Page 56 of One Night to Fall

“It is with great pleasure I present to you all for thefirst time, Mr. and Mrs. Kinney.”

There was applause, roaring around us in the backyard ofKinsey’s parents’ house. Cameras flashed, the guitar played, but all I saw, allI heard was her.

“He didn’t say it,” she said with a teasing smile.

“Uh, yes, he did. He said, ‘Mrs. Kinney.’ That’s you.Kinsey Kinney.”

Her eyes sparkled, pressing her hands to my face. “Oh myGod,” she said, smiling around a burst of tears. “Finally.”

I kissed my bride again, and it was truly in that momentwhen I realized, as Kinsey would say, we had closed the door on boyfriends andgirlfriends, on fiancés and fiancées, and walkedhand-in-handinto the eternal room of husbands and wives.

Until death do us part, and forever after.

And I was never letting go.