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Flynn ran a hand over his bearded jaw, grinning. Zeke knew Willow loved the beard, so he doubted Flynn would be shaving in the near future. It looked good on him, though. Chad wore a mustache occasionally, but he was usually clean-shaven.

Maya, Flynn’s service dog, was under one of the long white tables against the hallway wall. Her head was buried. “Is she okay?”

Flynn gave her a considering look. “Yeah, she’s fine. She’s just pouting because she got a bath and a trim this morning. Willow said to tell you that the dresses are in the princess room. And that the hair and makeup people will be here any minute. We’re just waiting for the princess to arrive.”

“The photographer is here already, and has been snapping pictures like crazy,” Chad said, frowning.

Zeke didn’t like to have his picture taken either, but they were going to commemorate the hell out of this event. He paid for the most expensive photo package, and the venue would be videotaping the wedding as well.

“Grin and b-bear it, brother,” he told Chad, grinning. “This is the only w-w-wedding I’ll have, so I’m making sure it’s do-documented.”

Zeke turned and headed down the hallway. Black Orchid Events Center was known for having fantastical weddings, and there was a suite off the hall where the brides got ready. It was a frothy female area with lots of pink and beautifully upholstered furniture, and a makeup area fit for a queen. It had couches and it’s own private bathroom, as well. There was a suite for the groomsmen, as well, more masculine in decoration, but basically the same. “W-w-would you mind w-walking those suits down to our room, and I’ll go check on the front.”

“No problem,” Flynn said, reaching for the hanging bags.

“It looks amazing,” Chad said. “Ember is going to be in tears, I promise you.”

That’s exactly what he wanted. In a good way.

Zeke walked down the hall and into the wedding area, but he pulled to a stop as he looked around. Heather and Andy and the other girl— what was her name?— had pulled it out of their asses. The room had been transformed into a winter wonderland, just like he’d requested. Diaphanous white fabric decorated every wall, weighted down with gems at the floor hem. The door where she would enter had been framed in deep purple and ice blue calla lilies, and they were repeated on the first chair of each row. The rest of the white chairs were draped with strung jewels that looked like icicles. Zeke had never seen anything like it before in his life, and he stopped to finger one of the strands. They weren’t real of course, but very good imitations. A white carpet ran down the center aisle to the raised dais where they would exchange their vows.

Right now that dais was framed by two large trees crusted in fake jewels to look like frost and ice crystals. The branches reached over their heads, and there were icicles hanging down over the dais. It was stunning. The trees were repeated on a smaller scale all around the room, with piles of glittery cotton fabric that looked like snow. The windows of the room had been frosted over, and there were glass towers that he thought were unlit candles everywhere.

The sun had sunk below the mountains now, and he could see the twinkle lights coming on inside the venue.

Heather came out of the reception hall, and she grinned at him. “So, what do you think?”

“I think it looks am-m-mazing,” he admitted. “Better than I’d hoped.”

“The ice theme is a popular one over the past couple of years,” she said. “So we had a lot of the stuff on hand.”

“Good,” Zeke said, chuckling. “Not sure my b-bank account is ever going to recover.”

Heather grinned at him, giving him a one-shoulder shrug. “Coulda been worse,” she warned. “Let’s look at the reception side.”

Zeke followed her through the huge wooden double doors. The round tables were all set and waiting for food and drink. It was as expansive as the wedding room, but had areas for dancing and a d-jay stand, as well as a bar on the opposite wall. Zeke could see his friends and family in here easily. It was all wheelchair friendly, so John wouldn’t have problems.

The cake sat on the far wall, and even from this far away he could tell it was stunning. It kind of looked like a glistening tower of snow, with winter flowers tumbling down the layers.

“What do you think?” Willow asked, stopping beside him.

Zeke gave her a long look. “I think it looks fantastic. I’m speechless.”

Willow smiled proudly. “Now to hope that Ember loves it just as much.”

“She will,” he said firmly, nodding. There was no way she couldn’t love it.

Over the next hour, the caterer arrived and began setting up in the kitchen. Then the Lost and Found crew started arriving, one right after another. Duncan and Alex had been keeping Drew, and as soon as he saw the space, Drew ran into his arms. Zeke was shocked to see tears in the boy’s eyes. He kneeled down on the floor to get to his level. “What’s wrong, buddy?”

Drew shook his head. “She’s just going to love this so much, Dad. It’s everything she loves.”

Yeah, it was. Zeke glanced at the watch on his wrist. Hank would let them know when he was delivering Ember, and it should be within the next forty minutes.

Just then, his parents walked in, beaming proudly. This was the first time Zeke had seen them since summer, when they’d all three flown out for his parent’s fortieth wedding anniversary party. They’d stayed on the farm for a week, and Drew had loved it. His mom had been very pointed then about when he was getting married, so he wasn’t surprised when she walked in grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh, Zeke. This is going to be wonderful.”

Zeke leaned down for his mother’s strong hug, then reached for his father. Matt and Ginny Foster had been farmers for generations, and they really hadn’t understood their son’s aversion to the farm. Actually, Zeke loved the farm, but he hadn’t wanted to make a career of it. He’d wanted to see the world and do more than drive a tractor all day and fight with cattle.