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I look like a princess straight out of a fairy tale ready to marry my prince—or in my case, princes. But what has my attention isn’t the dress or my hair or the jewelry I’m wearing. It’s my genuine smile.
“No,” I tell Lacey. “I’m not nervous. I’m happy.” Something I never thought I would truly be after Pete died.
She smiles at me through the mirror. “You deserve to be happy,” she says, squeezing my hand. “And I’m honored to be a part of your big day.”
Since we’re not having a traditional wedding service, Lacey will be standing at the altar, walking us through our vows. It was only fitting since the only reason I gave either of them a chance in the first place was because of her.
There’s a knock on the door, and then Miles walks in, dressed adorably in a black tux with a powder-blue tie that matches the rhinestones on my tiara and the flowers on Evie’s dress. “I have a gift for you,” he announces, holding up a small rectangular-shaped box. “It’s from Hayden and Brody. They said you’re not allowed to cry.”
“Thank you,” I choke out, wondering when the heck my little boy grew up.
I take the box from him and carefully sit on the couch, not wanting to wrinkle my dress before the wedding. I untie the ribbon, vaguely aware of the photographer hired to take pictures during the wedding.
When I remove the tissue paper, I find a note, and I know I won’t be able to contain my tears.
Bree,
One of the most important things as your husbands is to stand by your side and help make sure all your dreams come true, so today, as we begin our lives together, we’d like to give you the gift Peter wanted you to have: to study in France with some of the best pastry chefs in the world. We can’t bring him back, but we hope by making one of your dreams come true, we’re able to honor his last wish. We love you, and we can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives by your side.
Xo Hayden and Brody
Nestled underneath, I find five round-trip tickets to Europe dated for this summer, along with a voucher to study with some of my favorite chefs.
“Mom,” Miles says. “You’re not supposed to cry.”
“Come here, sweetie.” He walks over, and I pull him into my arms. “Sometimes, when people are so happy, they cry.” He looks at me, confused, and I laugh, hugging him tightly. “I promise, I’m very happy.”
“Okay, it’s time,” Savy says, walking into the room. “Are you ready to walk your mom down the aisle?” she asks Miles, handing him the pillow holding the rings. Instead of walking myself down the aisle, the kids will be walking with me. Miles is in charge of the rings, and Evie will be dropping flower petals as we go.
“I’m ready,” Miles says, taking it from her.
“Me too!” Evie sing-songs, swinging her basket of petals in the air.
The music starts, and everyone gives me a quick kiss before heading out to have a seat. I double-check my makeup to make sure it’s not splotchy from the emotional note and gift, and then with a deep breath, the kids and I walk to where Brody and Hayden are waiting.
When we arrive at the altar, Evie and Miles step to the side as we practiced, and Brody and Hayden each take one of my hands in theirs.
With a soft smile, Lacey begins to speak. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the love and commitment between Brody Fields, Aubree Heart, and Hayden Shea…”
One Week Later
“Just sign here and here and initial right here,” the attorney says. “This is for the lease agreement.”
I scan the verbiage even though I’ve already read through the entire contract several times—at Brody’s demand—and laugh when I see the length of the agreement. Ninety-nine years. The same length of the contract my grandparents had.
When Brody and Hayden brought me to the building they purchased, I wasn’t all that surprised. One thing about my husbands is that they’ll do everything in their power to make sure I’m happy—and owning my own coffeehouse and bakery makes me happy.
I sign and initial where I was told, and then the notary does the same before adding her stamp to it.
“You’re going to sign here.” He flips to the next page. “And here.”
Because I can’t legally marry both of them, I felt it was best if I didn’t legally marry either one. Instead, we had a beautiful ceremony where we exchanged vows in front of our family and friends and then spent the night celebrating our commitment to one another.
I’m keeping my last name—Heart—and the guys insisted on drawing up paperwork that would ensure that if anything happened to them, the building would become mine, so nobody could ever do what Benitez did to me. They also added the kids and me to their life insurance policies and wills, wanting to ensure we’re taken care of. I hate the thought of anything happening to them, but I love that they want to make sure we’ll be financially okay if, God forbid, something does happen.
