“Fantastic.” I glance once again at the hall as if Kenzie will magically appear there.
Tessa joins us a minute later, wearing a silver-colored bridesmaid’s dress, and gives us the go-ahead.
The minister takes his position and I wait, holding my breath until my bride appears. Then it all whooshes out of my lungs because this woman leaves me breathless.
Kenzie appears at the end of the hallway in a cap-sleeve gown with a sweetheart neckline. I know all this because of the plethora of wedding dress magazines she forced me to look at this year. Lace covers the top part of her dress and falls just below the A-line skirt. But the lace is threaded through with silver accents. Her hair is curled and pulled back from her face, and on one side, it looks as though she has a small birch branch with red berries and a hint of evergreen. I realize it matches her bouquet.
She’s every bit a Christmas bride, and I grin at her. I’m so happy and lucky to be able to spend the rest of my life with her.
Tessa starts the bridal march, and Kenzie makes her way to me. We don’t drop our gazes once. Over the soft music, there’s a ringing I can’t place. I’m certain it’s not coming from the music.
As soon as she reaches me, I cup her face. “You look exquisite.”
“Thank you. You clean up pretty well yourself. I love you in a tux.”
“Maybe I’ll wear this the next time you wear the elf costume.” I wink at her and she laughs.
“All right, you two, get on with it,” Finn warns, clearly understanding that we’re talking about sex.
Kenzie hands her bouquet to Tessa, and the minister begins.
We each promise ourselves to the other for the rest of our lives, and when all is said and done, Kenzie holds up a mistletoe—as if I need greenery to kiss her. I dip my new bride and kiss her in a way that should probably be saved for the bedroom.
We walk down the small aisle, and again bells ring. All I can hear is that little girl’s voice from that Christmas movie, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets their wings.”
I stop Kenzie at the end of the aisle. “Do you hear them?”
Her smile says she’s up to something. “What?”
“The bells?”
She points down and lifts the bottom of her dress, showing off the green elf shoes with bells that she was wearing on our first date. “They’re good luck.”
I bend and kiss her. “Yes, they are.”
We’re having a catered meal, so after we take some pictures with our phones—neither of us wanted to have professional photos done—we sit in the dining room to eat. The caterer has just placed the food on the table—a Christmas dinner, of course—when I pour everyone a glass of champagne and raise my glass.
I stand beside Kenzie at the head of the table. “I’d like to give a toast to my new bride. Kenzie, I have never been happier than I have been since I met you. Thank you for taking pity on a Scrooge and making him see the error of his ways. I know that whatever life brings us, we’ll face it together. I love you.”
We all clink our glasses, and I notice that Kenzie doesn’t drink from hers.
I sit back down and kiss her, then say, “You know it’s bad luck if you toast and don’t drink from your glass.”
I’m not really a superstitious person, but there’s no point in tempting fate.
Her mouth drops open as though she wants to say something, but she looks unsure of herself.
“What’s wrong?” My forehead wrinkles.
She sighs and her shoulders sag a bit. “I was going to wait until the honeymoon but… we’ve spawned a little elf of our own!”
My eyes widen and my mouth drops open. I close it and open it again, trying to find words.
“Are you upset?”
I see the concern in her eyes, and that snaps me out of my shock. “Why would I be upset?” I cup her face.
“I know we said we’d wait a couple of years and we didn’t plan this—”