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“Y’know, I really do FUCKRAH you,” she said, wearing a grin that was almost shy. “Kind of a lot, actually.”
“Steinbeck,” I replied, feeling sublimely happy, “I think I fell in FUCKRAH with you the minute you put Callie in a headlock.”
fifty-one
One year later
Sophie
“If anyone hereknows of any reason why these two should not be married—”
“I do!”
I glanced at Max as he stood there, beside me, looking as unbothered as ever while the murmurs started rolling through the rows of guests.
“Um, sir...?” the pastor asked questioningly, looking unsure of how to proceed.
“I do, too!”
I grinned at Max, and it was hard not to laugh.
We turned around, and there were Larry and Rose, standing in the fifth row from the front, grinning like they were hilarious as the rest of the guests looked absolutely confused. It was a small ceremony, with around thirty people seated on the rooftop of our building, white lights strung everywhere like we were surrounded by a curtain of low-hanging stars.
Larry was dashing in his powder-blue tuxedo from “yesteryear” that he considered “retro-chic” (it wasn’t), and Rose had opted for a long white dress to “give me a run for my money.”
“What’s the reason?” Max asked, giving Larry a look. “Sir.”
“The reason,” Rose said, giggling with the most adorable smile on her face, “is that you’re too perfect together and it makes the rest of us look bad.”
“Sit down,” I said, blowing her a kiss as they obliged.
Now knowing it was a joke, everyone else got a good laugh, and we got back to the ceremony.
Our wedding ceremony.
Because as it turned out, love was actually real.
It wasn’t a trick at all, but more like this amazing thing that was mislabeled a shocking amount of the time, leading to endless confusion and piles of unhappiness.
They really needed to fix that.
But the truth was that if you looked hard enough and didn’t die from the disappointments along the way, the real thingwasout there.
Which was why, when I looked into Max’s eyes and said, “I do,” I didn’t even have to cross my fingers.
It was also why, when he slid the stunning amber and diamond ring on my finger that he’d chosen because it reminded him of my eyes, I was allowed to cry happy tears.
The reception was basically just cigars and whiskey on the rooftop with a DJ playing some music in the background, and it was perfect. My parents looked way less stressed than they had after the Stuart wedding, and Asha gave the maid of honor toast she’d been destined to deliver but was denied the first time. Edie was there with her wife, Carmen, both happily living the retired life, as were Max’s parents, who’d been official residents of the great state of Florida for just under a year.
And yes, I got the VP job.
Our plan worked perfectly.
As an added bonus, Stuart resigned the day after I got promoted because, according to his exit interview, he “knew his days were numbered.”
Which was funny because we were in different departments; I couldn’t have done anything to him if I’d wanted to.
And I hadn’t wanted to.
