Page 87 of Worth the Vow

“Pink. Nonna’s favorite color is pink. I bet she’d throw rose petals too, if we asked.”

“Nonna is one hell of a jack-of-all-trades.”

“Very true.”

Two short weeks later, we are ready to walk down the aisle. I was ready to plan something for our house, or at my parents’, but Kate could tell I really wanted to do it at Everlasting. She again reminded me she didn’t care where we had the ceremony.

It’s a good thing we changed things up, because our intimate family-only event has slowly gotten bigger and bigger. Kate’s half-brothers, Matt and Zane, are coming, as well as Matt’s wife, step-daughters, son, and his mom, my aunt. A handful of Kate’s friends basically demanded they get an invite as well. That led to my father requesting two of his friends be in attendance, and then a couple of my buddies heard about the ceremony and wanted to come. I was ready to lay down the law, especially about my dad asking for his friends to come, but Kate told me not to do that. She didn’t want to start a riot on our day, and I think she was secretly looking forward to the whole shebang.

What we thought would be under fifty guests has now morphed into well over one hundred. Kate intended to wear the pink dress she wore for our actual ceremony, but my mom said absolutely not. Along with Sienna and Aspen, they went to a bridal shop in Denver to find a more appropriate dress. Kate returned ten hours later with a glazed expression, admitting she’d never known a woman to haggle like my mom. Somehow, my sweet and genuine mother managed to talk the store manager into dropping the price significantly, then had a seamstress do alterations on the spot. When I asked to see the dress, Kate threw a hand over my mouth.

“You’re not allowed to see it before the ceremony!” she whispered.

“We’re already married, Katharine. I can see the dress.”

“No,” she hissed, her eyes wild. “Sienna and Aspen would tattle. They are so invested in how romantic all this is, and I can’t do that to them.”

“How would they know if you showed me your dress?” I asked.

“Have you met your daughters? They’d know,” she said. “Besides, your mom took it to your parents’ house. She didn’t trust you not to look.”

Undoubtedly correct. I’m generally not a fan of surprises, even when it’s something as simple as my wife’s wedding dress.

I should’ve known, however, that Kate’s dress meant I’d be expected to up the ante with my own wardrobe. Which is why I’m now fixing the cufflinks on a full tux as Alex stews nearby. I can hear the string quartet Hannah hired playing as guests find their seats. With showers forecasted all day, we chose to hold the ceremony inside, by the massive stone fireplace, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Rocky Mountains.

I’m antsy and agitated. Because we didn’t have a true night-before-the-wedding, my parents bluntly suggested Kate stay at the hotel last night. I fucking missed her. Even FaceTiming her while she soaked in the tub in our bridal suite, where we both enjoyed a little self-care together, didn’t help. Kate has become my home, and I can’t handle even one night apart from her.

I hear Alex scoff, and I turn to him. The dude looks absolutely miserable. “What’s going on, man?”

He hesitates before saying, “I thought we’d be single bros forever, Dom. Thought we were on the same page, and we’d be raising our kids, swearing off women. What the fuck, man? Why you gotta do me like this? I mean, I’m happy for you, really, I am. But damn. Now Mom’s never gonna leave me alone about moving on.”

I stare at him incredulously. “You’re upset because I fell in love with my wife?”

“Well, no. Maybe. Yes, a little,” he admits, making me chuckle. “I’m happy for you. I think. But it just reminds me of the shitshow my life is.”

“I thought you didn’t want to have another relationship,” I comment, watching Alex’s face screw up in disgust as he runs his fingers through his hair.

“No, it’s not about that. Sometimes I just fucking hate how life turned out for me.”

“Things going okay with you getting set up at the police department?” I ask.

Alex sighs. “Yeah. It’s just … not what I wanted. I don’t know. It’s a lot of sitting behind a desk right now, so hopefully I’ll feel better once I’m on patrol.”

“I’m sure you will, man. And if you don’t like it, we’ll figure it out. You’ll find your niche,” I tell him confidently. Honestly I always saw him doing something similar to our cousin Matt. While Matt has worked as a police officer, then a School Resource Officer for the elementary school in Mountain Springs, where he worked with his now-wife Victoria, his real passion has always been woodworking. He’s been slowly putting more time into building a career out of it. Alex has always loved working with his hands, and I could see him doing something like custom cabinetry, or anything in construction.

“You guys ready?” Luca asks as he knocks twice on the door. My youngest brother used to be somewhat standoffish and surly. But now, thanks to Hannah, he has a permanent grin on his face. I used to find that ridiculous, but now I completely understand it. I can only hope that some woman comes along and knocks Alex right off his feet. If anyone deserves to find his partner, it’s him.

“Yep. Let’s get this party started,” I say, slapping Luca on the back as I cheerfully stride past him.

“He really is a different guy when he’s getting laid regularly and actually likes his wife,” Alex mutters, and Luca snorts in agreement.

“I heard that,” I call back.

As we reach the main space where the ceremony will be held, the string quartet immediately changes the song. I look up the aisle at my grandmother, proudly standing behind a music stand, organizing what appears to be at least a dozen loose pieces of paper.

“Honestly can’t believe you approved Nonna running this,” Luca says quietly. “She’s bound to say something completely fucked up.”

“Kate wanted her to be the officiant. She actually suggested a hybrid officiant and flower girl situation, but Nonna then asked if she could be carried in by four shirtless men, like a queen, and we shot that down. She settled for having free rein during her speech.”

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