Page 129 of Seven of Hearts

It was crazy how quickly he had grown in eleven months. In a few weeks, we’d celebrate his birthday in style: by letting him wallow in cake. Leah already had party decorations stashed away in the house, but we needed to get through the wedding first.

Liam screamed for a second, letting his displeasure be known before finally settling down.

I walked over to the table that had been set up with sandwiches, fruit, and vegetable trays for lunch while my groomsmen and I got ready, and grabbed a blueberry.

Liam’s eyes went wide as he spotted his favorite food as of late.

“Can you say ‘Dada?’” I asked as I held the blueberry in front of him.

“Mama,” Liam said as he reached for the blueberry with grabby hands.

“Try again,” I said, attempting to bribe him into saying it. “Dada.”

“Mama,” he said as a frown started to form again.

I relented and handed over the blueberry before he shattered the window panes. “Yeah, yeah. Everything is ‘mama.’”

Liam munched on the blueberry with his brand new tooth, then immediately plunked his head on my shoulder and closed his eyes.

“Yeah, it’s hard work yelling at people,” I mumbled in a cheery voice as I found a chair and settled into it.

I had no idea where we were in the day’s order of events, but no one was telling me I had somewhere to be. I closed my eyes as Liam rested against my chest, and felt the stress and anxiety start to fade.

That’s what this was about.

It wasn’t about my sister’s dream of marital grandeur and creating the perfect day for us.

It was about Leah and me choosing us first. It was about our family finally being one. It was about giving our son the promise that Leah and I were all in.

Liam babbled away, telling everyone his incoherent baby thoughts.

Still no ‘dada,’ though.

Time moved at a snail’s pace as it grew closer and closer to the ceremony.

Leah had insisted that the first time I saw her in her wedding dress had to be when she walked down the aisle.

I thought it was a little ridiculous, considering we lived together and had a child. But if it made her happy, I was game.

Kylie was Leah’s matron of honor. Even though she had planned the whole day, Hannah Jane was directing the chaos.

Leah and I had asked Steve Pelham to be our officiant since he had gotten ordained to perform the ceremony when my sister and Will got married. It seemed fitting.

The crowd was small—only immediate family and close friends—but I was still nervous as hell.

“Whatever you do, don’t lock your knees,” Hannah Jane said as I waited for the procession to begin.

“I don’t know why I’m nervous,” I said under my breath as I bounced from foot to foot to make sure my knees were loose.

Leah’s mom was the first to go down the aisle, kicking off the pomp and circumstance of the day by carrying Liam and a cup of Cheerios.

Since Kristin and Will were in our wedding party, that was the extent of the parents. I hadn’t heard from my folks since the Christmas before Liam was born, and we were better for it.

Sometimes redemption and resolution were options. Sometimes repudiating a relationship was the healthiest choice.

Hannah Jane tapped me on the shoulder and I headed down the aisle and took my place beside Steve.

“Got your vows?” he asked quietly as the bridesmaids and groomsmen came down the aisle.

---