“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride,” the pastor said, closing his Bible.
Katy smiled and reached for me. She’d spent the last month of our engagement promising we’d have the most indecent kiss to happen in the Pelican Bay chapel. She’d also given the church restoration committee a hundred grand of my money.
Well, I guess now it was our money.
If she wanted to give the whole six billion away, I’d let her. She’d use it to save every bird species in Maine, guarantee every child had a free college education at Harvard, or build seven new churches. As long as she fell into my bed every night, kissed me good morning, and stayed by my side for eternity, I’d give Katy whatever she wanted.
She hesitated as her lips hovered slightly open, and I’d never known Katy to hesitate about anything in her life so in true best-husband-of-the-world fashion, I made her dreams a reality. Our lips locked together and my tongue slipped past hers, skimming against her teeth. She leaned into me and threw her arms around my shoulders. From the way her weight shifted, she’d thrown one leg back in her wedding dress. I lifted her off her feet and then nibbled on her lower lip as the sizeable crowd of onlookers in the church cheered.
When I pulled away, we both turned to face our audience, and I raised her hand in the air like I just won a boxing match. Sometimes it seemed that way. The years of struggle were worth it now that the bruises were healed.
“That decadent enough for you?” I whispered my question into her ear as she took the first step from the stage.
Katy laughed. “It could have used more tongue.”
I shook my head as she held my hand and led me past the first row of pews. Katy Kadish, now Kensington—that was an argument I won—was the most beautiful woman in the entire world. The most gorgeous person ever created. I wanted her by my side whether she was fighting with me or loving me, although loving would be much preferred.
We greeted our well-wishers who sat on the end of the pews as we made our way to the back of the church and stopped, waiting for the doors to be opened.
“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” Katy said in a private moment between the two of us. We still bickered out in public. I really believed she couldn’t help it, but alone our relationship was something I’d never experienced with anyone.
Katy sensed everything a hundredfold. She experienced each of her emotions on full blast and they’d forever altered me as well. Nothing compared to spending time with a woman who cherished life the way she did.
The doors to the chapel were pulled open by two ushers and the surprise I’d hidden from her waited for us at the bottom of the church steps.
Katy’s mouth fell open as she caught her first look. “You didn’t?”
“You said you wanted to leave the ceremony in style.”
Katy laughed before pulling me down the church steps. The train of her dress dragged through the dirt until she came to a stop in front of the horse-drawn carriage. “I thought you’d get a limo or something. The place is barely five blocks away.”
The coachman opened the carriage door, and I helped Katy to get on the step by holding her dress out of the way. Restoration on the bed-and-breakfast was still happening, but when we had to pick a place for our reception, it was our only option. We’d have married there as well, but town tradition required us to use the little white chapel.
I jumped into the carriage and took my place beside her, helping her adjust the long train of her dress. “We’re also taking a quick tour of the town,” I said closing the door and waiting for our driver to climb back to his seat.
Katy laughed again. “So, seven blocks then?”
The carriage started with a jolt as the two horses made their first steps and then settled into a slow rhythm.
Her smile slipped but only for a moment. “I wish Nanna were here today to see this.”
I twisted a piece of her hair around my finger. “She would have thrown tomatoes rather than rice.”
Katy snorted. “No, once she saw how happy I am, maybe she could have moved on as well.”
It was an optimistic thought and not one I necessarily agreed with, but I didn’t argue. Katy loved her grandma and still mourned her loss, but she’d moved on to remembering happy memories. She even had me on a strict watering schedule for Grace and Petunia. The two plants may have never made it to her grandmother’s room, but they had a special place in our home.
“I wanted everything about today be special for you, Katy. You only get one wedding.”
She took my hand and squeeze. “I don’t know. My second husband promised me a honeymoon in Fiji.”
“This second husband of yours? Is he only in your head?” I asked, pulling one of her legs overtop of mine. “Because there’s only one man for you now. I’ve ruined you for any other.”
“You’re still so full of yourself,” she replied as the carriage turned on to Main Street.
I nodded, giving her a quick kiss on the end of her nose. “And it will only get worse now that you’re mine.”
Katy shook her head. “You mean we are each other’s.”
