“What do you think?” Hunter asked as he snagged another glass of champagne off a passing tray.

“Our wedding’s going to be this great, right?”

Brit gave him an exasperated look. “You can’t propose at someone else’s wedding. It’s bad form.”

He glanced down and smiled before brushing a kiss over her lips. “Have I not proposed yet?”

“Nope. And I want fancy. Public. A spectacle.”

“Do you promise to say yes?” he asked, deepening the kiss.

She merely smiled against his mouth, lifting a hand to pull him closer.

“Ahem.”

Taylor and Nick wandered over, champagne glasses in hand, as they were baby-free for the evening.

“This wedding almost makes me regret eloping,” Taylor said, admiring the lavishly decorated Plaza. “Almost.” She wrapped her arm around Nick as she said it.

“Yeah, though I am digging the open bar,” Nick said. “Lincoln and Daisy had the right idea with the signature cocktails.”

“Oh, you mean like the signature cocktails they asked you to create?” Taylor asked dryly.

Nick grinned. “What can I say? I’m a genius.”

Taylor glanced at Brit. “When are you two doing this?” She gestured at the posh surroundings.

“We were just discussing,” Hunter said. “Though I can safely say we’ll skip the cotton-candy bar.”

“Lincoln’s idea,” Penelope said, joining them, her hand in Cole’s.

“Yeah, I don’t think there was ever a doubt about that, babe,” Cole said. “Thank God Daisy the wedding planner hired herself to plan the whole thing. I’m pretty sure we have her to thank for nixing his plan of whipped cream and sprinkles served on top of the champagne.”

“When does the dancing start?” Penelope asked impatiently.

“I think we’re supposed to wait for the toasts and the first dance and cake-cutting,” Brit pointed out.

“Ooooh, cake,” Penelope mused, looking around as though to figure out when that part would be happening.

Cole pulled her close, pressing a smiling kiss to her temple. “I adore you.”

“Obviously,” Penelope said. “I’m fantastic.”

There was a tap at the microphone. The DJ waited for everyone to quiet, then announced that in lieu of the best-man and maid-of-honor toasts, there’d actually be a joint toast to the happy couple.

Emma and Alex Cassidy stepped forward and took the mic.

Emma spoke first, her smooth alto immediately commanding the room. “Cassidy and I are so pleased by the opportunity to have a platform in which to blatantly embarrass my sister and Lincoln with details they wish we wouldn’t. And we’ll get to that. But first, per the request of the bride and groom . . .”

The live band began quietly playing under Emma’s voice.

“As much as Daisy and Lincoln love each other—and they do, as much as any couple I’ve ever seen—there’s another important part of their love that they thought deserved a little attention today. A group without whom they wouldn’t be together. A group without whom Cassidy and I wouldn’t be together . . .”

Cassidy took the microphone and gave a rare unguarded grin. “To the Stiletto and Oxford people in attendance tonight: For once in your lives, if you’d actually do as I say, please get your asses onto the dance floor to join Daisy and Lincoln in their first dance. . . .”

The band played louder now, starting up the chorus of the very familiar Rembrandts’ song.

Laughing in delight, Brit let Hunter lead her onto the dance floor, along with Penelope and Cole. Taylor and Nick joined. Jackson swung Mollie into a twirl, as Jake dipped Grace low. Riley enticed Sam into some sort of sexy grind. Emma and Cassidy joined them, and Lincoln led his bride onto the floor in a dramatic waltz.

And last, but never least, the duo who started it all, Julie and Mitchell, joined the group, coaxing them into a conga-line sing-along monstrosity to none other than the Friends theme song.

And as the band sang about life being stuck in second gear and love life DOA, Brit laughingly clung to Hunter and knew it would all be okay.

Sure, they lived in Kansas City now, farther from their friends than she’d like, but they made it back to New York often, for her monthly trips to see her Oxford team in person.

Hunter’s brother wasn’t quite back to his old self, but he was in remission and hopefully would be coming back to work soon to run the family company. Side by side with Hunter, who’d become an integral part of the business and loved every aspect of it. And after endless entanglements with paperwork, Malik had settled in as a legal and loved family member.

It hadn’t been an easy road for the Cross family. Or for Hunter and Brit as they’d adjusted to a new life away from New York.

It may not have been their day. Their week. Or even their year.

But through it all, Hunter and Brit had each other.

And they’d had this crew. They’d had the ladies of Stiletto, the men of Oxford (plus Penelope), who’d stayed with them every step of the way. The distance hadn’t mattered. It would never matter.

They’d all be there. For one another. Always.