I shoved my hands behind my back before they could betray me. Being strangled to death by silk wasn’t my preferred way to go, but this was the third time Roman had fixed it. Even he was losing patience, though he was really trying to hide it.
Adrian rolled his eyes. “You didn’t have to wear a bow tie if you hate it this much.”
I glanced at myself in the full-length mirror, smoothing my lapels. “I’m only getting married once, and I look damn good. Besides, Mazzy’s going to lose her shit when she sees me.”
Nate cracked open the door and stuck his head in. “Hey, Benny. Someone wants to talk to you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is she pretty?”
He looked down, the soft smile he only got for one person taking over his face. “Oh yeah. Beautiful.”
“Then you better let her in.”
Nate swung the door open, and in waltzed a giggling Katty in a fluffy lavender dress that matched her glasses.
She gasped, her hands flying to her cheeks. “Daddy, you’re so fancy.”
I held out my hand. “Come here, sweetheart. Let me see your dress.”
She ran to me, throwing her arms around my legs. At almost six, she was still a pip-squeak. I could have picked her up with ease, but she had recently declared she was a big girl and only consented to being carried when she was especially tired. It about killed me, but at least she was still a hugger.
I crouched down, took her hand, and spun her in a circle. Her curls had been tamed and pinned into some kind of half updo with a baby’s breath crown on top. The skirt of her dress was full, almost reaching her ankles, with a satin sash tying around her middle and little puff sleeves on her shoulders.
“Wow,” I breathed. “Did you pick this dress out?”
She nodded. “Mommy helped.” Her eyes rounded. “Wait until you seeherdress. She’s so pretty, Daddy.”
I covered my ears. “La-la-la, I don’t want to hear anything. It has to be a surprise.”
Giggling, she tugged my hands. “I’m not gonna tell you anything. You have to wait and see.”
I checked the time on my watch. “Only a few more minutes. Are you ready to help Mommy walk down the aisle?”
“I’m ready.” She placed her tiny hands on my cheeks. “Are you ready to get married?”
“So ready, sweetheart.”
“Declan said his parents got married before he was born, and that’s how it’s supposed to be.”
I sighed. Unfortunately, Declan was still Katty’s best friend, even after they’d graduated preschool and started kindergarten. The kid had a lot of opinions, most of which I strongly disagreed with. Mazzy continued to tell me I couldn’t be mean to a six-year-old, but some days…
“What’d you tell him?”
“I told him you got lost for a while, but when you found Mommy again, you said, ‘I gotta marry her right away,’ so that’s what happened.”
“Thatiswhat happened.” I kissed her velvet cheek. “There’s no right order to do things. A lot of people might think Mommy and I did things backward, but I think everything’s working out exactly how it was supposed to.”
While I’d never get over missing the beginning of Katty’s life, I wasn’t sure we’d be where we were now if I had been there from the beginning. I’d like to think Mazzy and I would have found our way to each other, even back then, but I couldn’t keep living in a past I couldn’t change, and I was more than happy with our present.
Nate held out his hand. “All right, kiddo. Your mom is probably wondering where you are, and Daddy needs to get to the altar so we can get this show on the road.”
Katty slipped her hand into Nate’s. “Bye, Daddy.” She waved at Roman and Adrian. “Bye, Uncle Rome! Bye, Uncle Ade! See you soon!”
Adrian tossed his arm around my shoulders. “You’re one lucky man, Benny. You know that?”
A year ago, I was sure I was going to lose this. Only in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d be waiting for my own wedding to start. But once Mazzy and I had cracked ourselves open toeach other, revealed our faults and fears and helped each other through them, our relationship had been as natural as breathing. Mazzy made life easy and so fucking fun I always made her go to sleep first so I wouldn’t miss even a second of her.
“Yeah.” I looked from Roman to Adrian. They’d kicked me in the ass when I’d needed it, and stood beside me when I was finally headed in the right direction. Through it all, they’d always been there. “I know it.”
