When we walk into the great room, we’re met with an enthusiastic welcome, lots of hooting and hollering and applause. I flush with embarrassment as Shane leads me to the front of the room.

 Gabrielle hands me my wedding bouquet. “Turn around and throw the bouquet behind you to the single ladies.” Then she turns to face the small crowd. “All right, all the single ladies up front.”

There’s lots of laughter and elbow nudging as the single females either voluntarily walk to the front of the crowd or are encouraged. Sophie, Hannah, Erin, Molly, Gina, and Gabrielle form a line.

“Don’t forget Lia!” Shane says, pointing out the fact that his sister is doing her best to remain inconspicuous in the back of the room.

“Yeah, come on, Lia,” Jake says, pushing his little sister forward to join the line.

Lia gives her brothers a scathing look. “You just wait, both of you. I’ll get you for this.”

After turning to face the windows, with my back to the crowd, I take a deep breath and glance at Shane, who’s standing beside me. “Are they ready?”

He nods. “Fire away.”

I toss the bouquet behind me, and amidst all the laughter and cheers, I turn to see who caught it.

Lia’s holding the bouquet at arm’s length like it’s a venomous snake poised to strike. “Oh, hell no!” she says, shoving the bouquet into the nearest pair of hands – and those happen to belong to Molly. “Here, you take it.”

Everyone laughs as Molly turns all shades of red before trying to pass the bouquet back to Lia. “That’s okay,” Molly says. “You can keep it.”

Lia raises her hands in capitulation. “Not a chance.”

“Now it’s the guys’ turn,” Gabrielle says, calling all the single guys into position.

Shane’s brothers – Liam, Jake, and Jamie – and Mack, Miguel, and even Sam in his wheelchair form a line in front of the ladies.

Shane points at the back of the room, laughing. “Hey, Cooper, Tyler, you’re single. Get up here! You, too, Peter!”

Cooper glares at Shane. “You’re enjoying this way too much, my friend.”

And of course laughter erupts all over again, filling the room.

Gabrielle pulls a chair to the center of the room and directs me to take a seat. To Shane, she says, “Kneel down in front of her and remove her garter. Then toss it to the guys, just like Beth did with her bouquet.”

Shane gives me a scorching look as he kneels in front of me and slips his hands beneath my gown. His fingers are warm as they skim up my left calf, past me knee, and halfway up my thigh, where the groom’s garter belt is positioned.

Without much ado, and with his blue eyes locked on mine, he slips the garter belt off my leg and rises to his feet, holding the garter belt up like a trophy. It’s a slender, ivory silk band, a perfect match to my gown, decorated with a delicate blue ribbon bow and a small, creamy pearl.

Shane brings the garter to his lips and bestows a reverent kiss on it before tucking it into his trouser pocket. “Sorry, guys,” he says, grinning. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting this go.”

There’s boisterous laughter at this unexpected turn of events. Shane bends down to kiss me. “Sorry, sweetheart, but I don’t share.”

More laughter, especially from the guys.

“Party pooper,” Gabrielle says, scowling playfully at Shane. “All right, next is the first dance featuring the newly married couple.”

This is where my stomach starts doing somersaults. Jonah starts playing the song Shane selected for our first dance: a cover of Everything by Michael Bublé. I take Shane’s outstretched hand, and he pulls me to the center of the room to begin our dance. I’m shaking like a leaf, and I know he can feel it, but he holds me securely in his arms and guides me effortlessly in our dance.

At first, my nerves are getting the best of me, but I soon lose myself in Shane’s gaze.

“Don’t look at them, look at me,” he says, capturing and holding my gaze.

And for the duration of our dance, he’s all I see. As our song draws to an end, he pulls me closer and slows our steps, until finally we’re standing still in the center of the room, all eyes on us, and he lowers his mouth to mine and kisses me gently.

“I love you, Mrs. McIntyre,” he says. And when he lifts his face from mine, I realize there is the tell-tale glitter of tears in his eyes.

“I love you, too,” I say, my voice barely audible thanks to the lump in my throat.

The music comes to an end, and everyone applauds.

Gabrielle steps forward, pulling a reluctant Molly by the hand. “Next is the dance with the lucky lady who caught the bouquet. Normally, she’d dance with the lucky gentleman who caught the garter belt, but since Shane was stingy….” Her words trail off, and there’s more laughter in the room. “Poor Molly doesn’t have anyone to dance with,” she says petulantly, frowning at Shane.

“I’d be honored to dance with Molly,” Jamie says, stepping forward from the crowd. “That is, if she’ll have me.”

Molly looks at Jamie, then at me, then back at Jamie, with a wary expression on her face. Everyone is looking at her, waiting to hear her reply. I’m sure Gabrielle didn’t mean to put Molly on the spot like that. I’m not so sure about Jamie, though. I think he’s taking advantage of the situation to further his own goals.

I feel bad for Molly, because she didn’t want to dance with anyone. But if she refuses Jamie’s very public offer, it’ll look bad, and everyone will wonder if it’s because of his blindness.

Molly smiles at Jamie, apparently having decided to be gracious and accept his offer. “I’d love to, Jamie, thank you,” she says. She takes a few steps in his direction, and he walks forward, meeting her halfway.

As Jonah begins strumming the opening chords of John Legend’s All of Me, Jamie takes Molly in his arms. He says something to her, and she smiles, instantly relaxing.

A hush falls over the room as they take their first steps. They look so perfect in each other’s arms that I choke up a bit. I glance over at Bridget, and I’m not one bit surprised to see tears in her eyes as she watches her second eldest son dancing. They dance beautifully, and even though Molly keeps some space between their bodies, she has a smile on her face. As soon as the song ends, Molly kisses Jamie’s cheek, thanks him for the dance, and then walks out of the room, leaving Jamie looking a bit shell-shocked.

I start to go after Molly, to make sure she’s all right, but Gabrielle snags my arm and stops me. “Oh, no you don’t. I’m not chasing after you again. It’s time for you and Shane to cut the cake. That’s your last job for the night, I promise.”

Cooper and Tyler have set up a round table covered with a white tablecloth in the great room, and Peter and Gina carry in the wedding cake, which is so pretty it’s a shame to cut it.

Shane and I stand together behind the cake table, each of us with a hand on a big knife, and we cut the first piece. Shane breaks off a small piece with his fingers and feeds it to me. I’m grateful, but not surprised, that he doesn’t do something outrageous like shove it into my face and make a mess.

After I feed Shane a bite, Gina and Bridget cut the rest of the cake, and my mom and Ellie pass out slices to our guests.

After the cake, Jonah starts up the music again, and couples take to the dance floor.

I watch, mesmerized, as Sam pulls his crouches out from behind his wheelchair in the corner of the room and manages to hoist himself up onto his feet. He hobbles slowly over to the spot where Cooper is standing with Shane and Calum and Jake, who are all helping themselves to whisky from the bar. I follow closely behind him in case he gets into trouble and needs a little help.

Cooper catches sight of Sam making his way over, and he sets his glass down hard on the bar and stalks over to intercept Sam. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Cooper hisses. “You’re not ready to be up on crutches yet.”

Sam, who’s definitely not steady on his crutches, smiles at Cooper. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“Surprise me? By falling on your ass and hurting yourself?” Cooper grabs Sam’s arm. “Come on. Back to the wheelchair.”

Sam pulls free of Cooper’s hold. “No. I’ve been practicing for days for this moment.” Sam looks around at the crowd, most of whom are busy either dancing, talking, or eating cake. No one’s really paying them much attention, except for me and Shane, who’s still standing by the bar.

Sam squares his broad shoulders and takes a deep breath. “Daniel Cooper, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?”

Cooper’s brow furrows as he stares at Sam, then glances around the room. “Sam….”

Sam shakes his head, interrupting whatever Cooper was about to say. “No excuses, big guy. Dance with me. Come on, I dare you.”

Cooper stands motionless, saying nothing. Several heartbeats pass, and my gaze flickers back and forth between the two men, the anticipation killing me. Surely, Cooper will say yes. But Cooper remains silent for too long.

The color drains from Sam’s face as he realizes Cooper’s not going to say yes.

Cooper frowns as he softens the tone of his voice. “Come sit down, please, before you get hurt.”

Sam stares hard at Cooper. “We are with family and friends here!” he hisses. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Cooper’s jaw tightens. “I told you to sit down, damn it.”

Sam stares at Cooper, searching his gaze. I’m not sure exactly what he’s looking for, but I don’t think he finds it. Sam looks crushed as he turns away from Cooper and hobbles out of the room. I follow him, bringing the wheelchair.

I find Sam in the foyer, repeatedly stabbing the elevator call button. I lay my hand on his arm. “Sam.”

He refuses to look at me, and his jaw clenches as he swallows hard. I suspect he’s close to tears.

“I brought the wheelchair,” I say. “Do you want to sit down?”

He shakes his head. When the elevator door opens, he hobbles inside, and I follow him in with the chair.

“I’m so sorry,” I say, after the doors have closed.

 Sam pushes the button for the second floor, and the car begins its ascent. He exhales a heavy breath, swaying on his crutches. “So am I.”

“Sit down, okay?” I say.

He grits his teeth. “I can do this.”

When the elevator doors open, I follow him out, shadowing him down the hall, ready with the wheelchair in case he needs it. He’s struggling, and when he stumbles, nearly losing his balance, I hear a sharp intake of breath. I’m sure it’s because he’s in a lot of pain.

When we reach his room, I rush forward and open the door for him.

He makes it as far as the bed before he collapses and throws the crutches on the floor. He lies back on the mattress, his cast half on the bed, half off. He runs the fingers of both hands through his hair. “Fuck!”

I sit beside him on the bed and pat his good leg. “Sam, I’m –”

He shakes his head. “Don’t.” When he looks at me, his eyes are rimmed with red and filled with so much pain it makes my heart hurt.

“These are our friends here,” he says, his voice raw. “If he can’t stand up with me here, in front of our friends, he’ll never be able to do it.”

“Give him time,” I say. I don’t know why Cooper’s so reluctant, but I’m sure there’s a reason.

“I have.”

I sigh. “Sam, Cooper cares about you. I see how he watches you, how he takes care of you. He never once left your side when you were in the hospital. And he brought you home with him so he could take care of you. Those are the actions of a man who cares.”

“A man who’s also very much in denial.” Sam looks at me hard. “I’m tired of being his dirty little secret, Beth. He can’t get enough of me when we’re alone, in private. But if he won’t claim me in public – in front of people we trust – then what kind of relationship do we have? I won’t live in the shadows, not even for him. I won’t hide who I am. Damn it, I want someone who’s got the balls to claim me.”

I’m at a complete loss for words. Sam’s right. I would feel the same way if Shane did that to me. It would break me, and I wouldn’t be able to bear it. My throat clogs with tears. “Sam.”

He gives me a sad smile as he sits up and leans close to kiss the side of my head. “It’s all right, princess. I knew there was a chance this might happen if I pushed him. But it was a risk I had to take.”

I feel so helpless. “Is there anything I can do?”

He shakes his head. “No. I’m going to call it a night. I’m exhausted, and my leg’s killing me.”

“Okay.” I pat his good leg again. “If you need anything in the night, anything at all, just call me. I’ll keep my phone on.”

He falls back onto the mattress and stares blankly at the ceiling. “Thanks, Beth.”

“Do you need any help? Getting into bed, I mean. Or changing your clothes?”

He shakes his head. “I can manage, thanks.”

As I get up, I glance around the room. There’s just one overnight bag on the bench at the foot of the big bed. “Are you and Cooper sharing a room?”

“No. We were each given our own room. But he slept here with me last night.”

I hate leaving Sam alone to nurse his wounds, but I don’t really have a choice. I think he just wants to be alone right now.

As I head for the door, he says, “Lock the door on your way out, will you? Thanks.”

My heart sinks. He’s locking Cooper out.