Page 36 of Harrison's Wedding

She relaxes into me as we dance and turns her face up to look at me. Her love for me is displayed on her face, and I can feel mine for her in every cell of my body. So many years of loving her, and she’s still everything I could ever want in a woman.

Despite everything that’s been going on in our friendship group, my love for Heather is the one thing I will always be certain of. If everything does go to hell, I will have her, and at the core of everything, that is what matters.

She looks chagrined for a moment and says, “I’m sorry, Harrison.”

“For what, angel?

I give her an encouraging smile because, despite any of my frustrations, I love her with all of my heart and soul. As much as I wish tonight had been smoother, nothing will ever change that.

She says, “For everything.”

My love for her overwhelms me, and I accept her apology by leaning down to kiss her. A few of our guests cheer when I do, and it reminds me that we have an audience. Our song ends, and I take Heather’s hand in mine as we make our way back to our table.

“It’s time for speeches!” the DJ announces as we take our seats.

Heather’s mom gives the first speech, talking about how much Heather’s dad would’ve loved to be here tonight to celebrate and that he considered me as much of a son as Jake is. I feel a wave of guilt wash over me that I didn’t propose to Heather sooner. I think that will always be one of my biggest regrets in life.

My dad gives the next speech, and it has similar themes. He tells Heather that he’s considered her his daughter for years, but he’s happy to have it made official. Jake gives the speech after that, talking about how proud he is of Heather and everything she’s doing with her fashion line. He also thanks me for supporting her, as though supporting the woman I love to chase her dreams is some kind of feat. When he’s finished, he passes the mic over to Hayden.

“Harrison and Heather, you are two of my favorite people in the world. Getting to watch you two fall in love and grow together as a couple has been a true honor. You have the kind of once-in-a-lifetime love that people write songs about, in fact, we actually did…” he pauses until the laughter ringing around the room dies down, and then goes on to say, “…but at the end of the day, I know that you two will be incredibly happy together. Congratulations!”

The room breaks into applause as Hayden finishes his speech and passes the microphone to Sebastian, who stands up to give his toast.

“Heather, when the wedding day arrives, I’ll be up there and already wearing a suit, so if you change your mind, I can easily step right in.”

I burst into laughter with Heather when he says this. Jake frowns at Sebastian, which makes me laugh harder, and our guests join in as well. They seemed to be waiting to see our reaction before responding to this kind of comment.

“But, seriously, as Hayden said, you two are pretty damn great together. I know I joke a lot, but everyone can see how Harrison lights up as soon as Heather comes into a room and vice versa. It’s kind of gross, but if Harrison’s happy sleeping with one person for the rest of his life, I guess he’s just leaving more women for me!”

He looks around the room before his eyes land on the table Heather’s cousin is sitting at.

“What’s up, Nikki?” He says in a tone I’ve heard him use on women a thousand times before as he raises his eyebrows at her suggestively. Poor Nikki blushes furiously at the attention he’s giving her, and I’m assuming it’s because the other guests are looking at her too. Sebastian laughs and raises his glass in the air. “to Freedom!”

The party guests seem unsure how to respond to Sebastian’s speech, and there’s some confused clapping as he hands the microphone over to Gabriel.

I tense up for a second, but relax as he begins speaking. I trust Gabriel, and I know he wouldn’t air our dirty laundry in a speech at our engagement party.

“Harrison. Heather. I’ve known you since we were teenagers. We always knew you two would get together. Heather, you have no idea how much shit we gave him for how madly in love with you he was before you hooked up! At the end of the day, it’s obvious to the world that you two are meant to be together, and we’re all so happy that you’re finally getting married.” He raises his glass in the air. “Congratulations, guys. To Harrison and Heather!”

Our guests don’t hesitate with their response to this speech. Everyone lifts their glasses and toasts us before taking a drink. Gabriel grins at us, and I smile back at both him and Ariana, who is also beaming in our direction.

Gabriel gives me the mic, and I hold it out to Heather. “Do you want a turn, angel?”

“Sure, why not.”

She takes the mic from me and stands up, looking around the room with a smile on her face before she begins to speak.

“I want to thank everyone for coming tonight to celebrate with us. We really appreciate it. Harrison Fletcher”—she looks down at me—“you are my everything. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Our lives are pretty crazy, sometimes, but whatever comes our way, I always know that I can handle it because I have you by my side. When I’ve been too weak to stand, you’ve held me up, and I can’t thank you enough for that. I love you, honey.”

I stand up and pull her into my arms before kissing her passionately, causing our guests to cheer again. I take the mic from her as she sits down, and I look around the room while I think about what to say.

I have everyone’s avid attention, and I’m overcome with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. For everything that I have in my life. A fiancée who is loving and beautiful. A successful career. Family and friends who are here tonight to celebrate the best thing in my life.

“Like Heather, I want to thank everyone who came tonight. It’s been a great night, and part of that has been having you all here with us. Heather,”—I look down at her, the same way she did to me. There are no words that can accurately describe how much I love her, but I try to find some that will get me close—“you are the brightest star in the sky. You bring light to my world, and I consider myself so grateful to have you in it. I look forward to every day of our future together. I know that there will be ups and downs, challenges to overcome, but I also know that we will be facing them together, which is all that matters to me.”

The DJ takes the mic off me, and I sit down before wrapping my arms around Heather and pulling her into me for a hug. Everything is aglow, and next year, I’m marrying the woman I love. Nothing is wrong with the world when Heather is in my arms.

The evening comes to a close, and eventually, we bid our guests farewell and head out to our waiting limousine. There are flashes from cameras that belong to the paparazzi who have waited to get photos of us and our guests leaving the party.

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