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"If I were you, I'd watch my words," Ethan chuckles. "Haven’t you noticed? A spell seems to have fallen on us. One by one, we're getting married."
My friends begin to joke about it. In the meantime, I put on my dark jacket, as my thoughts fly straight to Andrea.
If it's a spell or a charm, I don't mind suffering from it. I would have given everything I own just to know she existed.
Andres shakes his head. "No, there's no way I'm joining you on this whole marriage and parenthood thing."
"I agree." Landon takes a sip of brandy.
"You've heard the saying ‘never say never’?" jokes Jackson.
"It won't apply to me," Landon says.
"Who knows," I interject. "There will be a lot of single ladies tonight at the wedding. One of them might be the lucky one for you."
"It'll be fun to watch them," adds Ethan.
After some more banter, finally my friends stand up. "Are you ready?" one asks me.
"I am," I affirm, already looking forward to reuniting with Andrea.
Ethan pats my arm. "Then let's get to work."
One by one, they leave the room in slow procession, still joking. I feel excitement well up inside me because, finally, the time has come.
It's only been two months since Andrea and I got engaged, but we thought it would be futile to wait much longer, so we decided to get married at the end of November.
A fall wedding was never in her plans, or mine, but the truth is I never thought about getting married before this. Not after what happened with Natalie, when I thought my romance story was over. But that was only because I didn't have the right woman in my life.
It was because I didn't have Andrea.
She insisted that we don’t get married in our Hamptons house, which we’ve been slowly remodeling into our permanent home. The house now has a private studio where Andrea is working on her new album, which she predicts will be a hit, and there’s a bedroom that we’ve been decorating in pastel shades in anticipation of our first child.
In the meantime, the world has moved on. The press was very interested in the wedding news, but they were much more interested in the incident that occurred in September with Brandon.
For weeks, no one has done anything but talk about us. We are on the cover of every magazine, and helicopters constantly fly overhead. Andrea is currently the country's princess, and one of its most beloved singers. Everyone wants to know what her life is like.
Unfortunately, the world is not invited to our wedding. The event will be very private, as we have decided to organize it in the greenhouse of a mansion. The space is large enough that it will allow us to hold the wedding without any problems.
For the occasion, we decorated the greenhouse with thousands of red roses that fill the room with their perfume. There are golden lanterns hanging above the dark shutters, and several rows of chairs are neatly arranged.
In the background, raised on a platform of lilies, an ensemble of stringed instruments and a single piano is set up. They’re playing Kiss the Rain, the song that Andrea and I are using to set the mood for the evening as we built our shelter little by little, dreaming for the life that awaits us.
For the first time, she and I will have a family.
Beyond our friends, we have begun to realize that together we will have what we never received from our parents: a home, security, and love. We will give it to our children and, in the future, make sure we never want for it again.
"Okay, Damien. We're all set," Jackson says.
As we reach the greenhouse, Ethan stops beside me and pats my shoulder. "I want you to know how proud I am of you."
The sincerity of his appreciation overwhelms me. It's not hard to remember that there was a time when we didn't think we could ever be friends again.
"I appreciate it," I reply.
Now that my friends are ready, I walk over to the band, and take the empty seat of the pianist.
I breathe in slowly, and feel the music inside of me well up.
