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Grampa gave a great speech about watching Sean grow and how he’d never seen him as happy as he’d been since he was with Nicole, and I had to agree. Sean had been a bit of a lost soul before he’d found her.
Chris gave a best-man speech that had everyone laughing so much, parts were hard to hear. Sean hugged him afterward, and they held onto each other longer than usual. I think because they were both trying not to cry.
After all the speeches were finished, Sean and Nicole shared their first dance, holding each other tight and whispering in each other’s ears. Everyone watched, and a spotlight shone on them in the ballroom. Chris grabbed my hand and had the cutest smile when I glanced at him. He looked excited and dreamy and strangely boyish.
He kissed me softly, and I leaned into him, wanting to feel his warmth. He tugged me to my feet when their song finished, asking me to dance. The dancefloor was full of people, and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much over the last couple of hours.
Suddenly, the music cut off, and Sean’s voice echoed through the reception hall. We all turned to face him and Nicole on the stage together. “Excuse us, everyone. We’re glad everyone’s been having a great time tonight.” He wrapped an arm around his bride. “It means everything to Nicole and me that you’ve all here to celebrate the start of our life together.”
People applauded, halting his speech. He stopped talking and smiled before gesturing for everyone to quiet down.
“I appreciate the support,” he said. “I’m so grateful for the family in my life, especially the new members now that Nicole and I are officially family. Thank you to her parents for being here and her brother Lucas who did a lot to help make this day happen. I’d also like to thank my grandpa and sister for putting up with us over the last few months as we realized how hectic planning a wedding actually is.”
Everyone chuckled at this.
Sean cleared his throat, and Nicole nodded encouragingly at him, rubbing his chest affectionately as she looked at him with all the love in her eyes. “Anyway, there’s another person here tonight we wanted to shine a spotlight on. My best friend Chris has been my partner in crime since as early as I can remember. I’ve always thought of him as my brother.”
Sean’s voice got thick. “And I think pretty soon it’ll be official, depending on what my sister has to say about that.”
My face went hot. I couldn’t believe that Sean just said that to his entire reception full of people. Everyone looked at me and Chris. He took my hand and got down on one knee.
My heart pounded. I felt faint because I almost couldn’t breathe.
Was this really happening?
Oh, God, don’t cry. Not in front of all these people.
“Savannah Bailey Sparks,” Chris began. “I loved you for so long. And I love you more every day.” He spoke quietly, just loud enough for me to hear. He wasn’t trying to project his voice for the benefit of the crowd. It felt like a private moment between us, because I couldn’t see anything but his smiling face and the way his mouth trembled like he was holding back his emotions.
He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a ring box. When he cracked it open, I gasped. It was a simple diamond solitaire with tiny sapphires ringed around it. It was perfect.
“I know this might be too soon to ask you this question, it can be as long an engagement as you want. but I don’t want to waste any more time without telling you that I love you and want you to do me the honor of becoming my wife.”
Chris took my hand in his and slid the ring on my finger. “Will you marry me, Sav?”
I dropped and hugged him, wrapping my arms tight around him. I cupped his face in my hands and kissed him. Applause erupted around us, and he said, “I’m going to take that as a yes.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll marry you,” I said with a laugh. Then I kissed him again.
“Congratulations!” Nicole cheered into the microphone as everyone cheered along.
I remembered then that this was Nicole and Sean’s wedding reception and felt a little self-conscious that we’d drawn attention away from that. But Sean must have known since he’d basically cued Chris by saying the lovely things he’d said.
“You planned this with Sean?” I said, letting Chris help me to my feet.
“I wanted to propose after they were married. Doing it here was his idea, and Nicole was as excited about it as he was.” Chris beamed at me, and his smile was so beautiful I had to kiss him again.
I looked toward Sean, who was struggling to get the microphone back into the clip, sending popping and scraping noises over the loudspeaker.
I kissed my fingertips and pushed them his direction. He made a heart shape with his hands over his chest, then he kissed his new wife. Grampa had cried at the wedding, and he sat blinking tears at one of the front tables. I sent a kiss his way like I had Sean, and he pretended to catch it and hold it to his chest.
“Can I have this dance, future Mrs. Warner?” Chris asked, pulling me close.
“Mrs. Warner. I like the sound of that. You know, I used to doodle that in my notebooks when I was sixteen.”
Chris laughed. “Really? I’m flattered.”
My voice broke as I said, “And now my dream’s coming true.”
Chris cupped my cheek. “Our dream, Sav. Ours together.”
We danced the rest of the night, but I’m not sure my feet ever touched the floor.
* * *
