“I’m getting new friends!” Maren shouts, her face flushed with laughter. “All new friends! You’reallfired!”
“You love us!” I call back, blowing her an exaggerated kiss.
“Highly debatable right now!” she shouts back, but she blows a kiss back, her smile so bright it could light up the entire property.
“Okay, okay,” I say, trying to get us back on track while everyone’s still chuckling. “Before the bride fires me as maid of honor, let’s get these two on the dance floor.”
“Caren forever,” Jack adds into the mic, which gets another wave of laughter.
We step back from the mic as Calvin leads a still-giggling Maren to the center of the dance floor. The DJ smoothly fades in the opening notes of their song, and the crowd naturally forms a circle around them. The moment shifts from playful chaos to something tender as Calvin takes Maren in his arms, looking at her like she hung every star in the sky.
Maren catches my eye over Calvin’s shoulder and mouths “thank you” with so much happiness radiating from her face it makes my throat tight. This is what she deserves. This perfect night, this man who adores her, this entire community showing up to celebrate their love.
I blow her a kiss and she pretends to catch it before melting completely into Calvin’s embrace.
“They look good together,” Jack says quietly beside me.
“They really do,” I agree softly, watching my best friend glow. “They always have.”
Jack and I continue our MC duties throughout, announcing toasts, keeping the energy up, making sure everything runs smoothly. Theo gives a speech about Calvin that has everyone laughing and crying in equal measure. Alex tells a story about their childhood that involves a tree fort and a very angry raccoon. Dominic’s toast is short and sweet, ending with “Welcome to the family, Maren. Sorry about the rest of us.”
Jack slides up beside me later by the dessert table where I’m trying to decide between a third slice of cake or maintaining some semblance of dignity.
“Nice work, partner,” he says. “We absolutely killed it up there.”
“Despite my initial reservations about co-hosting with Dark River’s resident troublemaker,” I say, finally committing to one of the mini cheesecakes because life is short, “we really did do a good job.”
“Resident troublemaker?” He raises an eyebrow, reaching past me for a chocolate-covered strawberry. “I think you have me confused with someone else. Trouble findsme. I’m just an innocent victim of circumstance, going about my day when disaster randomly strikes.”
“Oh really?” I pop a bite of cheesecake in my mouth. “So that time in high school when you ‘borrowed’ Principal Walker’s car for a test drive and ended up in the lake was just trouble finding you?”
“That car had faulty brakes,” he says completely seriously, biting into the strawberry. “It was a safety hazard. I was doing a public service, really. Just one of many cosmic injustices I’ve had to overcome. My life is quite tragic when you think about it.”
“You poor baby,” I say with exaggerated sympathy, patting his arm. “Such hardship. How do you even cope?”
“It’s been difficult,” he agrees solemnly. “But I persevere.”
“Lark!” Maren appears beside us, practically glowing with happiness. Calvin’s right behind her, his arm wrapped around her. “You two were amazing! Everyone keeps coming up to me saying how funny you were together! Although Calvin won’t stop calling us Caren.”
“Hey, what can I say?” Calvin grins, pulling her closer. “I love our couple name. Caren forever. It’s got a nice ring to it. Very modern.”
“It’s ridiculous,” Maren says, but she’s smiling.
“It’s perfect,” I correct. “Like I said. I have excellent instincts about these things.”
“Debatable,” Maren teases. “But I’ll allow it for tonight. Now—” She turns to me with a look I recognize. Mischief mixed withdetermination. “—it’s time for you and me to have a proper girl’s dance. I’ve been waiting all night.”
“Okay, but first I need to make a very important DJ request,” I say, already backing away with a grin. “Don’t move.”
“I’ll be here,” Maren says, leaning back into Calvin’s embrace. “Take your time.”
“Calvin, you better watch out,” I say, walking backward and shoving the rest of the mini cheesecake in my mouth, probably not gracefully. “I might steal your wife with my superior dancing skills.”
He laughs, his whole face lighting up. “I’d be worried if I hadn’t seen your moves at karaoke night last month. I know what I’m dealing with.”
“Rude!” I shout back, but I’m laughing.
I whisper my song request to the DJ, complete with dramatic hand gestures to convey the importance of this moment. He grins and gives me a thumbs up. When I get back to Maren, I hold out my hand like a gentleman caller from a regency romance.
