Page 124 of Wild Abandon

The little minx had this planned. No wonder she’s wearing a freaking dress.

I look at Naomi for confirmation. She pulls out a paper that looks like some sort of certification. “Bet you wish you hadn’t put that frog on my head now, don’t cha, Nate?”

Looking back over at Crystal, I tilt my head and say, “We don’t have a marriage license.”

“Got one right here.” Jeremy puts another piece of paper on the table.

“All we need is a pen,” I say, not taking my eyes off of Crystal’s.

I’m waiting for her to chicken out. She’s not budging.

The veranda is quiet for a long moment. I see Naomi and Jeremy fidgeting about.

Scarlet lets out a loud huff, “You two can’t be in charge of anything.” She places a pen on the table.

I take a step forward, pour two more shots of Jack, and hand one to my bride-to-be. “Last chance to back out.”

“And waste a perfectly good proposal?” she teases. “Never.” She downs the shot and places it on the table, hard.

“Nate, you are destined to never get married to a woman like a normal man should.” Ed stands from his spot, grabs Austin’s hand, and says to him, “Looks like we’re going to a wedding.”

Ed’s right. I’ve never asked a woman to marry me and had her say yes. Twice in my life, I’ve been told to marry. And, twice in my life, I’ve gotten married in jeans.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The seven of us walk into Rosemary’s garden, a place of burgundy beauty and pure magic, and Crystal and I get married.

Naomi does a terrible job at officiating our wedding. She even forgot to bring the vows, so she tries to pull them up on her phone, but I don’t need traditional vows to pledge forever to Crystal.

I take Austin into my arms, pull Crystal in with the other, and recite vows as best as I can remember, “I, Nathaniel Teller, take you, Crystal Reid, to be my wife. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, forever and always. All the days of my life and a million more after. I promise to be true to you and never let you go for as long as I live.”

Crystal’s eyes turn lighter and brighter than I’ve ever seen in my life.

“I, Crystal Reid, take you, Nathaniel Teller, as my husband. To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, for all the days of my life. I promise to be true to you and to love you, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, and all that other fun stuff. It’s me and you. Forever.”

She lifts her thumb to my cheek and wipes away the tear that was falling down. I do the same for her.

“You are mine, Crystal Teller. Olive juice.”

“Olive juice.”

Is it cheesy? Yes.

Is it perfect? No.

Is it us? Absolutely.

“Kiss!” Austin shouts at the right moment.

And we kiss. All three of us.

Rosemary once told me, ‘“Never fear the loss your heart can’t seem to bear, for when you have the gain, your soul will explode with happiness. The loss will always be there, but the gain will help even out the soul.”

I didn’t understand it at the time, but now, I do because my gain is so great that I might burst with joy.

“By the State of California and the dot-com that gave me the right to do so,” Naomi says in an authoritative voice, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Everyone claps, and we walk up to the veranda to finally enjoy our now cold dinner.