I turned to her. “Did you know they were talking?” I asked.
She shook her head, still smiling. “No. He probably thought I’d tease him. Which I totally would.”
I looked back at Benny. “He looks good.”
She nodded. “He’s putting weight back on, he’s exercising.”
“He’s going on dates.”
She gazed at me. “He looks good because of you. Because of what you’re doing.”
I put a hand to her cheek. “Will you still love me when I don’t have any more organs to give?” I asked.
“I’d love you even if you were a talking head in a jar,” she said, speaking to my lips.
“I’d love you even if you didn’t like dogs.”
She gasped. “I’d love you even if I was a gummy bear and you ate me,” she breathed.
“I’d eat you even if you weren’t a gummy bear…”
“Guys, it’s getting fucking gross,” Jewel said, sitting down next to us with Gwen. “Like, we get it, you’re obsessed with each other. Quit it already.”
We both laughed. I was just about to get back to my wedding question, but the bridal march started. Everyone shushed and shifted to watch as the wedding party began to make their way down the aisle.
First Amy’s mom. Then Jeremiah, looking like a kid on Christmas morning. His best man, then the two groomsmen and bridesmaids side by side. Katrina tossing flower petals, then Carter with the ring pillow.
When Amy finally came down the aisle with her dad to join Jeremiah under the trellis, we all stood.
I felt complete tranquility. I was happy for them. Genuinely happy. The universe had righted itself, and everything was as it should be. Nobody was looking at me to see if I was going to implode, and if they did, they quickly realized I was busy living my own love story and they didn’t look again.
I’d actually been looking forward to this night for weeks. I couldn’t wait to slow-dance with Briana, eat the wedding cake, and then go up to our hotel room after. I was happy about the family photos we would take today because she would be in them, and I’d get to look back and remember that this day was part of the beginning of our lives together.
I was excited about all our firsts.
I peered over at her. “I wish the me of today could send a message to the me of three months ago,” I whispered.
She smiled. “Oh, yeah? And what would you have told yourself?”
“I would have said that when this day came, I wouldn’t care about the wedding because I’d be madly in love with someone else.”
She laughed quietly. “Would you have believed it?”
I shook my head with a grin. “No. Probably not.”
It was too good to be true…
Chapter 43
Briana
This was hands down one of the best weddings I’d ever been to—not like the last couple I went to. Nobody followed me around with a guitar. My date didn’t drink too much because he was in love with the bride, like Nick had at Kelly’s wedding. Tonight my date couldn’t keep his hands or his eyes off me.
Jacob was relaxed and happy. I was happy.
Jacob slow-danced with Katrina. It was seriously cute. I couldn’t stop smiling at the image of him looking over at me, his eyes creased at the corners and a little girl in a tulle dress standing on the tops of his shoes.
In addition to the many cigarettes I’m sure Grandpa got, Joy wheeled him out herself and gave him a cigar after dinner.
And Jane’s date was Benny.
When I finally cornered him, all he did was shrug and say, “I didn’t tell you ’cause you just would have made a big deal about it.” Yup.
Benny was smiling the entire wedding. He was smiling like someone who had a whole life ahead of him. Because he did. In a week he’d have a new kidney. A new start. He was seeing someone he was excited about. He was looking forward. I had to call him Ben the whole night.
Jacob let me have his cake. It was from Nadia Cakes and it was red velvet—and then I caught the bouquet. Everyone was cheering and I was laughing so hard. Amy came over and gave me a hug. Jacob was beaming.
It felt like one of the best nights of my life—like the first day of all the rest of my days, for some reason. And it made me start to think about what Jacob said about me marrying him.
It was way, way early for that. I’d never wanted to get remarried. At least I thought I didn’t. But as Jacob had a tendency to do, he made my No turn into a Maybe.
I didn’t hate the idea of his family being my family. Of Joy being my mother-in-law, and Jewel and Jane and Jill being my sisters.
And I adored the thought of being his wife. Of him introducing himself as my husband. It made me feel proud. Like maybe wife was a title I wanted again all of a sudden.
So maybe. Just…maybe.
We stayed until the very last song.
When the lights came on and everyone started trickling out, Jacob took my hand and I grabbed my bouquet and we headed through the hotel lobby with Lieutenant Dan to the elevators.
I was holding my shoes. Jacob’s tie was draped around his neck and the top two buttons of his shirt were undone. He had his sleeves rolled up and he’d put his jacket around my shoulders.
When the elevator doors closed behind us, he drew me in and kissed me. His mouth tasted like the champagne send-off toast. He ran a hand under my ass and pulled me into him. “When we get back to the room, I want you to sit on my face,” he said, his voice husky.
I was breathing hard. “Like, sit on it, sit on it?”
“Sit on it, sit on it.”
“Okay. If you die, you die.”
He laughed and devoured me again.
I was going to let this man snap me in half like a glow stick when we got up to the room. I wanted to break the bed.
I’d had more sex in the last month than the entire last two years of my marriage. On our days off we didn’t leave the room except to grab the DoorDash delivery off the front porch and let out Lieutenant Dan. We ran out of condoms so many times that Jacob finally went to Costco to get the bulk box.
The elevator pinged two floors down from ours. We stopped making out, and he moved his hands to my waist as a courtesy for whoever got on, but we were still panting and looking at each other’s lips when the doors opened.
“What do you think about room service?” he asked quietly, rubbing his nose to mine.
“Yeeeesss. I’m starving.” My stomach had been gnawing at me for the last two hours. “If we order now, it’ll show up right when we’re done,” I whispered.
He laughed a little. Then we both noticed that the door was still open but nobody had gotten on.
Jacob glanced over first. Then I turned too. And my blood ran cold.
It was the Tower of Terror at Disney World on my twenty-fifth birthday. The elevator doors opening to show you something awful and confusing before plummeting you to your death.
It was Nick and Kelly.
They stood frozen, like deer in headlights. Nobody moved.
They were dressed up. She had her arm hooked in his. Nick’s brown hair was shorter. He looked fitter than before. He was tan. He had a band on his wedding finger. Kelly’s blond hair was down around her shoulders. Pink lipstick. Dangly gold earrings that looked like leaves. She was wearing an enormous diamond wedding ring. She was glowing.