“That’s a lot,” Everly says gravely.
She is the cutest thing ever. “It’s a whole lot.”
“Do we have rings?” the judge asks.
Austin juggles Everly to retrieve them from his pocket and hands his to me.
“Maria?” the judge says.
“Everly, you first.” I take her hand and slide the tiny gold ring I bought for her onto her finger. It won’t fit her for long, but I plan to put it on a chain when she outgrows it. “Everly, I give you this ring as a sign of my love and devotion to you. I’ll always love you, and being your mom is the greatest honor of my life.”
“Thank you, Rie.”
Austin didn’t know about that part, and it destroys him. He frantically wipes tears from his face as he shakes his head. “Well played, love.”
Smiling, I say, “You deserve that after what you did to me.” I take his hand. “With this ring, I thee wed. I love you forever.”
He slides a diamond band that matches my engagement ring onto my left hand. “With this ring, I thee wed. I love you to infinity and beyond.”
“Buzz Lightyear!” Everly says, starting another round of laughter.
“With the power vested in me by the State of Florida and Buzz Lightyear, I declare you husband and wife. Austin, you may kiss your bride.”
He leans Everly in to kiss my cheek before he puts her down, places his hands on my face and gives me the softest, sweetest kiss.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Austin, Maria and Everly Jacobs!” The judge leads an enthusiastic round of applause.
We accept hugs and congratulations from everyone, and then Dee brings the phone to me. “Milo wants to say something.”
“Everyone, shut up,” Nico says. “Milo has the floor.”
“Hey, guys, that was awesome. Welcome to the family, Austin and Everly. And congrats, Maria. No one deserves this happy ending more than you do. Love you.”
“Love you, too, Mi. I’m sorry it worked out this way.”
“No worries. It was just like being there.”
“We’ll be in to see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll be here.”
“See you then.” I hand the phone back to Dee and accept a hug from my new mother-in-law.
“Congratulations, honey,” Deidre says. “Jeff and I love you as much as Austin does.”
“Thank you so much. I feel so lucky to be part of the Jacobs family.”
“We’re the lucky ones. From the minute you came into our lives, you’ve blessed us in every possible way.”
We hug again, and when we pull back, we’re laughing as we wipe away tears.
“Those had better be happy tears,” Austin says when he joins us, putting his arm around me.
“They are,” I assure him.
He wanted to hire caterers, but I wouldn’t hear of that. Saturday night, before all hell broke loose with Milo, I cooked a feast that I now set out for our family, including lasagna, chicken parm, chicken marsala, antipasto, Caesar salad and garlic bread. Dee and Carmen help me put everything out on the long table we set up earlier on the patio.
Austin switches on the outdoor speakers and the lights we strung over the pool area.