There, at the altar, stood Finn and Chase.
Both of them wore matching black tuxes.
Both of them holding hands.
Both of them looking at us with expressions of pure joy and mischief.
“What—” I started.
“Surprise,” Skyler said beside me, his voice shaking, though with laughter or nerves, I couldn’t tell. “Finn called me last week, said he and Chase didn’t want to wait any longer, and asked what we thought about making this a double wedding.”
I stared at our friends—our family—standing at the altar where they’d apparently been planning to meet us all along.
“You knew?” I managed.
He nodded. “I knew, and I couldn’t think of a more perfect wedding present to give you than sharing this day with the people you love most in the world.” Skyler squeezed my arm. “For all four of us to start this new chapter together.”
My eyes welled, then brimmed, then spilled over. Fucking Skyler Shaw and his fucking beautiful fuckery.
Damn it, I hated him.
And loved him so much it hurt.
The rest of our walk down the aisle was a blur of happy tears and shocked laughter from our guests, who were as surprised as I’d been. When we reachedthe altar, Finn pulled me into a quick hug.
“Hope you don’t mind sharing your big day,” he whispered.
“Are you kidding? This is perfect.” I looked around at the faces of everyone we loved, all of them beaming with delight at the surprise. “This is absolutely perfect.”
Chase was beaming beside Finn, his usual energy amplified by what was clearly the best-kept secret in Tampa Bay.
“We wanted to be here for each other,” he said. “All of us, the way it’s always been.”
The ceremony itself was a blur of emotions and beautiful words and moments that felt too amazing to be real. The officiant—who had been in on the surprise—spoke about love and commitment and the unique bond between two couples who had found their way to this moment together.
Finn and Chase exchanged vows first, simple and heartfelt promises that made half the room cry. When it was our turn, I looked into Skyler’s eyes and promised to love him through winning and losing seasons, through good games and bad, through everything that came with being partnered to someone whose life was lived in the public eye.
“I promise to always be your safe harbor,” I said, my voice shaking like the Bay Bridge in a hurricane. “The place you can come home to and be yourself. I promise to support your dreams and challenge you to be your best self and love you exactly as you are.”
Skyler’s vows were about authenticity and courage and how loving me had taught him that being honest about who you are wasn’t just brave—it was necessary.
“I promise to never take for granted how lucky I am that you chose me,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “I promise to love you loudly and proudly and without reservation for the rest of my life.”
Midway through the exchange of rings, I heard a strangled sob from the second row and looked over to see Benji losing it, his face buried in his hands, bright blue hair bowed, shoulders shaking with emotion. Mark had wrapped an arm around him and was murmuring something soft and comforting, his own usually stoic eyes suspiciously bright.
“You okay, Benj?” Skyler called from the altar.
“I can’t. I just can’t with you two,” Benji managed through his tears. “A double wedding! I’m so happy I might die.”
“Don’t die at our wedding,” Finn said. “I’m pretty sure that’s bad luck.”
The laughter that rippled through the chapel was warm and full of love, the kind of moment that made everything feel right—exactly us.
When the officiant pronounced both couples married, the celebration was immediate and overwhelming. Our families rushed the altar, my mom hugging Skyler like she was welcoming home a son from some distant war she didn’t believe he’d survive, his parents embracing me with the same warmth and acceptance they’d shown from day one.
Tyler and Erik presented us with what they claimed were “ancient Viking wedding chalices” but looked like beer steins they’d picked up at a tourist shop near the arena. During the reception that followed, Dean gave a speech about how he’d never seen his big brother as happy as he’d been over the past year, how love looked good on him, and how I had been the best thing to ever happen to the Shaw family, short of his birth, of course.
Mark, of all people, grew emotional during his toast, talking about how Barbacks had always been about bringing people together, about creating a place where everyone belonged, and how watching both of our love stories unfold had reminded him why he’d gotten into the business in the first place.
