All the guests rise, waiting.
Then the flaps of the white tent part again, this time revealing Samantha and her father.
Samantha is wearing a flowy white dress with lace sleeves and her silver key necklace. I already want to write this outfit into my book during a royal ball. But I couldn’t write her smile as she first sees Dylan.
“I’m going to cry,” Dylan says. He’s trembling. “Don’t let me cry, Ben.”
I rest my hand on his shoulder. “Stay strong, D,” I say as I fight back my own tears.
Samantha hugs her father before joining us at the altar.
Dylan immediately drops down to one knee. “Hi. You’re beautiful. Marry me.”
She laughs. “I’m trying to, Mr. Beautiful.”
Once everyone’s laughter winds down, the officiant begins the ceremony.
I can’t believe I’m standing beside my best friend at his wedding. I thought this day was years away. But he’s really following in his parents’ footsteps and getting married young. I don’t have any doubts about Dylan and Samantha succeeding. I’m only a tiny bit concerned about the baby and whether Samantha will be grounded enough to cancel out how extra Dylan is. Thankfully I’ll be around to watch this kid grow up.
Samantha begins her vows. “Dylan, when you proposed to me on April Fools’ Day, I never once thought you were joking . . .”
I’m so happy that I’m standing here with Dylan, but I’m looking forward to sitting down with him and Samantha soon and getting caught up on all the backstory on this secret saga of theirs. There’s so much I missed. Like how in Samantha’s vows she’s talking about how she was so nervous to tell her family, but when Dylan told her it was going to be okay, she believed him because she’s never trusted anyone the way she does him.
“I promise to love you, Dylan, even on the days when I want to power you down,” Samantha concludes.
“Can I kiss her already?” Dylan asks.
“We’re getting there,” the officiant says with a smile. He passes him the mic. “Would you like to share your vows?”
Dylan spins the mic between his fingers. “Samantha, in honor of meeting you in a coffee shop, I thought about stacking these vows with puns. Stuff like how you’re steaming beautiful and how I love you a latte and asking where you’ve ‘bean’ all my life? But that’s beneath me. Instead, I’d like to go back to that April Fools’ Day where I didn’t have a ring to offer you, but I gave you a key instead . . .” He turns to the guests like he’s a comedian onstage. “Why a key, you ask? Well . . .” He cups his hands around the mic and shouts, “BECAUSE I LOCKED IT DOWN!”
As everyone laughs, Samantha included, she snatches the mic. “Tell them the real reason or I’ll walk away.”
“You already vowed to love me!”
“Dylan . . .”
“Fiiine.” He squeezes his hand around the key hanging from her neck. “This is the key to our dorm room, aka our first home together. And I told you I want to share more homes with you.”
My hand shoots to my mouth with how sweet that is.
“Great, now everyone knows how sweet I am,” Dylan says.
“It’s humanizing,” Samantha says as she brushes his cheek.
Dylan turns to the officiant. “For the love of God, can we kiss now?”
The officiant laughs as he wraps up the ceremony. Patrick and I give our best friends the rings. Dylan’s is a simple band and Samantha’s gold ring comes from her grandmother.
“Now?” Dylan asks, dying to kiss Samantha.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the officiant says. “You may now kiss—”
Dylan wastes no more time as he kisses the girl he once called his future wife.
My best friend is married.
I’ve never clapped so hard in my life. Through teary eyes, I watch Dylan bow while holding Samantha’s hand. Together, they walk down the aisle with all their family and friends cheering them on.
And I find Arthur turning to look at me like his eyes have been away from mine for too long. I’m so happy he’s back in my life, and I’m ready for do-over after do-over to become the best us we’ve always known we could be.
I once wondered if we were a love story or a story about love.
I now know the answer.
Chapter Forty
Arthur
Saturday, July 11
The only thing better than Ben beneath a canopy is the part where he walks straight to me when the ceremony’s over. And the part where he kisses me with such casual certainty, I almost melt into the neatly mowed grass.