I smiled at him. “I want this.” I swung my hand with Wes’s and tightened mine around Dare’s. “I want all of this.”
“That’s all that matters to me. I hope you know that.”
I swallowed down the stupid tears that wanted to flow. “I do.”
“Good. Get used to saying those words. You have to say them again in a few minutes.”
I laughed. “You too, pal.”
“
I’m ready.” Dare stepped back a little and nodded to Judge Hamilton. “We’re ready.”
The judge read off the vows, and I echoed them to Dare and to Wes. It was a simple ceremony with no fanfare. Even the American flag floated gently behind the judge’s bench thanks to the fan slowly circulating the air in the stuffy room.
None of that seemed to matter when it came right down to it. Wes handed me Dare’s ring, his face beaming with pride. We exchanged “I dos” as his son practically vibrated between us.
This man and this little boy were now mine.
“You may now kiss the bride.”
Dare leaned in and the kiss was sweet and almost chaste.
“Gross!” Wes made a gagging sound and I laughed against Dare’s mouth.
We turned toward our clapping friends and family. As I scanned the faces of the people I loved, my laughter stopped. “Sage?”
“Oh, crap.” She put her hands on her hips. “My kid is not keeping to the schedule.”
Oliver practically jumped over the bench between him and Sage. “Did your—”
“Water break? Sure did.” She scrunched up her nose. “I was really looking forward to that steak at The Cove, dammit.”
I glanced at Dare. “Happy wedding day to us,” I mouthed.
Twenty
I scooped up Wes and handed him to my mom. “Things just got crazy, I think.”
She sighed. “Kelsey has been worried about Sage since this afternoon. Probably best to go with them. We’ll take care of Wes.”
Wes’s face scrunched up and I knew waterworks were imminent. “Hey, buddy. Our friend is going to have a baby. That lady right there?” I pointed to a now seated Sage. Oliver and Seth had disappeared to get the car, if I had to guess.
Wes sniffed. “Yeah.”
“Kelsey’s really good friends with her.”
“Do you have to go too?”
I hated when he gave me that look. I was gone a lot with working so much, but I was hoping with Kelsey in our lives now, maybe we could alleviate some of that. That one of us would be home with him. “I don’t think I should leave her alone, do you?”
“No.” His voice was tentative.
“We’ll be back home as soon as we can. And tomorrow, we’ll do breakfast, okay?” I’d planned on taking Kel to the Sherman Inn as a surprise for an overnight. We didn’t have a honeymoon planned. Life, kids, money—it wasn’t something we could pull off right now. Especially since she had school too.
Obviously, all the festivities were over for the evening.
When Kelsey gave me a helpless look, I quickly dug my beard into Wes’s neck until he giggled. “I’ll check in with you later, Ma.”