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“Kelsey, it is your turn to recite your vows to Joseph.”
She lets out a shuddering exhale, like she’s trying not to cry. “Joey, I can’t believe it took us this long to realize our feelings for one another. Especially since apparently everyone else around us knew.” Savannah and Frankie simultaneously snort out their laughter. “See?” She smiles and sniffles before continuing. “But I feel like that friendship we’ve built over the years laid the foundation for this amazing relationship we have now. I have never felt more loved and supported than I have with you, and I promise to always try to make you feel the same way. I love you with all of my heart — I always have, and I always will.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Giovanni pull a handkerchief out of his suit pocket and dab at his eyes. Who knew he was such a sappy romantic?
“May I have the rings, please?” he asks Frankie, who places them in Giovanni’s hand. “Joseph Richard Brooks, do you take Kelsey Nicole Andrews to be your lawfully wedded wife? For better or for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”
“I do.” I take the ring from Giovanni and slide it over Kelsey’s finger and gently kiss her hand.
“Kelsey Nicole Andrews, do you take Joseph Richard Brooks to be your lawfully wedded husband? For better or for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”
“I do.” She repeats the gesture of taking the ring and placing it on my finger.
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Joseph, you may kiss your bride!”
Giovanni, Savannah and Frankie clap their congratulations as I pull Kelsey into my arms. I kiss her just like I did the first time — like I’ve been waiting for years to do it. I can’t believe after all this time, Kelsey is finally my wife.
“May I present for the first time, Signore e Signora Joseph Brooks!” Giovanni announces as we break our kiss. It’s when I look out toward the castle that I see the entire staff watching the ceremony and clapping for us.
Kelsey buries her face bashfully into my shoulder, which prompts me to kiss her forehead. “Come on, Mrs. Brooks. I think I owe you a first dance.”
She pops her head off of my shoulder excitedly. “Say that again.”
“What, ‘Mrs. Brooks?’” I ask with a smile.
“Yes, that,” she sighs contentedly. “God, I love the way that sounds.”
“So do I, Angel.” I offer her my arm and she loops hers through it, allowing me to escort her back down the aisle.
When we make our way back into the castle, my stomach lets out an audible growl. The spread of food laid out on the dining table has me suddenly feeling starved. Because this is an extraordinarily small wedding, we requested a light menu. Either they didn’t get the memo, or this is their definition of “light.”
I guess I should have expected this. My Nonna always cooked enough food to feed a small army when my cousins and I would come visit. If you walked away from the table hungry, it was your own fault.
The eight-foot table is filled from end to end with every type of food imaginable — and this is just appetizers. From the doorway, I can spot mini quiche, tartlets, and a charcuterie board filled with several types of cheeses, nuts and fruits. As we walk further into the room, I see various types of bread, salad, soup and pasta. It’ll be a miracle if I go home not weighing twenty pounds more than I did when we got here.
“Holy food coma!” Kelsey exclaims beside me. “I don’t know where to start!”
“How about we start on the dance floor for our first dance?”
Chapter 63
If I had to dream up the perfect wedding, it wouldn’t even come close to the fairy tale that Joey planned for us. The gazebo in the garden was the perfect setting for our sunset ceremony, and the way they decorated this dining room is absolutely breathtaking.
“What do you say, Mrs. Brooks? May I have this dance?” Joey whispers in my ear as he wraps me in his arms from behind. This man is straight-up swoony, and I’m the luckiest woman in the world that I get to call him mine.
“You can have every dance for the rest of our lives.” I turn over my shoulder and kiss him gently.
Joey spins me around so I’m facing him and leads me to the open space in the dining room, turning it into a makeshift dance floor. Since it’s just the four of us, we didn’t feel the need to set up an “actual” reception area. He signals to Lucia to start the song, and I can’t help the smile that takes over my face when “Eyes On You” comes over the speakers.
I wrap my arms around his neck as he pulls me to his chest, so close that you could barely slide a piece of paper between our bodies. “Okay, I’m starting to think that I really am turning you into a country fan.”
“Kels, do you know how hard it is to slow dance to heavy metal?” Joey groans in my ear. “While I’ll admit that this song is not the worst one I’ve ever heard, I’m still not a country fan.”
“One day, I’ll get you to admit it.” I pull his face down toward mine into a kiss, eliciting a chorus of “awwws” from around the room.
As I break the kiss, I look to Savannah and Frankie, standing by the table watching us. I motion for them to join us on the “dance floor.” The two of them share a bashful look before throwing caution to the wind and dancing next to us. Unlike Joey and me, they keep about a foot of distance between their bodies — like two middle school kids slow dancing for the first time. I don’t know if they’re trying to be awkward with one another, or cover up their attraction to each other. Either way, it’s painful to watch.
After we’ve eaten what feels like our entire body weights in food, Joey leads me to the Monsignor’s Suite — AKA the honeymoon suite. I gasp audibly when we walk into the room.
