"William, will you zip me up?"

I stood in the vanity mirror with my lilac floor-length gown glittering in my reflection. My hair hung in soft, wavy tendrils while my shimmering nude eyeshadow sparkled under the lights. I spritzed a touch of Chanel perfume on the nape of my neck and applied a smooth coat of lipstick. I felt like a princess, and judging by William's expression, I looked like one, too.

"Wow, Amelia," he gasped. "You look gorgeous."

I blushed. "Thanks."

Carefully, William caressed the small of my back as he lightly grasped the zipper and pulled it up to my neckline. He put his arms around me and rested his head on my shoulder. We gazed at each other through our reflection, and happiness radiated off both our illuminated faces.

"I'm really happy you're here," I said.

"Me, too. Although you're going to piss Cal off, you know?"

I raised my eyebrows. "As opposed to any other time I see him?"

"Well, what's he going to do when his ex-wife shows up his bride on their wedding day? There's no way she'll even compare to you today."

Damn, this man had stolen my heart, and I don't think I'll ever get it back.

"Are you guys going to get married too?" Charlie chirped up.

William choked on the water he sipped from the bottle on the dresser, and I burst into laughter.

"You’re something else, kid." I said.

"Mom, do I have to dance with any girls later?"

I snickered. "Not if you don't want to."

"Good. But if I change my mind, am I allowed?"

"Sure, sweetie."

My iPhone alarm rang, signaling it was time for us to head down to the ceremony.

"Charlie, I'll walk you to where you should be, but then William and I are going to take our seats. Okay?"

"Sure, Mom."

Together, all three of us left the hotel room, me in my dress, William and Charlie in their suits, and took the elevator to the ground floor where the ceremony and reception would be held. It amazed me suits small enough to fit Charlie even existed. He looked like my little knight in shining cotton.

Guests poured in as I waved to some I knew. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cal's parents, and my stomach dropped. I hadn't seen them since before our divorce. They weren't fond of my decision to move Charlie a few hundred miles away, and so the sour looks on their faces didn't surprise me.

"Grace, Jeffrey," I said as they approached us.

Grace sized me up, her eyes trailing up and down my body several times. I felt like a piece of cattle about to be auctioned off.

"It's been a while," she responded airily.

"Uh huh."

"Ready, kiddo?" Jeffrey asked Charlie.

"As I'll ever be!"

Charlie's grandparents smiled, and while I wasn't thrilled to see them, it was nice to see they still loved Charlie so much despite my differences with their son.

"Good luck, Charlie! I'll see you soon." I bent down and pulled him into my arms. I feared he might protest, but instead, he hugged me back.

"You look so pretty, Mama."

"I love you, sweetheart."

I let go, and Charlie skipped away with his grandfather toward the room where I assumed the wedding party planned to gather.

"No introduction?" William teased as we found a pair of seats toward the back of the room where the ceremony was being held.

"Believe me, you don't want to meet my ex-parents-in-law. They're brutal."

"I could tell.”

William grasped my hand, and I stifled a gasp. As our fingers interlocked, nervous jitters tittered about in my mind and in my heart, which skipped a beat when I looked over to him. Something magical had bloomed between us; I could feel it in my bones.

I put my head on William's shoulder and closed my eyes. How did I get so lucky to have him by my side? William had grown to be my rock and my shoulder to lean on. I never felt a connection this intensely before, not even with the man standing at the altar a few feet away from me.

Ethereal music crooned from the speakers as William and I turned around to see the wedding party walk down the aisle. Angela's sister, the Maid of Honor, stepped cautiously down the aisle first. She linked arms with Cal's best friend, Tony. Tony smiled brightly at me, and I winked back. Cal kept Tony in the divorce, but we still talked on Facebook from time to time. He was a good man, and I couldn't for the life of me understand how he put up with Cal for so many years.

A few more bridesmaids and groomsmen strolled down the red carpeted walkway, then Charlie appeared arm and arm with the flower girl, Angela's niece. She tossed rose petals along the carpet, and Charlie offered his brilliant smile to the guests. A single tear fell down my cheek as Charlie waved to William and me. I wished I could have hugged him right then and there. My boy looked so grown up and handsome.

William squeezed my hand. Knowing my son and William were with me was the best thing I could have ever asked for. At long last, the guests rose as Angela and her father ambled down the aisle. She looked beautiful; I couldn't deny that. I said a silent prayer in my mind for the girl. I did not envy her, but I wished her the best. Cal and I were never meant for each other. Maybe she'd have better luck.

I focused my attention on Charlie while he swayed side to side standing next to his father. His movements were either the result of extreme nerves or the fact he hadn't gone to the bathroom before walking down the aisle. I tried not to giggle, and William smiled too.

"Do you, Calvin, take Angela to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"And, do you, Angela, take Calvin to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do!"

"Then, it is my honor and duty to announce, Calvin, that you may kiss your bride!"

Cal pulled Angela into a close embrace and kissed her passionately. I pushed the memory of my own wedding day and wedding kiss from my mind. I wonder if people thought we'd last after we walked out of the church. Finally, they stopped kissing, and the people on both sides of the room stood and erupted with cheers and laughter.

Charlie ran into my arms once I found him in the decadent ballroom where the reception was being held. I squeezed him tightly and congratulated him on a job well done as ring bearer.

"Woohoo!" Charlie sprinted off to play with the other kids, and I gulped down the rest of my drink.

William and I found our seats located at the table with a few other couples I'd never met. Soon, we discovered they worked with Angela at the restaurant where she still tended bar. They seemed friendly enough, but it didn’t matter; I had the best date in the whole damn room.

A large, glittering, crystal chandelier hung from the center of the room, and all the tables were lined with rose satin tablecloths. In the center of each of the twenty or so tables stood a dozen white roses in genuine crystal vases. A quartet played in the corner while waiters dressed better than some of the guests offered drinks and hors d’oeuvres to those mingling. Every detail down to the silverware was epically perfect. If I had to guess, even Prince William and Kate would have been a little jealous of this reception.

Charlie sat with the rest of the wedding party. It felt selfish, but I wanted my boy by my side instead of watching Cal's family smother him. I wondered if I'd ever stop feeling as protective as a mama bear around Cal and his family. Maybe someday.

The quartet slowed their pace as the servers brought out the first course: a garden salad with the greenest, freshest vegetables I'd ever seen. By now, the vodka from my second martini walloped me. I needed something to soak it up. The salad and rolls, also at the table, would have to do until the main course arrived.

"Feeling okay?" William asked thoughtfully. "I want to be able to show you my moves later!"

"You have moves?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Not very good ones, but I have ‘em." His smile could have lit up the entire city.

William reached under the table and massaged my bare knee. His fingers moved in a circular motion, and the tingles danced all the way up my legs and into my belly. Suddenly, I didn't care about the future; I only cared about this exact moment. I wanted his lips against mine and much, much more.

A server delivered my perfectly cut piece of steak shortly after the salads arrived, and my mouth watered immediately. William ordered the same, and we smiled at each other as we dug in like children on Christmas morning as they open presents.

I stifled a moan as I chewed the savory steak. The couples at the table eyed me disapprovingly, but it wasn't every day you had the best piece of filet mignon in your life! With steak still in my mouth, I smiled and gave them the thumbs up. They avoided talking to William and me for the rest of dinner. They seemed stuck up, anyway. William and I made our own fun as we finished our meals and people-watched.

"I bet that guy is going to hit on one of the bridesmaids," he predicted.

"How do you know?"

"He hasn't stopped staring at her all night, and I can tell by the look on his face."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, it's how I look at you."

I blushed, and without thinking, without worry if I was making a mistake, I lightly kissed him on the lips. Who would have known, the man I met, who lived on the streets, would one day turn into the man I couldn’t stop thinking about? Life was funny like that. Sometimes the greatest moments happened when we least expected it.

Once the plates were cleared and toasts finished, the DJ picked up the pace and urged guests to hit the dance floor. William didn't waste any time dragging me out to the center of the ballroom to show me his "moves."

We spent the next two hours dancing, laughing, sweating, and falling even more deeply for each other than we ever thought possible.