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Despite my protests, this wound up being another massive event. It had been impossible to pare it down. Between the friends we’d made on the team here in Nashville, the Mavericks, our families, and my colleagues at my new job at Vanderbilt, the guest list had grown exponentially. Instead of just our families and a small group of close friends, over three hundred people were out in the church waiting for me to walk down the aisle, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I thought about the last time I’d almost done this.
There would be no almost this time, though.
I loved Boone with everything I was.
“Ready, honey?” Dad asked, extending his arm.
“I am.”
We walked into the anteroom, waiting for Annalise to walk ahead of me.
She was so excited and her eyes widened when she saw me.
“Jolie! You look prettier—”
“Shh.” Dad put his finger to his lips. “It’s your turn to go, sweetheart.”
“I’m ready!” Her voice was no quieter, but her exuberance made me smile.
I watched as she tossed flowers in every direction, grinning at everyone she passed, whether she knew them or not.
Dad took a step forward and I realized this was it.
Holy shit.
I was getting married.
For a moment, I froze. A million memories of last year whiplashing through my mind, but then my gaze landed on Boone. In his white tuxedo, surrounded by his brother and teammates, he’d never looked as handsome as he did right now. When his eyes found mine, even from across the massive room, there was no denying the spark.
The connection.
The love.
This man loved me as much as I loved him.
Everything else melted away as I took the first step toward forever.
* * *
The evening feltlike a whirlwind of one event after the other. The ceremony, pictures, arriving at the reception, more pictures, dinner, speeches, another round of pictures, cutting the cake, and talking to people. There were so many people to talk to. Friends, family, Boone’s teammates from all the teams he’d played for in his career, coworkers from both my current job as well as from the university in St. Louis. There were a lot of people here and everyone wanted our attention.
“You look amazing,” Hadley said, hugging me. “I’m so happy for you both.”
“Thank you.”
“Did you tell her yet?” Sheridan asked, nudging her.
Hadley giggled.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I’m pregnant,” Hadley whispered.
“Really?” I asked in surprise.
“Aiden is thirteen months old, so he’ll be almost two by the time this baby comes. We decided we didn’t want there to be a huge gap between the four kids, so we started trying. But you can’t tell anyone—I haven’t even told Wes yet. It’s going to be a surprise on our anniversary since it’s next week.”
“Congratulations.” I hugged her again. Then I eyed Sheridan. “And you?”
