* * *

Liam let me pick all the details of our wedding and even though I knew we could have had some kind of extravagant affair, I chose to keep it simple. Having our ceremony on the little beach where Liam proposed for real is perfect. We took a family cruise to get back to the Keys, and it was every bit as special as the first time, if not more-so. Linda McCroy and Jake were notably absent this time, which, I have to say, was a clear improvement. The only new addition to our party is Donna, who is sitting across from me in one of the ship’s dining halls. Liam is coordinating some sort of super secret with Sophie and Roxanne that I’m apparently not allowed to know anything about, so Donna and I have the afternoon together, just like old times.

“Donna,” I say, looking at the plate in front of her. “You know no mortal being could possibly eat that much food, right?”

She scowls. “Hey, have a little sensitivity, brat. My best friend is pregnant. Do you have any idea how hungry that makes me?”

I smirk. “At least you still consider me your best friend,” I say, instinctively pressing a hand to my slightly swollen belly. It’s still early and I’m not really showing, but I can feel the beginning of the bump forming. I’m in the awkward stage of pregnancy where it just looks like I’ve taken up a sudden ice cream eating hobby and don’t plan to slow down.

“Why wouldn’t I?” she asks before shoving a mini tuna sandwich in her mouth.

“I don’t know, because I don’t spend as much time with you anymore?” I ask.

“Girl,” she says, swallowing her mouthful. “First of all, I’d bitch slap you for implying we’ll ever not be besties, but you’re pregnant, and if I have one rule to live by, it’s to never hit a man with glasses, a pregnant woman, or a person in a wheelchair--I mean, unless it’s your scary mother-in-law, because I think she could take a bitch slap like a champ.”

“That’s big of you,” I mutter.

“Secondly,” she says, raising her voice to drown me out. “If you were spending as much time with me as before even though you are sleeping next to the billion dollar cock--”

“Please don’t talk about Liam’s cock,” I say, smirking.

“Aub,” she says dryly. “This is purely hypothetical cock. I’ve obviously never seen the thing, but if you wanted to fill me in with a description, maybe a police sketch or something so I know what we’re dealing with--”

She stops short when I lob a wet noodle at her forehead. It bounces off and lands on her plate, leaving a smear of italian dressing on her forehead. She raises her eyebrows, looks down at the noodle, pops it in her mouth, and then wipes her forehead. “Well,” she says in a falsely dignified voice. “If I had known I was going to have lunch with a chimpanzee, I wouldn’t have bothered to wear pants.”

“All I’m saying,” I say, “is that I’m really happy we’re still friends. Best friends,” I add.

“Me too,” she says, looking down at her plate with a grimace. “You might have been right. This was way too much food. Why didn’t you stop me? You know I can’t be trusted to make responsible decisions when this much food is involved.”

I grin. “That’s part of being your mommy,” I say sweetly. “I’ve got to let my little girl make her own mistakes and learn from them.”

“Oh, you’re my mommy now?” asks Donna. “Because I make a special exception for hitting family members who wear glasses, are pregnant, or are in wheelchairs.” She stands up quickly, rushing toward me.

I run away, laughing and not caring that everyone in the dining hall is staring at us as she chases me around, catches me from behind, and starts play slapping my cheeks while I try to kick free.

Liam

I stand on the beach where I proposed to Aubrey and it’s exactly how I remembered. The day is warm and sunny even though it’s November. I told Aubrey she could have whatever kind of wedding she wanted, and she wanted it to be here, with as few people as possible. I only brought Sophie and Roxanne, while she just brought her friend, Donna.

I stand beside the pastor, who wears casual clothes as he holds his bible, smiling as we wait for Aubrey to emerge. Donna waits a little ahead of me in her bridesmaids dress, waiting patiently.

We had a tent set up by the rocks for her to make the final touches to her hair, makeup, and dress. We also had a beautiful wooden archway set up where flowers are hanging. Sophie drew a little path in the sand for Aubrey to walk from the tent to where I’m waiting for her, and she lined the entire path with the shark teeth she found.

Aubrey took my breath away the first time I ever saw her, and she takes my breath away now when she steps from the tent. Her brown hair is done into curls that bounce over her shoulders as she walks toward me, smiling wide. She wears a simple white dress that looks impossibly beautiful on her, and I swell with pride when I see the slightest bulge in her stomach and know our baby is growing there.

Before Aubrey can walk by herself toward me though, Sophie pushes my mother’s chair beside her and starts to follow Aubrey down the path. Aubrey takes my mother’s hand and smiles down at her, tears brimming in her eyes as she realizes my mother is standing in as her family member and “giving her away” to me. I thought it might make today more special for her, and it seems I was right.

My mom stops her chair a few yards away from me and Aubrey leans down to kiss her cheek. Sophie and my mother hang back a little, watching and smiling as the pastor begins the ceremony.

He walks us through our vows while we hold hands and gaze into each other’s eyes. When he asks Sophie to come forward with the ring, I’m surprised to see two rings in her hands. She looks uncertainly to Aubrey, who smiles back at her, clearly confused about what’s going on. The pastor gives a knowing smile to Aubrey and my mother though.

“Aubrey,” says Sophie, holding up a simple silver ring. “When you marry my dad you’re kind of marrying us,” she says, motioning to my mother. “And I think some kids might be mad about that, but um--” she fumbles with the ring and holds it out toward Aubrey. “Grandma and I are really happy, and I wanted to give you something because we say yes too.”

Aubrey bends down and hugs Sophie tightly, letting the tears fall freely from her cheeks. When she pulls back, Sophie slips the ring on her finger and hands me Aubrey’s wedding band before going back toward my mother, whom she high fives discreetly.

The pastor motions for me to put the ring over Aubrey’s finger. We say our “I do’s” before we kiss, and then we have a small dinner with the five of us. It all passes in a blur of smiles, laughter, and happiness. It’s a kind of happiness I never thought I’d find. A happiness I never thought I’d deserve. And every time I look at the woman beside me, I know I’m the luckiest man alive, because nobody should deserve to have the life I have now, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to give any of them up.