A collective gasp rose from the assembled guests, followed immediately by delighted laughter and scattered applause. Behind me, Kris let out a wolf whistle. Gram dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief while simultaneously giving me a thumbs up. Even Ms. Windsor, who had been hovering anxiously at the periphery of the ceremony, looked relieved that her venue was finally hosting something resembling a normal wedding.
Anica laughed and nodded with tears trailing down her cheeks. “Yes. I will marry you.”
More applause erupted as I slid the ring onto her finger and rose to my feet. The officiant, who had somehow maintained composure throughout the unconventional ceremony, cleared his throat.
“I believe it’s time for the bride’s vows,” he prompted.
Anica took a shaky breath, clearly collecting herself before speaking. Her gaze locked with mine.
“I didn’t prepare anything,” she began, “because until about an hour ago, I wasn’t entirely sure I was coming.”
That earned a ripple of laughter from the guests.
“Callan Burkhardt, you are without a doubt the most infuriating man I have ever met. You steamroll through careful plans, you show up late to everything almost all the time, and you have the audacity to make me fall in love with you while supposedly planning your wedding to someone else.”
She shook her head, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
“I’ve spent years helping others find their perfect day, never believing I’d have my own,” she said, her voice growing softer. “I was afraid to trust again, afraid to believe. But some things are worth the risk. You’re worth the risk. For someone who didn’t believe in love, you somehow managed to make me believe in it again when I half considered that part of me was dead.”
Her hands tightened around mine.
“I love you,” she said simply. “The man who flew me to his island, who helped save a wedding disaster in the middle of a date with someone else, who stood at this altar alone rather than give up on us. Not the billionaire or the tech genius or the eligible bachelor, but just... you. Cal. The man who bakes with his grandmother and is absolutely terrified of jellyfish.”
I groaned as laughter erupted from the guests, particularly from the three traitors standing beside me.
Anica continued once the laughter had subsided. “Things will not always be easy, but relationships take effort, and I will put in everything I have. Everything I am for this. For you. I promise to choose you, every day, even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard. To build something real with you. I love you, Cal. I will love you for the rest of my life.”
“Well then, by the power vested in me,” the officiant said after a moment of perfect silence, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may?—”
I didn’t wait for him to finish before pulling Anica into a kiss that probably bordered on inappropriate for the setting. Butafter waiting for her, after thinking I’d lost her, I couldn’t help myself. I poured everything I couldn’t say into that kiss. My gratitude, my joy, my love.
Thankfully, she responded in kind.
When we finally broke apart, breathless and grinning, the guests’ applause sounded like thunder. I kept her hand firmly in mine as we turned to face them, officially husband and wife in a ceremony that had gone from potentially disastrous to the best day of my life.
“Well,” Gram said as she approached us at the reception, champagne in hand and satisfaction written all over her face. “That was quite the spectacle. Cutting it rather close, weren’t you, Anica dear?”
“I wanted to make an entrance,” Anica replied with a smile. “And honestly, I was still debating in the car. Mari threatened to push me out if I didn’t walk in voluntarily.”
“It’s true,” Mari confirmed, appearing beside us with a champagne glass in each hand. “I had the door unlocked and was ready to roll. My exact words were ‘either you walk down that aisle like a goddamn queen or I’m shoving you into those rosebushes and claiming it was a squirrel attack.’”
“What changed your mind?” I asked.
Anica glanced at me, her expression softening. “Your note. ‘Sometimes you have to stand where you’re meant to be and hope the right person shows up.’ It made me realize that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for years—standing in the wrong place, planning other people’s happiness while convinced I didn’t deserve my own.”
“And now?” I asked softly.
“Now I’m standing exactly where I’m meant to be,” she replied, squeezing my hand. “Scary as that is.”
“Terrifying,” I agreed. “Come on, there are oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with your name on them. And maybe a piece of cake for me.”
“Cookies?” She asked, her eyes growing wider like a kid in a candy store.
“Your mom’s recipe.” I said with a wink, pulling her hand up to my mouth to kiss her knuckles. “She said she’d teach me how to make them with the secret recipe after we get back from the honeymoon. In the meantime, though, she made a special batch just for you.”
As we signed the marriage certificate later that evening, making it all official, Anica glanced at me with a hint of mischief in her eyes.
“So,” she said casually, “what does my husband want to do tonight?”
