A breeze tumbles off the Pacific, light and airy as it blows through the window where I’m standing in front of a floor-length mirror.
“You are a vision, my girl.” Mom picks an imaginary piece of lint from my tulle dress. I wanted something simple but elegant—yet still me—and I think I’ve achieved it with the lacy scoop neckline and A-line dress that hugs my curves and flares into a gauzy skirt with a brush train. “I still can’t believe you designed this yourself. You’re so talented.”
“Thanks, Mom. I’m glad you’re here.”
She places her arms around my waist from behind and sets her chin on my shoulder. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
And, after months of working on our relationship, I believe her. Turns out open communication and honesty work in a parent-daughter relationship the same way they do in a romantic one. After confronting my parents about the way their abandonment made me feel—in the kindest way possible, of course—we’ve been able to work through the past. It’s not perfect, but it’s progress.
Now, here we are, staring at ourselves in the mirror inside a tiny bridal suite just off the beach where I’m going to pledge my future to Kevin. A tear rolls down my cheek.
“Stop, stop, stop!” Theresa’s teal dress swishes around her knees as she rushes across the small room. When she reaches us, she shoves tissues into both of our hands. “No tears allowed until after all the photographs are taken.”
“There’s no way I’m not crying during the ceremony.”
“Well, at least make it there without the waterworks.”
I roll my eyes but carefully dab the corners of my eyes to preserve my makeup. “Happy?”
Theresa inspects my face before nodding. “It’ll do.” She cracks a smile and her own chin trembles slightly. “I’m so happy for you, Sis.” Then she tugs me into a hug and my mom joins and I’m in the middle of a happy female Flanagan sandwich.
It feels good to be with my people again. The last seven months have been a whirlwind. Living in New York is amazing and working on Broadway is a dream, but it’s also a ton of hard work and hasn’t left as much time for Kevin and me as I’d like. But we’ve made it a point to talk at least once a day—whenever we can fit it into both of our schedules—and we’ve visited each other several times each.
During this last visit, we found our first apartment together. I can’t wait to move in when we return from our honeymoon to the Cayman Islands. Kevin will join me when his new residency starts in the fall, right around the same time as my grad program begins.
A tornado of blonde curls and a small white dress that matches my own burst through the doorway. “Auntie Lo, Uncle Kevin says he wants to see you nooooow!”
Even though it’s only four in the afternoon and the wedding cake has yet to be served, someone has clearly given Sami lots of sugar because she won’t stop bouncing up and down. My bet is on Simone, who saunters in after my niece grinning. We’ve become really close and, though I cannot wait to live with Kevin, it’ll be sad to not be in the same apartment as my new best friend. Thankfully, I’ll see her both at school and work, so there will still be lots of time to spend making memories together.
Our photographer, a dark-haired woman in black, ducks inside too. Even though she’s been taking photos of us all morning—first shots of me alone by the water, then of me with the girls—the whir and click of her camera fill the room.
I squat to Sami’s level and gently tug on a piece of her hair. She’s wearing it down and curled, flowing free just like mine. “He does now, does he?”
“Mm-hmm.” Her eyes are wide as she reaches out to touch the delicate crown of flowers topping my head. “I think you’d better go see him now.”
“Should we get this show on the road, then?”
“Yes!” Sami pumps a fist and we all laugh as she rushes to the box the florist dropped off earlier and snags her flower girl basket filled with red rose petals.
My heart thumps and sings as Theresa hands me my simple bouquet of calla lilies. We link arms and walk through the doorway and out into the sunshine. The clouds that earlier provided fabulous lighting for photos have dissipated, leaving behind a pure sapphire sky.
Wedding chairs are set up a little way down the beach, and four men stand just below an arch adorned with flowers in an array of bright pinks, yellows, and blues. Though I can’t make out very many details from where I’m standing, I immediately know which one is Kevin. He’s pacing in front of the preacher, and the guy next to him—Connor, I think—places a hand on his shoulder.
Is my soon-to-be-husband nervous? Or just as anxious as I am to finally be man and wife?
My dad joins us and kisses my cheek. “Ready, Lola?” He’s a man of few words, but I know that he loves me and thinks I’m beautiful. I can see it in his green eyes.
“Yes, Daddy.” More than ready.
I press forward, my bare toes sinking into the warm, sun-kissed sand. The water laps the shore, bringing with it the familiar swish and tug of the summer breeze. As I get closer, my heart slows along with time. Music lilts on the air—the Princess Bride theme song—and now I’m close enough to see Kevin for real.
Sweet Moses, he’s handsome with his jaw freshly shaven, hair freshly cut, and he’s wearing a linen khaki suit with an unbuttoned jacket, white notched lapel shirt, and no tie.
Connor escorts my mom to her seat up front next to Jake, who is holding baby Zoe in his lap. We’ve kept our ceremony fairly small and intimate—just family and some close friends—and chatter rises around us as they all realize we’re getting ready to begin.
Kevin’s eyes find me quick and my stomach erupts into a thousand fireflies, lit and dancing inside me. When he mouths, “I love you,” I nearly break Theresa’s no crying rule.
Simone walks down the aisle first, then Theresa, then Sami, whose triumphant tosses into the air leave the crowd in stitches. Everything from there happens in both slow and flash motion—some things I know I’ll remember, others that will have to be captured via photo or video. There’s just so much going on, but all I can see is Kevin.
When at last my dad walks me down the short aisle, I find myself in front of my true love. Dad gives me away and Kevin and I step up to the pastor.
Who clears his throat, lifts a bushy gray eyebrow and says, “Mawwage. Mawwage is what bwings us together today.”
And because I had no idea he was going to be quoting The Princess Bride, I am that oh-so-sophisticated bride who snorts a laugh. Kevin’s eyes are twinkling and I can’t believe he’s changed so much from the straight-laced doctor who took everything seriously to someone who plays a tiny prank on his wedding day.
The rest of the ceremony is smooth sailing from there as we say our vows and place rings on each other’s fingers—well, smooth until the unity candle won’t light thanks to the breeze’s blustering. But we laugh it off and return to facing each other, and then the pastor tells us that we’re officially married. “Kevin, you may kiss your bride.”
Connor and Kevin’s other groomsman hoot and whistle, and the audience joins in. With a grin, Kevin steps toward me and lowers his mouth toward mine, kissing me sweetly with just a hint of the passion I know he’s saving for tonight. When he steps away, we lift our hands together and I shout, “Woo hoo!”
Our procession down the aisle is short and sweet and ends in another kiss, this one more fiery but ending too soon as our wedding party descends on us with hugs and congrats.
Connor is the last one to approach us. The emotion on his face is real as he tugs Kev into a brotherly hug and pats his back hard. “Mom would have loved this.”
“Thanks, bro.”
Then Connor turns to me and slips me into an embrace. “She would have loved you too.”
“Aw.” I pull away and let the tears finally come as I reach into my bouquet for the blue handkerchief that belonged to the mother-in-law I never knew. “I can’t wait to meet the woman who finally catches your eye, Connor. No doubt your mom would have loved her too.”
A look comes over his face, half grimace, half wistfulness. Then he laughs and shakes his head. “I think it’s perpetual bachelorhood for me.”
He might be right, if his date for this evening—a different one than the woman he brought to the rehearsal dinner last night—is any indication. (No offense to her, but the girl is as fake as they come, both personality wise and physically, if you catch my drift.)
But I still have hope that he’ll find a great girl someday.
As if he’s reading my mind, Kevin claps Connor on the shoulder. “Watch out, man. Someday, you’ll meet an amazing woman who will stop you in your tracks and make you see things differently. Just look at me.” He presses a kiss against my temple and I rest against him, my arms around his waist.
“It’s a nice thought.” Connor tugs at the top button of his shirt and looks off into the distance. “But according to Dad, I’ll never be as good as you, so why even try?” Then with a demeaning chuckle, he saunters off toward his date, who is taking duck-faced selfies of herself under the wedding arch.
Kevin looks down at me. “I worry about him.”
“Don’t. He’ll find his way. Like you said, just look at you.”
“True. If I was living out my way, I’d still be planning a life in San Diego. Eating takeout all alone every night.”
I twist so we’re face to face, my arms still around him and his around me. “Instead, you’ll be eating takeout with me by your side.”
He laughs. “One of us should probably figure out that cooking thing, huh?”
“Probably. Or we both could. Maybe cooking lessons?” Giving him a saucy look, I tilt my head and bite my lip. “Then again, our time together will be pretty limited in the near future … and I think there are other ways we might want to spend it.”
“Oh, really?” The irises of his eyes darken and a lazy smile takes over his face. “And what are those, wife?”
“You’ll just have to be patient and find out, husband.”
“Patience is not a virtue I possess. But for you, I would do anything.” His mouth lingers just above mine. “I love you, Buttercup. Never doubt it.”
“I will never doubt again.”
He smiles at my excellent use of a Princess Bride quote and replies in kind. “There will never be a need.”
And to prove it, he seals his promise with a kiss.
Thank you so much for joining Lola and Kevin on their journey back to love. Now that they’ve found theirs, we’ve got to give Connor his happily ever after, don’t you think? If you agree, check out Loving the Ladies’ Man, available in e-book, paperback, and audio.