Wedding Day

Tuli

“Jayce, do you take Tuli to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do,” Jayce says, his smile melting my heart as he slips my wedding ring onto my finger. He reaches up, brushing away my tears.

The priest turns to me next.

“Tuli, do you take Jayce to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do,” I whisper through my tears of joy, sliding Jayce’s wedding band onto his finger.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the priest announces with a proud smile. “You may kiss the bride.”

Everyone erupts into cheers as Jayce cups my face in his hands and kisses me deeply. I wrap my hands in his hair, kissing him back, my heart pounding in my chest.

We pull away after a moment and walk down the aisle, my arm looped through his. I can’t help but look up at Jayce, who’s practically glowing with happiness.

The guests move into the reception area while we take photos with the groomsmen and bridesmaids.

My favorite photo is the one where Jayce and I are making silly faces at the camera.

After the photos, we follow the bridesmaids and groomsmen into the reception area.

The crowd erupts into cheers as we step through the doors. “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” starts playing—our song. Tears well up in my eyes as Jayce gently takes my hand and leads me onto the dance floor.

He pulls me into his arms and we sway back and forth.

“Why are you crying?”

“I’m just so happy,” I giggle through my tears.

He kisses both my cheeks. “I think we’re at that stage of the pregnancy where you get emotional over everything,” he teases.

I playfully slap his arm, and he holds me tighter.

“I love you, tulip,” he whispers in my ear. “I’ll always love you.”

“Don’t forget about the baby,” I chide.

“Of course I love the baby, too,” he coos, placing a hand on my stomach. “When’s he going to kick?”

I stick my tongue out at him. “She’s a she. And she won’t kick for another ten weeks.”

“Oh, she’s definitely a he,” he argues, and I can’t help but laugh.

“I love you, too, Jayce,” I say. He captures my lips with his.

***

Once the song ends, we sit down at the table to eat. The food is amazing, though it looks like it was a challenge to prepare. Not to mention expensive.

I give Jayce a look as I bite into my truffle risotto. He gives me a sheepish smile. If it were up to me, I would’ve opted for dollar menu items from McDonald’s.

But I let it go.

Next, it’s time for toasts. Megan, my maid of honor, is practically sobbing the entire time. She even manages to make me cry.

“Jayce,” she tells him, “Take good care of Tuli and the baby. Because I will kick your ass if I come to London and my bestie isn’t dripping in gold!”

I can’t help but laugh as Jayce scratches the back of his head sheepishly. When she’s done, it’s Daniel’s turn to speak.

To my surprise, Jayce picked him as his best man.

Daniel stands up and raises his glass, and I want to strangle him when he starts speaking.

“Jayce, I’m not gonna lie,” he says, looking at my husband. “I still want to kick your ass.”

Jayce nods, biting his lip to hold back his laughter. I glare at him as Daniel continues. “But I’ve seen the way you look at my little sister. You clearly love and adore Tuli, and I have no doubt that you’ve fallen head over heels for her. Congratulations on the baby. I hope to use your marriage as a model for how to treat my future wife,” Daniel says, his gaze meeting Megan’s.

She blushes as everyone claps. Daniel plants a big kiss on her lips as he sits down and I can’t help but smile.

Then it’s time to cut the cake. Jayce and I approach the cake and he picks up the knife to cut a small piece.

Instead of feeding it to me like a normal person, he picks up a piece with his fingers and smears it on my lips, getting it all over my face.

I gasp before picking up the rest of the piece and shoving it in his face. We share a laugh and a sweet, messy kiss while everyone around us chuckles and applauds.

After I return from the bathroom to clean up my face and let my hair down—my neck was actually hurting from having all my hair piled on top of my head—I find a chair in the middle of the room and Jayce holding his hand out to me, a knowing smirk on his face.

“No, I haven’t thrown the bouquet yet! Ladies first!”

“Too late,” he says smugly and pulls me to him.

I continue to protest as he sits me down in the chair, but I go silent as he hooks my dress up above my knees. The men cheer and I blush.

Jayce leans down and bites the delicate lace, his eyes locked on mine. Slowly, he works it down my leg, occasionally stopping to place kisses on my skin.

I shiver as his teeth gently graze me. After what feels like an eternity, the garter is hanging from my ankle.

Jayce gently lifts my foot and removes the garter, then stands up and holds it up in the air triumphantly. A chorus of shouts and whistles fills the room.

I roll my eyes, but can’t hold back a giggle as he tosses the garter into the air.

Armand caught it, standing tall and proud, and tucked it into his pocket. I couldn’t help but be surprised.

I rose from my chair, and Megan passed me my bouquet. “You two are in for some kinky fun tonight,” she teased, winking at me.

I stuck my tongue out at her, and she burst into laughter. She then took her place among the other women. I couldn’t help but smile at their eager faces before I turned my back to them.

I counted to three out loud, then tossed the bouquet over my shoulder. I spun around just in time to see Nicolette catch it. I shot her a smile, and she blushed, her eyes meeting Armand’s.

The wedding was over. Everyone was gathering outside to see Jayce and me off. I hugged all my friends and family, starting with my dad, then a teary-eyed Kiara, a sobbing Megan, Daniel, Nicolette, and Armand.

I also embraced Jayce’s sister, whom I hadn’t seen in ages. “I’ll see you guys soon,” she promised, a smile lighting up her face.

“Okay,” I whispered.

Jayce then hugged everyone before he opened the passenger door for me. I gathered up my dress so I could sit comfortably. Jayce slid into the driver’s seat and started the car.

Everyone waved as we pulled away.

“Let’s get you home and into your PJs. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day,” Jayce said, taking my hand and brushing his lips over my knuckles.

“I’m surprised you can wait that long without sex,” I teased, giggling.

“Trust me, it’ll be worth it.”