I fold my paper up. Exhale. Ben and I look at each other.
Dylan dabs at his eyes with the cuff of his sleeve. “Folks, I don’t know what to tell you. They’re not straight, but they came straight for our hearts.” He clutches his chest for a moment. “Yeah, I better seal this deal, stat. Whip it out, guys!”
“The rings,” Samantha cuts in from the front row. “He means the rings.”
Ben’s hands are shaking, I notice. And then I realize mine are, too.
The next part is a blur. With this ring. As a symbol. From this moment forward. Without reservation.
I do.
I do.
“Then with the power vested in me by the internet, by God, and by the state of Connecticut, I now pronounce you husband and husband!” Dylan declares, blowing a kiss in our direction. “Do the thing.”
And all I can think is: sometimes what-ifs come true.
Acknowledgments
As Ben Alejo once said, this story hasn’t been easy. Deadlines, virtual elementary school, misaligned schedules, and our own messy brains made this a very different process than What If It’s Us. But amid all the fog and chaos, one thing’s always been crystal clear: we’ve got the world’s greatest people backing us up, and there isn’t a universe where we could have done it without them.
In particular:
Donna Bray, who walked us through many rounds of do-overs with the most brilliant editorial guidance. Thanks for bearing with all our ups and downs （and the occasional wedding-themed PowerPoint presentation）。 Your patience and sense of humor are unparalleled—which just might come in handy now that you’re Dylan’s mother-in-law. （Lo siento for all the spitting, Donna!）
Andrew Eliopulos, forever one of the biggest stars in Arthur and Ben’s universe.
Our agents, Jodi Reamer and Holly Root, who （as Dylan would say） LOCKED THIS BOOK DOWN. We can’t thank you enough for your endless support and advocacy throughout this entire process. Infinite gratitude as well to our teams at Writers House and Root Literary （with special shout-outs to Alyssa Moore, Heather Baror-Shapiro, Cecilia de la Campa, and Rey Lalaoui）
Alexandra Cooper, Alessandra Balzer, and the rest of our incredible team at HarperCollins, including: Shona McCarthy, Mark Rifkin, Erin Fitzsimmons, Alison Donalty, Allison Brown, Sabrina Abballe, Michael D’Angelo, Audrey Diestelkamp, Patty Rosati, Mimi Rankin, Katie Dutton, Jackie Burke, Mitch Thorpe, Tiara Kittrell, and Allison Weintraub.
Kaitlin López and Matthew Eppard, who run the show （and should probably run the universe）。
Our team at UTA, who make what ifs come true: Jason Richman, Mary Pender-Coplan, Daniela Jaimes, Orly Greenberg, and Nia Nation.
Dana Goldberg, Bill Bost, Blair Bigelow, Stacy Traub, and Ryan Litman for the do-over of our dreams.
Our amazing international publishing teams, who have brought so many readers into this universe （with special shout-outs to S&S UK, Leonel Teti, Christian Bach, and Kaya Hoff.）
Jeff ?stberg, for a cover that was love at first sight.
Froy Gutierrez and Noah Galvin for sharing their unbelievable talent with our boys yet again.
Jacob Demlow, who is even more iconic than his fictional counterpart. Their wisdom, insight, and wealth of theatrical knowledge made this book so much richer.
Mark Oshiro, who pulled the ultimate Mario by schooling us in Spanish and making this book a hundred times more super.
Frantz Baron, for the ultimate virtual tour of Bloomingdale’s.
David and the Arnolds + Jasmine and the Wargas. We wish these bands existed, but we’re mostly just glad these people do.
The book community. Truly, this book wouldn’t exist without the support What If It’s Us received from readers, bloggers, booktokkers, bookstagrammers, booksellers, librarians, and artists, and we’re so grateful.
So many friends—SO many. When finishing this book felt impossible, you carried us through. Though this short list barely scratches the surface: Dahlia Adler, Amy Austin, Patrice Caldwell, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Cordova, Jenn Dugan, Sophie Gonzales, Elliot Knight, Marie Lu, Kat Ramsburg, Aisha Saeed, Jaime Semensohn, Nic Stone, Sabaa Tahir, Angie Thomas, Julian Winters, and the Yoonicorns.
Our families, who we love in every universe. So grateful to every single one of you Jews and Puerto Ricans （and all the rest of you, too）。 Special shout-outs to Brian, Owen, Henry, Persi, the Riveras, and baby Max.
And finally: Willow and Tazz, who sacrificed so many head scratches so this book could get written. Heroes.
Excerpts from Kate In Waiting and Infinity Son
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