10:00 am
Reception
The staff at the hotel knew what they were doing. They effortlessly placed Julie and Jason in a spot that naturally moved their guests through an organic receiving line, giving everyone a chance to hug them and say their good wishes before moving onto the terrace and taking a seat at one of the tables there.
They’d done away with a seating chart. It was breakfast, casual enough to encourage people to mingle and sit with a stranger, and the meal itself wouldn’t last that long, although Julie was excited about the food stations they’d set up. An Eggs Benedict bar, a cappuccino station, the most amazing fresh fruit and chocolate fountain she’d ever seen, and mouthwatering pastries.
There was even a wedding cake.
It wasn’t the lavish one she’d originally arranged for in Napa, but that baker had arranged for a smaller version to be carefully transported south for the same cost. They stopped in front of the cake to cut it before they sat, so it could be served to anyone that wanted some wedding cake with their cappuccino. That included Julie, because if you can’t have cake for breakfast on your wedding day, when can you? And as she breathed in that magical scent of sugar and vanilla, somehow just as incredible in this smaller version, she realized she’d had the wedding of her dreams after all.
“Ready? On one, two, three…” the photographer cued them, and with her hand on top of Jason’s, they did the ceremonial first cut. Instead of feeding each other pieces of cake, Jason just swiped a bit of the icing, then held out his finger for her to taste.
Any other day, she’d have blushed and told him not to be silly.
Today she blushed, then licked his finger. Slowly, her eyes on him the entire time.
He kissed her, and they both got the first taste of the icing after all.
Then Nathan picked up his guitar and played another song for their first dance, “All of Me” by John Legend. Jason pulled her close and started turning her around the center of the terrace. This was their song. How many times had they danced to it in his kitchen? She’d played it over and over again before moving down to San Diego. She had a love-hate relationship with the way it tugged at her insides, made her achy and sad when Jason wasn’t around.
She’d probably play it a lot over the next six months. God.
She wrapped her arms tighter around his big, broad shoulders. Stay safe, she thought. He squeezed her. I will, his body promised.
When the song finally ended, everyone applauded, and someone from the hotel turned on an outdoor music system so Nathan could sit down and eat with them.
But the sweet gifts from their best man weren’t over. Once everyone had feasted, and most people were on to cake or the fruit, Nathan stood and picked up the wireless microphone for the speeches. Then he held out his hand for his wife, and Emme shifted their baby to her other hip as she nestled into Nathan’s side.
Jason’s best friend cleared his throat. “We’ve had a lot of weddings lately in our circle of friends, and my own aside, I think this one might just be my favorite yet.”
“That have anything to do with the pretty boy music?” Miles Dumbrowski called out, and everyone laughed.
Nathan didn’t deny it. He just winked. “What an amazing morning, and an incredible weekend to celebrate my man Jason and his beautiful bride.”
Hot tears popped into Julie’s eyes as everyone cheered.
“Now as most of you know, I met Jason through work. And as far as officers go, he’s not bad.” That got the chuckle he was looking for, and he grinned. “Actually, as far as bosses go, he’s the absolute best, and I’m looking forward to returning to his team at the end of the year. Jase is the kind of guy who always has your back. He’s always up for whatever you need to do, even if it’s just a diaper run in the middle of the night. Seriously, that happened when he came for a visit. We wandered Walmart in the middle of the night, and he made me bust a gut laughing.”
He handed the mic to Emme, who took a deep, shaky breath, and Julie pinched herself to keep from crying. “I also met Julie through work, in a way. We met through the flight attendant network, and over the last two years, we’ve become friends. She always has a funny story when you need a distraction, and nobody does a faster plane turnover. But it’s in the little things that she’s shown her true colors, and they’re beautiful.”
Nathan leaned in. “Same. Jason has been there for me over and over again.”
Emme nodded. “You guys have been the best of friends to us both.”
“But in the last year,” Nathan said, “we’ve had to learn to share our best friends, because one night at our house in Monterey, Jason met Julie.”
“And he hasn’t had eyes for anyone else, ever since. He didn’t just find his soulmate that night, but he found his best friend, too.”
The tears were falling now, and there was nothing to be done about that. She smiled through them and squeezed Jason’s hand when he reached for her.
“We get it, of course,” Nathan said. Their baby took that moment to squeal, so he reached for the kidlet and distracted him while Emme finished.
“Love is amazing, especially when it comes partnered with the sweetest friendship,” she whispered, and Julie heard a few sniffles from the crowd. “And we’re so happy for you guys. That you’ve found each other, and you complete each other in so many ways.”
“So we just want to say,” Nathan added before they looked at each other and said at the same time, “welcome to the old married-people club!”
Jason started laughing, and everyone else joined in. Then they both pushed to their feet and were applauding as their friends circled around the table to give them hugs.
“That was really cute,” Julie whispered as Emme gave her a tight squeeze.
“And true,” her friend whispered back. “Congratulations.”
She took a deep breath and stayed standing. Jason took her hand, and together they walked around the table, so they were in front of all of their guests. He lifted the mic, not that he needed it. His voice could command the entire space if he wanted it to.
“Thank you all for changing your travel plans and being so flexible about sharing this morning with Julie and myself.” He turned toward her. “There aren’t enough words in the world to capture how much I love this woman. How happy she makes me, every single day. My wife.” His voice caught on the last word and she leaned into him, taking the mic.
“We should also thank…” She listed the photographer, the cake company, the other vendors they’d used, and finished with a round of personalized thanks for the hotel staff she could see hovering at the back of the terrace. “And last, but most definitely not least…my husband.” Oh man, those were emotional words to say.
When she paused, Jason reached for the mic, but she shook her head. She wanted to get through this.
“As Nathan and Emme shared, I met Jason at their place late one night, and we hit it off right away. I have never in my life seen a more handsome man. And he just had the easiest smile. It lit up his entire face. I fell for him so easy. In a split second, really. So I…” She cleared her throat. “Sorry, Mom. But when we found out we were staying at the same hotel, one thing led to another, and…”
Jason started laughing, because he knew where this story was going.
“And you’d think this story would be dirty, but come on, people. My parents are right there. And what happened next was Jason got a call from work.”
He leaned in. “Her virtue was left intact, Mr. Collins.”
She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “So I’ve known from day one what it would be like to love this man. I knew from minute one that I would share him with his duty. It’s not always easy, I’ll admit. But it’s always worth it. Every single day. I love you so ridiculously much, Mr. Steyner.”
He pumped his fist in the air. “And I adore you in kind, Mrs. Steyner.” He winked. “Now do you think we could have another dance?”