And just like that, the entire moment felt perfect. I looked back at Kellan. “See? This is how we were supposed to get married.”
Kellan’s face shifted from surprise to wonder. “You’ll really be my wife . . .”
Laughing as my eyes moistened, I gave him a soft kiss. “And you’ll really be my husband.”
From behind me, I heard my mother loudly exhale. “Here, Kiera? Really?”
I turned to look at her. She had a rigid frown as she looked around the room. “But we already sent out the invitations. We have family coming in from out of state, cousins you haven’t seen in a decade or more. And everything is ready at our church. There’s going to be a potluck after the ceremony. Polly is bringing her world-famous baked beans, and Gertrude is so excited to play the organ for you. She’s ninety-eight, Kiera. She’s only got a year or two left in her . . .”
Baked beans? Schooling my features, I risked a glance at Anna; she was quietly dying with laughter.
Standing, I walked over to Mom and grabbed her shoulders. “Mom, I almost lost my husband yesterday. I don’t want to wait another minute to become his wife. Will you please help me get married on Thursday?”
A long, fat tear rolled down Mom’s cheek. “Of course I will.”
I dried her skin. “Good, then find someone who can marry us on really, really short notice.”
Mom immediately went into active planning mode. “Okay, I’m sure somebody around here is qualified to marry people.” She started pacing. “We’ll need to spruce the place up a bit, get some flowers.” She looked over at Kellan’s many get-well bouquets, bouquets that had been steadily growing once fans realized he was here. “Oh, well, those will work.” Gently bouncing Gibson, her face fell as she twisted to me. “Oh, your dress . . . I should have brought it with me. It was perfect.”
I tried to look disappointed, but I’d heard all about the puffy-sleeved fiasco from my sister. Giving Mom a consoling smile, I shrugged. “Yeah, that is too bad. But Anna and I will find something, I’m sure.”
Anna sprang to her feet. “And we’ll get you your marriage license.” She winked at me. I suspected that both people were supposed to apply for them at the same time, but Kellan was sort of bed-prone at the moment. I had no doubt about Anna’s ability to persuade people, though, especially men. God, I hoped the person in the county clerk’s office was a man.
Mom did the unthinkable and handed Gibson over to someone else. Griffin took his daughter back as Mom told the room that she needed a phone, a phonebook, a pad of paper, and another espresso—pronto! Gavin left to get my mom some coffee while Dad ransacked the room to get her everything else she needed to make my impromptu wedding a reality. I was elated as I watched her get to work.
Anna tugged on my arm. There was a glow in her green eyes that matched Mom’s. “Let’s go find you a dress today!”
Giggling, I skipped over to Kellan and gave him a light kiss. “We’ll be back in a little bit. Will you be all right here?” Kellan looked just as euphoric as I felt as he nodded. In pain or not, I knew he was the happiest that he’d ever been. I knew, because that’s exactly how I felt. I was getting married!
Griffin nodded at Anna when she asked if he could watch Gibson while we were shopping. From the way he was holding his child, it was pretty obvious that he hadn’t been going to give her up anyway. Anna had just fed her not too long ago, but we’d have to make this outing on the short side. At least, on the short side for my sister; she could spend an entire day in just the shoe section.
After Kellan begged me for a final kiss, Griffin murmured, “Your wedding day is Thanksgiving. That’s convenient.” He pointed at Kellan. “You probably won’t forget your anniversary.” He looked over at Anna. “We shoulda done that. I already forgot ours.”
Anna smirked at Griffin while Kellan’s lip twitched. “Uh, it won’t always be on Thanksgiving, Griff.”
He looked horribly confused. “Huh? Yeah, it will.”
Kellan bit his lip. I could tell he was trying really hard not to laugh, since laughing hurt. “Thanksgiving isn’t on the same day every year. It moves around.”
Griffin glared at Kellan. “Don’t even try fucking with me, Kell.” He tapped his finger to his head. “I’m on to you.”
I heard Matt and Evan snigger with Justin and Denny. My dad stared at the ceiling as he shook his head. I couldn’t contain my giggle; poor Kellan had to take long, slow exhales so he didn’t laugh with everyone else. “Griff, I’m not . . .”
Still laughing, I patted Kellan’s leg. “You should probably just let this one go.”
A laugh escaped Kellan, and he lightly held his stomach. “Damn idiot,” he muttered, his face scrunched in discomfort.