Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Grant reaches for my hand, and we turn to face the small congregation together.

I see everyone I could ever want or need in my life standing up and cheering.

Dara and Silas McKnight, with their daughter, Destiny, on her daddy’s hip and almost one-year-old Jackson on his mommy’s. Dara is beaming with joy. “Your auras are beautiful, baby!” she cries out with glee. Silas just shakes his head and kisses his daughter’s temple.

Next to them are Atlas and Mila Powers, her large pregnant belly protruding on her small frame. Atlas is holding his daughter, Aria, around the waist as she stands on her chair and claps wildly.

Behind them are Trent and Genevieve Fox and their entire brood, including her brother, Rowan, who has almost finished college at Berkeley State and about to go into the majors alongside his brother-in-law. The Ports want him badly, and he wants to be on the same team as Trent. Mary is standing sweet as can be next to her new boyfriend. Trent keeps giving the boy the stink eye, one arm around his wife, the other around his child, William. Genevieve looks like the mother of fertility as she cradles their newborn daughter, Amberlyn, named after Viv’s bestie Amber.

The next row down are Amber and Dash Alexander. Dash is holding his wife in both his arms, his hands protectively cradling her still-flat belly. They just announced their pregnancy to the crew last week, much to everyone’s delight. Amber will continue to be a busy pediatrician at UC Davis while Dash scales back some of his tantric writing and speaking engagements to be an at-home dad. Aside from the yoga classes, he’ll write books when he can, but his kid is taking front and center while his wife becomes the breadwinner. Her brother, Brian, and his girlfriend are sitting with them, clapping away.

Standing with them are Nick and Honor Salerno and their twins, Hannon and Nick Jr. There has been no announcement of another baby, but the couple has agreed to start trying in the near future. Work has started on the Berkeley Four towers, and along with that, Nick and Honor are busy preparing their second location, which will occupy an entire floor in tower one. Gracie is sitting in the aisle with them, along with her fiancé, Victor, who happens to be one hundred percent Italian, much to the Salerno matriarch’s delight. Nick has even given Victor his approval and hired him to work at their gym. Nick plans to have Victor and Gracie oversee the new gym once it’s up and running.

Across the aisle is my mother, Jewel, standing arm-in-arm with her best friend, Crystal Nightingale. Both women are crying what I hope are happy tears. My mother is nothing but smiles. When she came back from her trip to India, she went right into wedding planning mode with her cohort, Crystal. Which was awesome because I was so busy working and preparing for the shutting down of Lotus House while work began on our buildings. My mother took to Grant like a baby to a bottle. She loved him instantly. Said she knew when she touched his hand that his heart was pure and filled with love for me. I don’t know how she knew that, and sharing did not occur, but I didn’t care either way. All that mattered was my mother was happy for me and liked her future son-in-law. Of course, he did sway her pretty well when he told her we’re going to try to conceive during our honeymoon. Grandbabies tend to trump all…or so I’m told.

Behind my mother and auntie is Grant’s family. His mother, Gretchen, and her date—who we’re told has promise—along with Brett, Greta, Gavin, and Gabriella. Greta is holding both of her hands to her chest, and tears are falling down her cheeks. She’s such a big crier! And her tears are making me a bit teary too. Brett is fist-pumping the air like a lunatic, happy as a clam we’re about to make them an aunt and uncle. Hopefully.

Standing behind them are Clayton and Monet Hart with their daughter, Lily, and son, Knight. Apparently, Clayton’s repeated tossing of Moe’s birth control pills worked, because when Amber and Dash announced they were pregnant to the group, Clayton and Monet announced they were having their third child too, though she’s only ten weeks versus Amber’s twelve. Clayton is ecstatic. Moe apparently has put Clayton on full diaper duty with Knight for his sins.

Pulling in the back rows are Bethany and Coree from Rainy Day Café and Ricardo and his now live-in boyfriend, Esteban. Next to Ricky are Vanessa and Devon McKnight and Joan and Richard Fox, as well as Annette, Grant’s assistant, who brought a date. Cannot wait to grill her about that!

The rest of the attendees are some well-loved clients of mine and business associates of Grant’s, but for the most part, we’ve kept our wedding very small. No bridesmaids or groomsmen, just us and our loved ones as witnesses.

“It is with great honor that I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Winters!” the minister announces.

The crowd claps even louder, whoops, and hollers.

Grant squeezes my hand and leans toward me, his lips brushing against my ear. “Are you ready to walk through life as Mrs. Luna Winters?”

I smile up at him. “Absolutely!” I swing his hand, and he leads me down the aisle.

When we reach the end, he turns me around and kisses me deep. The crowd goes wild once more. Once he’s had enough, he presses his forehead to mine. “I never thought I could be this happy, but you enlightened me to a whole new world. One where I’m loved and in love in return.”

I cup both of his cheeks and look up into his sapphire-blue eyes, hoping our children get those gems one day. “When I first got your letter about Lotus House six months ago, I thought my world had ended, but you, you, Grant, enlightened me to the possibilities of what we’re going to create. To what we have created together with our love. And hopefully, we’ll be adding a family to our lives very soon. What we have is never ending. It’s only the beginning to our path of enlightenment together…forever.”