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Partway through the meal, I noticed Zoe come in with another woman. She was pretty with gorgeous blond hair. She caught my attention because she had a flour-covered apron on over a blue dress.
The cake.
I got up so I could take a closer look as they set it on a side table. It had light blue frosting with large blush pink flowers trailing down one side and everything was rimmed in a hint of gold.
“Cake disaster averted,” Zoe said.
“I’m so sorry,” the other woman said. “I’m Harper Tilburn, Doris’s niece. My aunt has been having health problems lately but she didn’t tell anyone. She finally came clean to my mom this morning, so I rushed out here to help her.”
“It’s totally fine. I’m sorry Doris isn’t feeling well.”
“I told you Marigold wouldn’t be upset,” Zoe said. “She’s one of the best brides I’ve ever worked with.”
“Congratulations,” Harper said. “You’re stunning, by the way.”
“Thank you so much.”
“I hope the cake is what you wanted. I did my best.”
“It’s absolutely beautiful.”
“Good. I’m so glad.”
Zachary put a hand on the small of my back. “Is it cake time already?”
“Not quite,” I said. “But isn’t it beautiful?”
“Looks great.”
I thanked Harper and Zoe again and Zachary and I went back to our table.
Garrett stood and clinked a fork against his glass to get the guests’ attention.
“Hi, everyone,” he said when the room quieted. “I’m Garrett Haven, Zachary’s brother. And, for some reason, his best man.”
Applause filled the air and someone shouted his name.
“Thanks,” he said. “I don’t think I’m the only one who wouldn’t have predicted Z would be the next of my brothers to get married. And that’s not because he isn’t a great guy. He is. He just stayed wild a little longer than the rest of us.”
That earned a laugh from the guests. And from me.
“But sometimes what a man needs isn’t his family or the people around him telling him what to do or how to live. What he really needs is a reason. A mission. He needs a purpose. Something bigger than his job or career or hobbies or interests. Something bigger than himself. And Zachary is lucky enough to have found his purpose—found his mission. Turns out, she was right there all along. All it took was almost getting electrocuted for him to figure it out.”
Zachary shook his head and laughed, squeezing my hand.
“Zachary, I’m really happy for you. You couldn’t have picked a better wife. And Marigold, you’ve been like our sister since you and Annika were little. So allow me to be the first to officially say, welcome to the Haven family. We love you guys. Cheers.”
I didn’t bother dabbing the tears at the corners of my eyes as we raised our glasses to toast. That was why waterproof mascara had been invented.
And thank goodness for that.
After dinner, we cut the cake. Zachary dabbed a little bit of frosting on my nose and kissed it off. While servers sliced the cake for our guests, Zachary led me onto the dance floor for our first dance. He took me in his arms and I gazed into his eyes as we moved to the music.
“You look so good, I want to eat you up,” he said.
I smiled. “You just had cake.”
“You’re so much better than cake.”
“That might be one of the best compliments a man can give his wife.”
He grinned. “My wife. Man, I like hearing that.”
“Thank you for marrying me, Zachary Haven.”
“Thank you for becoming my wife, Marigold Haven.”
Hearing my name with his made me tingle with pleasure. It was a dream come true. I’d loved him for so long and thought it was a mistake. That he could never feel the same way. Garrett might have been right about it taking an almost electrocution to open his eyes to what was right in front of him, but somehow, it made sense. It was Zachary Haven. Of course it would be explosive.
And now he was mine, and I was his. My dream man. My husband. My love. Forever.
