I nodded.
He held my hand and slipped the ring onto my thumb.“Fourth time’s the charm.”
I pulled him into a hug, and he put his arms around me and held me tight.
“That was worth waiting for, wasn’t it?”he said, and then he kissed me.
Coda: Wedding Day (One Year Later)
Ilooked in the wardrobemirror, trying to tie my bowtie for the tenth time and fucking it up again.
“Ben’s keeping your wedding rings in a ceramic box,” said Bex.“He says it’s fire-resistant.In case a dragon lets loose on him, I guess.I called him Sméagol, and he took it as a compliment.He said Sméagol was the best ring bearer in the wholeLord of the Ringstrilogy because he died with the ring in his hand.”
I knew Bex was trying to calm me down, but it wasn’t working.I pulled the tie off and flung it onto the bed next to where he was sitting.
“Just don’t wear it,” said Bex.
“I’m wearing a tux, Bex.I can’t not wear a tie.”
The tux was a wedding present from Joel and his husband, Reg.Reg had sent Eddie and I to his tailor, and we’d each had a tux made to measure.It fit like a second skin—a really expensive second skin.I felt paranoid I was going to spill something on it or tear it.Just breathing in it was stressing me out.
“How did you tie your tie, Bex?”
Bex hooked his finger over his bowtie and pulled on it, then he let the elastic snap back.
“Oh,” I said.I almost asked to borrow his, but I stopped myself.I wasn’t an expert, but I had a feeling you weren’t supposed to wear a tie on an elastic with a tux this expensive.
“Stay put,” said Bex, getting up.
“Where are you going?”
He didn’t answer, just let himself out of the bedroom.Which left me with nobody to talk to.
I’d left the bedroom window open because it was so mild.I looked outside.It was exactly what I’d dreamed of for him and me.We’d gone from living in my crappy little apartment to having our own house by the lake—his engagement present to me, because he knew that was what I wanted.To marry him and live here.
It was early evening.On the lawn near the lake, the wedding tent was glowing from the lights inside, and a few people were wandering toward it.I recognized Royce by his laugh.He was talking to Reg.I could tell it was Reg because he was the tallest one here.No sign of Eddie.
