Stopping in front of me, Scott lifted her veil and kissed her on both cheeks. Taking my hand, he placed her hand in it. “Take care of her.”
With a nod of my head, I replied, “Always, sir.”
Placing my attention back on the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. “You truly are stunning. No amount of words could describe how beautiful you look.”
She pressed her lips together before finding her voice. “You look so very handsome.”
“Is it how you pictured it?”
With a chuckle, she answered, “So much better.”
We turned to face the pastor and took the two steps up to him.
I wasn’t even sure what all he said. All I knew was the love of my life was standing next to me and was about to become my wife.
Life could never get better.
The wedding ceremony flew by in a blink of an eye. Then it was pictures. That was fun trying to get my family to stop talking long enough for the photographer to get everyone in one picture.
Kilyn and I had requested a few minutes alone together before joining everyone for the reception. We stood there on the edge of the water and watched as Sara ushered everyone up to the house.
Turning, I cupped her face in my hands. “Finally. I’m alone with my wife.” Pressing my lips softly to hers, I whispered, “Hello, Mrs. Drivas.”
Her eyes lit up. “Say that again.”
“Which part, Mrs. Drivas?”
With a giggle, she wrapped her arms around my neck. She went to kiss me when we heard cheers from the house.
“Opa!”
Laughing, I rested my forehead against hers. “Are you ready for a party like none other?” I asked.
“I think so. I do have something I need to tell you though.”
Pulling my head back, I smiled. “You made plans to have a boat come up and take us away?”
Her smile made my knees weak. “Nope.”
“Um, let’s see. You told my mother no baklava?”
She frowned. “Ugh, I wish I could tell her that. Although, I’ve gotten good at avoiding it without her catching on.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Oh, man. I don’t know. I give up, tell me.”
Reaching into her bouquet, she pulled out a folded up piece of paper.
Cheers came from the house again as I heard my brother Thad yelling at us.
“Thano! Kilyn! Come on, everyone is waiting for you two!”
Glancing back that way, I held up my finger, motioning for him to give us another minute.
I glimpsed back to the folded paper and took it in.
“What is it?”
Her teeth sunk into her lip before she said, “Open it.”
Taking the paper from her, I unfolded it. What I saw I was not expecting.
Lifting my eyes, I smiled.
“Is this . . . are we?”
She nodded. “I guess it was the luck of the Irish and your Yiayia’s damn fertile loving hands she kept placing on my stomach all the damn time.”
Pulling her into my arms, I spun her around as she laughed and I called out, “Opa!”
When I put her down, I looked into her green eyes. I tried like hell to keep my tears back, but I lost the battle. “A baby? We’re having a baby?”
“Yep. Are you truly happy? I know this wasn’t planned and I honestly have no idea how it happened.” She lifted her eyes in thought. “Well, I mean I do, but you know what I mean.”
“I’ve never been so damn happy in my life.”
She giggled. “Good, because I’m happy too!”
My eyes searched her face. “Man, I love this life.”
Her grin grew bigger. “Me too.”
Reaching down, I swept her off her feet and carried her up to the house.
When we walked through the gate, I called out, “Guess what!”
Kilyn looked at me with horror.
Winking, I said, “The bride and groom have arrived!”
It didn’t take long before we were surrounded by family.
The rest of afternoon and evening was filled with lots of laughing, drinking, dancing, and eating.
When they announced it was time to have the bride and groom dance, I walked up and took the mic from Nicholaus.
“First I want to thank everyone for traveling here for our wedding. It meant a lot to Kilyn and myself to have you all here. When Kilyn left it up to me to pick the song we would dance to, I knew immediately which song it would be.”
I glanced over to my beautiful bride. “When Kilyn entered my life, I was living in darkness. Afraid to let life in. But the more I got to know this beautiful woman, the more I realized I didn’t want to be in the dark any longer. She had a love for life that was infectious. Just being around her made me happy. It still does.”
Kilyn looked at me with such love in her eyes, I swear I fell in love with her even more. “When Kilyn told me she loved me, I thought it was the best moment of my life. When she said yes to my marriage proposal, I thought it was the best moment of my life. But today . . . today, I realized something. We have so many more best moments ahead of us and knowing that makes me the happiest son of a bitch on the planet.”