, but it formed quick and turned to hit the Caribbean. There are no flights going in or out.”

My hand dug into my hair and I fisted it, pulling at the longer strands in frustration. I could feel Ana behind me and I didn’t even want to turn and see the disappointment on her face. “What about tomorrow? Will flights be open then?”

Before I even finished, she was shaking her head. “I’m sorry, sir. Everything is grounded until further notice.” I swallowed the anger building in my throat. It wasn’t her fault, I tried to remind myself. “Have you thought about maybe going north?” she offered with a smile. “Canada is great this time of year.”

My eyes wide, I stared and tried to process the flood of anger rolling through me and it all came out as a laugh. “North?” Another laugh sounding a little more manic than the last. “North. Ma’am,” I looked down are her name tag, “Susan, I have a suitcase full of swim trunks, and bikinis, specifically picked for the beach. I don’t think that will keep us sufficiently warm in the north while we go on our honeymoon.” I was shouting by the time I finished, and opened my mouth to continue when I felt her slim fingers slide over my shoulder and ground me.

“Kevin.” Her soft voice soothed my rage faster than anything ever could. Dropping my head, I took deep breaths as Ana stepped up beside me and spoke to Susan. “We understand you can’t control the weather. We’ve just hit a few speedbumps getting here. It’s been a long day.” Ana’s hand dropped down my arm and her pinky linked with mine as she shifted to look at me. “But no matter how much of a shit-show everything is, it doesn’t matter, because we’re husband and wife and nothing can change that.”

She repeated the words back to me that I’d used to convince her this morning. God, that seemed like forever ago.

Lifting my head, I met my wife’s ocean blue eyes. Then I turned to Susan. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long day.”

“And I’m sorry this happened. You can contact the airline and either exchange your ticket, reschedule once flights are open again, or get a refund. Here’s the number right here.”

“Thank you,” Ana said with a smile as she took the card.

We grabbed our things and walked out of the terminal to the carousel where we collected our bags. We didn’t speak when we reached the car. We just got in, and we each took a heavy breath, letting the silence and our presence comfort each other.

“Take me home, Kevin. It doesn’t matter where we are, I just want to spend my wedding night with you.”

My eyes burned as love for her surged through me. The most understanding woman I’d ever met. Kind. Patient. More than I deserved. And somehow, I’d convinced her to marry me today on a whim. Fuck, I was lucky.

I let idea after idea pass through my mind as I tried to decide what to do. Finally, something came to me. I lifted her hand to my lips and pressed a hard kiss to the soft skin. “Don’t give up just yet. We can make tonight at least a little special.”

I started the car and looked up the nicest, closest hotel to us. I wanted to get her alone soon. Her eyes lit up when we pulled in.

“A hotel. You couldn’t wait the full thirty minutes to take me home?”

“I’m barely making it through the seconds to have you.”

I got out of the car and went to go check us in to a suite, only to be told that they were full. A wedding was taking place that weekend and the hotel was booked.

Determined to not give up, I went to the next one.

A large family reunion. How fucking large?

The next: a sports convention.

The next after that: half the hotel was under construction.

Ana tried to get me to give up, but we were in an area with a lot of hotels, and I wasn’t quitting so easy. She just shook her head and let me continue.

One after another, we got turned away from hotels.

“I have a feeling this is what Joseph and Mary felt like. Soon, we’ll be sleeping in the stables. All I’m missing is a baby.”

I barked out a laugh. “If you’re pregnant with anyone’s baby, it better be mine.”

We pulled up to the last hotel: a La Quinta Inn. I sent up a small prayer before I walked through the doors, a look of determination on my face. I wasn’t leaving here without a room, even if it was a stable.

“We have two rooms. One is a double queen, and another is a king with a fold out.”

Slapping my hand on the counter in victory, scaring the clerk, I said, “I’ll take the king.”

I walked out to Ana, waving a key card around like it was the winning lottery ticket. She clapped her hands behind the glass and smiled. It sure as hell felt like I’d won the lottery.

As I drove in search of a parking spot close to our room, I stopped when I spotted a twenty-four-hour store across the street.

“Hang on. I want to grab one more thing.”

“Okay,” she dragged the word out, confused, but didn’t question me on it.

I ran in, quickly snatched up the things I came for and asked for paper bags at checkout. Ana eyed me placing the bags in the bag, but I gave her hard stare. “Face forward, young lady.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You can save that for later tonight. Now let’s go celebrate being husband and wife in the best way we know how.”