I snapped my attention back to the wedding when Emma’s voice rang out clearly.
“A year ago, I let my best friend talk me into accompanying her to the tattoo shop so she could get her tongue pierced. Today, I stand before all of the people I love, my friends and family, and I have to thank Allie for that. So, Allie,” she looked over her shoulder at me, “Thank you.”
I winked at her and inclined my head.
“That day was the day that I met the man standing before me. A man that I never in a million years imagined would ever speak to me, let alone order me to go on a date with him. Yes, I said order! Seriously, though, I felt like everyone I knew was finding their true loves, getting married, or at least had boyfriends, while I was sitting at home like ‘I like food’!”
Everyone laughed at that except for Luke, who gave her a stern look. She just smiled up at him and kept going. “I’m not perfect; I’m stubborn and crazy and so is pretty much everyone in my life. You’ve been my rock through so much, and put up with me when I’ve been irrational. But you, Luke, you made me- make me- feel like I am the most perfect and sane thing in this world. You look at me like I’m the most beautiful woman in the world. You hold me like you never want to let me go, and I fit perfectly in your arms.
Taking her own shaky breath and wiping away more tears, Emma continued. “And so I make my vows to you, Lucas Tyler Crimshaw. I promise that I will love you more today than I did yesterday. And I promise that that love won’t even come close to the love I’ll have for you tomorrow, because I fall in love with you more and more each day. I promise to give you as many babies as you want, and grow old with you so we can rock on the porch together, just like you said.”
“You are my everything, and you have all of me, every day for the rest of our lives. I love you, Luke. Always Ever.”
By the time the last word had left her lips, Lucas had her in a lip-lock so solidly that her feet weren’t even touching the floor. It went on for a minute until the minister cleared his throat, chuckling good naturedly when Luke finally set Emma back on her feet. He smiled sheepishly at the minister and steadied his suddenly dazed looking bride.
With a smile and a shake of his head, the minister began speaking, finishing up the ceremony and then introducing the beaming couple to everyone, who began clapping, cheering, and hollering. We made our way down the aisle behind them and took our places in the receiving line, all of us wiping tears away and laughing like school girls.
The rest of the night passed in a blur of champagne toasts and dancing. Everything turned out so perfectly; I couldn’t have asked for anything better for Emma. And to think, it all started with a little piercing…
It was almost two in the morning by the time we got everything cleaned up and packed away from the reception hall. We’d sent Luke and Emma off on their honeymoon around midnight, more because we were getting a little worried that Emma wouldn’t be able to contain herself any longer. Usually it’s the groom that’s itching to get to the wedding night fun, but given five seconds alone, I’m betting Emma would have had her dress hiked up to her ears and jumped Luke in the coat closet. I’m still not convinced it didn’t happen anyway…
We got home and Jackson and Brandon carried Chloe and Leah into the house, depositing them both into Chloe’s bed. I’d only had a couple glasses of champagne, but those two girls...wow. That’s all I could say. Of course, they weren’t the only ones. Jenna had let loose more than she ever had and poor Noah had to practically tie a rope around her to keep her dress on. Thank God Noah’s parents had taken the kids home with them earlier in the evening!
Jenna was also the one who started the table dancing movement, too, although I can’t really say anything about that one. Pretty much everyone in the wedding party did that, including my mom and Jan. Nanny had tried to get up there, but I’d managed to get Brandon to grab her down before she got more than one little chicken leg up on a chair.
As the guys were settling the girls in, I made a beeline for the bathroom to remove my makeup and get ready for bed. I was exhausted, but it was a very satisfying exhaustion. I heard the guys come into the bedroom so I went out, turning my back to Brandon, who was standing by the dresser. He unzipped my dress and I let it fall to the floor, kicking it out of the way as I hooked my thumbs in the waistband of my panties, shucking them down my thighs and off. My strapless bra quickly went the same way.