Pacific Ocean shimmering behind him. He’s dressed casually—narrow beige pants, a white shirt open at the collar, and a dark jacket.
I let Jax pick the music for me to walk down the aisle. When it starts, I drop my head forward, trying not to laugh. Led Zeppelin? Oh. My. God.
I walk alone, this time. Nobody has to give me away. I’m giving myself to Jax.
I catch Jax’s eye as I walk and listen to “All My Love.” Okay, it’s a pretty good song. We’re both grinning like crazy.
Unplanned, he comes to meet me, picks me up and swings me around, laying a big smooch on my mouth. Well, we didn’t want this wedding to be traditional.
Everyone claps and cheers for us.
I’m so happy I can’t stop my feet from dancing the rest of the way down the aisle toward the officiant, who’s also smiling. As we stop in front of him, Jax turns to me and holds out his fist. We do our secret good-luck trivia handshake, still beaming at each other. This arouses more chuckles in our audience.
The ceremony is short and sweet, including the vows we each wrote. Then we’re husband and wife.
A pop and a hissing sound comes from behind Jax, and his best man, Brian Erhardt, hands him a can of Budweiser. To my surprise, Grace places one in my hand also and I can’t stop laughing as Jax holds his beer up to toast me. I tap the cold aluminum against his and take a gulp of the fizzy lager. Then he leans over and kisses me again, long and lingering.
Our friends and family clap and cheer again.
Grace takes my beer and hands me back my bouquet, a small arrangement of white roses and eucalyptus. Jax clasps my other hand and smiles at me as we turn to walk back down the aisle together.
The music starts, another Jax choice and again, I’m dying. It’s Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part II.” How many times have we heard this song in hockey arenas? We both start bopping to the rhythm, then half-dance down the aisle. It’s an appropriately triumphant, celebratory tune. When the band yells “Hey!” all the guests also yell “Hey!”
Joy bubbles up inside me as effervescent as the beer I just drank as we sign the legal documents, then mingle with our guests, exchanging hugs and kisses and smiles.
We’ve been here in California for a couple of weeks, following the Aces’ deep playoff run. They lost to the Condors, who went on to play St. Louis in the final. Sadly, the Condors lost, but they’ve come a long way in the last couple of seasons under new leadership.
Last weekend, we attended Taylor and JP’s wedding. Everly and Wyatt are now engaged too, so there’ll be another Wynn family wedding soon. Tomorrow, we fly to Winnipeg, where we’ll rent a car and drive to Clear Lake for our honeymoon. I can’t wait.
We eat a lovely dinner in a small private dining room, then dance a little. Our first dance song was my pick, Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.”
“Good choice.” Jax smiles into my eyes, then twirls me.
“Thanks.”
“Having fun?”
“So much fun.”
“Me too.”
“I think I’m going to hyphenate my last name.”
After a beat, Jax’s eyebrows shoot up, and he says, “Molly Flynn-Wynn?”
I laugh. “Doesn’t it sound great?”
“No.”
“I’m kidding. I’m happy to be a Wynn.”
We smile into each other’s eyes, then I jerk my head across the dance floor where couples are joining us. “Your mom and dad are dancing together.”
His eyebrows fly up as he follows my gaze. “Whoa. And they don’t even look angry.”
His mom just moved to Los Angeles for a new job. She’s a bestselling author now. I love her so much. I really like Mark too. And I’m so happy for Jax that he and his dad have been keeping in touch.
I look over at Bob Wynn, sitting at a table near the small dance floor, surrounded by family. He’s smiling and it’s wonderful to see him happy, Chelsea holding his hand.
Over the past year, Jax and I started doing trivia nights to raise money for charity, specifically for the Alzheimer’s Association. It seems a small thing, but at least it’s a way we can contribute and draw attention to the fight for research and a cure. We’ve met so many people affected by the disease and have heard heart-breaking but also awe-inspiring stories.
“Hey guess what?”
I focus back on Jax. “What?”
“There’s only one bed in our hotel room.”
“Oh no!” I widen my eyes dramatically, then we both burst out laughing. We have so much fun together, even when we’re doing nothing. A year ago, I was broken hearted and sorry for myself because I thought my beautiful life had been ruined. But now I know Jax was right…sometimes not getting what you want is a good thing.
Acknowledgments
As I finish the final edits of this book, the world is deep into the COVID-19 crisis. I re-read lines like “we mingle with our guests, exchanging hugs and kisses and smiles” and I screamed inwardly, “Nooooo!” But this story happens in a different world, where we don’t have to worry about hugging and kissing the people we love, and I hope that we are soon back to that kind of world. In the meantime, let’s remember that love is the most powerful force in the world, even if we’re stuck at home in isolation or socially distancing ourselves.
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