He winks and the music, a violin right here in our house, begins to play, the beautiful sound lifting in the air. Nerves explode again and the room fades in and out. I barely know how I end up in the hallway, holding a bouquet of winter lilies, my mother’s favorite flower. I’m holding my father’s arm and when he urges me to walk, goosebumps rise on my skin.
This is it.
This is the moment Grayson and I have waited forever for, for years now. This is the moment we’ve been headed for since the very day I ran into him in the Bennett lobby. Somehow I’m walking, and as I bring a room full of close friends into view, I barely see them. I barely see the violinist playing near the tree. All I see is Grayson, standing by the tree with the preacher, the son of the man who’d married his parents. He looks stunning in his tuxedo. I hold tight to my father, my knees wobbling.
I clutch my flowers.
Grayson steps into my path, he waits for me, my knight in shining armor. Tall dark and so good looking. My best friend. My hero. The father of my child. His eyes meet mine, and the world shines brighter, and my heart swells. My love grows broader and deeper. When finally I’m in front of him, he takes my hands, and it’s like we’re floating on a sea of forever.
“You look like a Christmas angel, baby. Beautiful.”
“Grayson,” is all I manage for the emotion in my throat, and it’s a whisper only he can hear.
“Mia,” he replies, and we step in front of the preacher.
Our vows are simple. We’d wanted simple. The preacher begins to speak and we repeat the words he tells us to speak. When it comes time for the ring, Eric steps forward and offers Grayson my ring. He slides it onto my finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.”
My father hands me Grayson’s ring and with a shaky hand, I slide it onto his finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.”
We’re just staring at each other, when the preacher says, “Do you, Mia, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“I do,” I whisper, my voice cracking with emotion.
“Do you, Grayson, take Mia to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do,” he says, and he folds me close, his voice low and rough. “Forever, Mia.”
“Forever,” I repeat.
The preacher clears his throat. “I now pronounce you man and wife.”
EPILOGUE
Mia
A long time later, with the new year fast approaching, I remove the long skirt to my dress to reveal a shorter one, pull on sneakers and a jacket, and Grayson and I leave our guests to ring in the new year at the house. We walk hand in hand to the lighthouse, the ocean crashing against the shore. I’m not nervous now about my surprise, the way I was about the wedding. I’m excited and every time Grayson and I peek at each other, I all but burst with my need to share our news.
Finally, we climb the steps to the lighthouse and I stop near the top. “You go first. I have a surprise for you.”
His eyes light. “A surprise? Here?”
“Yes.” I motion him forward. “I’m dying to share this surprise, so hurry up.”
“Now I’m really curious.” He walks ahead of me and I follow to the small outside space where he proposed that is now covered in pink and blue balloons.
Grayson glances over his shoulder at me with a curious look. “What is this?”
I step to his side and point to the lounge chairs we often sit in side by side. His holds his surprise. “Look in the box.”
Now, he’s more urgent with his curiosity, I wonder if some part of him knows what is coming. I mean the balloons are quite a hint. He sits down and the lid is off the box in seconds, and instantly emotions all but explode from me. Grayson pulls out the pregnancy test. He looks at it and then me. “Mia?” He sounds breathless, like he’s not quite sure if this is real or a promise of the future.
“It’s real, Grayson. We’re pregnant.”
He’s on his feet in a blink, pulling me into his arms. And I swear it’s the moment his lips touch mine that an explosion of fireworks hits the sky. It’s officially a new year and we’re the Bennetts. And our story is just getting started.
The End