Page 101 of Praising the Pitcher

Tilting my head up, I look at him. “No,” I whisper. “At the expense of sounding cheesy … it’s more.” I sniffle when he wipes my cheek. “Because in my dreams, I was alone. And now, I have you. I have …” A lump swells in my throat. “I have a family.”

It’s Noah’s eyes that are glossed over with tears now, but that’s one thing I’ve always loved about him. He isn’t afraid to show his emotions. We could be watching a movie where the dog dies, or the old woman passes away leaving behind her husband, and I’ll look over to find him wiping his cheeks.

And even though I tease him, I love that he feels things so deeply and is man enough not to hide his emotions.

“You know what could make this day better?” he murmurs, suddenly seeming nervous.

“What’s that?” I ask, because truly, I don’t know what could make it better than it is right now. Because of him and his family being here, this has been one of the greatest days of my life.

“If we went to the beach house and got married,” he says, and when I look for any sense of humor on his face, I see none.

“What?” I whisper. “Are you … serious?”

“Yeah.” He inhales. “I love you more than anything in the world. When your dreams come true, that’s when I’m happiest.” He sniffles. “It’s okay if you want to be engaged first. I know I skipped a step. And it’s all right if you want a big wedding too⁠—”

“No,” I say quickly, smiling. I’ve never wanted a huge wedding because from my side of the family, I wouldn’t have anyone there. Something small and intimate is much more my style, I just never thought it would be his because he has a huge family. “I’d love that,” I say honestly. “I’d really, really love that.” My face falls and I cringe. “But … we don’t have rings.”

“I have yours,” he blurts out. “Well, I have one of them. We can stop on the way there and get the wedding bands.”

I stare at him in shock, my eyes wide.

“You … you have a ring? For me?”

He bobs his head up and down once. “Yeah. I’ve had it for months, but I wanted to wait until I could do something special because I know that’s what you deserve. We’ve just been so busy.” He runs his hand up my arm and to my cheek. “I know you deserve something special, but I just … I couldn’t stand to wait any longer.”

My hands fly to my mouth and I sob, fully expecting to wake up and realize I’m in my bed, asleep. Because no way is any day this magical.

“Are you real?” I whisper, my lip trembling. “Is this day really happening?”

His lips turn up and he drags my mouth to his before he kisses me deeply. Even with people around us, he kisses me with so much passion that between my thighs tingles. And when he pulls back, he brushes his lips to mine once more.

“Was that real enough for you, Smoke?” he rasps, and slowly, I nod.

“Then let’s go get married,” he murmurs. “Because even though you’re already my family, I can’t stand to wait another minute not being your husband.”

My heart melts in my chest, and more tears pool in my eyes. This is a type of happiness I’ve only read about but never thought was real.

Well, turns out, it is.

And as we untangle from each other and walk toward our family to tell them the news, I swear I’m floating on air with each step I take, like I’m in a dream or something. How else would life be this good?

Best. Day. Ever.

THIRTY-SEVEN

GIGI

Standing beside my soon-to-be husband, in a dress Haven had in her closet and never wore, and with Noah in a button-down shirt and shorts looking like a damn snack, my heart pounds in my chest. I’m not nervous around him, but right now, with the handful of people watching us as we get ready to tie the knot, yeah, I’m a little jittery.

Noah, however, is as cool as a cucumber. At least, that’s what it seems like anyway.

“Stop panicking,” he whispers, both of us well aware Haven can hear us. She’s less than a foot away, after all.

“I’m not,” I mouth, even though I am. Not because I’m scared to marry him. To be honest, this is the easiest decision I’ve ever made. I’m just nervous the vows I wrote quickly on the drive here will suck and I’ll make a fool of myself.

“You kinda are, but it’s fine,” Haven whispers before settling herself in and lifting a piece of paper to skim over.

When we were all on our way here, it hit me we had no one to marry us. Within minutes, she was announcing she went online and can now legally officiate for us. At first, Noah wasn’t sure about it, but once she reminded him he had no one else, he quickly got over it.