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She did. Her silky soft hair had been pulled back to reveal her beautiful eyes. They were dark and liquid. I hoped it was with excitement, not fear. Who was I kidding? It was probably ninety-five percent fear. But I hung on to the five percent I thought was excitement.

She smiled. “Nice flowers. Are we both throwing bouquets?”

I shook myself and glanced down at my hands. I was double-fisting the flower arrangements. If they’d been beers, I’d have taken a sip from each for courage, but instead I thrust the large one out to her. “This one’s for you. You always smell so nice, I wanted something fragrant and beautiful like you.” I held up the spare bouquet in my other hand. “This one’s for your friend.”

Her smile widened. “You brought one for Lisa too? That’s so sweet.” She brought her flowers to her face, inhaling deeply before tracing a finger down the ribbon-wrapped stems. “You made these?”

I forced the acknowledgement out of a too-tight throat. Watching her reaction to the bouquet, the way the dewy white petals caressed her skin, and seeing her delicate fingertip caress the shaft had me shifting uncomfortably. I could watch those fingers and flowers for days. I tried to shake off my erotic train of thought as she responded to my grunt of assent.

“They look and smell amazing. Thank you.”

I soaked up her smile and approval. Basking in them released the knot in my stomach and brought blood flow back to my brain. A feminine throat cleared next to me.

“Is that for me?”

I glanced to my side. “Lisa? Hi, I’m Jimmy.” I held out the hand that didn’t have the bouquet and shook hers awkwardly before passing her the flowers.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jimmy. Thanks for the flowers.” She peered at them carefully before giving Melena an unsubtle nod and mouthing, “All clear.”

Melena’s lips twitched like she was fighting back a smile, and I hoped the joke wasn’t on me. It seemed more like a nod of approval from Lisa, but I didn’t understand their shorthand.

Lisa turned back to me, her expression innocent. “The flowers are lovely. I appreciate you putting safety first by assembling them yourself. You can’t be too careful. Shall we get started?” Lisa glanced over her shoulder. Chase, Tamra, and Andi had hung back, giving me some privacy to greet Melena. They were huddled near the arch of the pagoda, chatting quietly.

I nodded and turned back to Melena, offering her the crook of my arm as we walked up the path toward the others. I murmured, “What was that about?”

“Lisa’s protective, she was worried about someone slipping something into the flowers,” Melena acknowledged with a barely suppressed laugh.

My chuckle was cut off by the realization that Lisa’s caution might have been warranted if Andi got her hands on the flowers. Luckily, Andi didn’t know a carnation from a rose, and as much as she was suspicious of my new bride, she’d never do any real harm.

I took a deep breath. “I’m thankful you’re here today.”

She could have taken one look at Andi dressed in black and run. Or not shown up at all. It wasn’t every day you married for convenience and companionship, instead of love. Not exactly what every girl dreams of. Not what I had in mind either. In a more perfect world, I’d be marrying forever, not for now. Offering the one-year exit clause had been the right move at the moment, but the more time I spent with Melena, the more I didn’t think a year would be enough.

“Where else would I be?” she asked.

“Far, far away from my bratty sister. I’m sorry in advance for Andi,” I murmured quietly. More loudly, I introduced them as we drew near. “Melena, I’d like you to meet my sister, Andi. Andi, this is my fiancée Melena.”

The women exchanged greetings and shook hands. The death star didn’t implode. Neither did Andi’s head. She was perfectly polite. Nothing could have set me on edge more. My sister knew how to get to me.

“Melena, this is one of my oldest friends, Chase, and his girlfriend, Tamra.”

Chase held out his hand. “I’m pleased to meet you, Melena, I’ve heard a lot about you. Me and the Spaghetti Monster are excited to officiate today.”

Melena gave him an odd look, and I couldn’t blame her. Did she think he was referring to Tamra? Should I explain? That might make it worse. Sometimes there was no explaining Chase. Tamra nudged him gently in the side, and they exchanged a glance before she turned to Melena.

“Hi, I’m Tamra. It’s nice to meet you. Please ignore Chase. Sometimes his sense of humor is a little unusual.”

I would have disputed her statement in solidarity with Chase, but it was one hundred percent true. It was better to learn about him now, than for me to prolong the expectation of normal social boundaries and cues.

Chase clapped his hands together. “Let’s do this.” He put his hands on my shoulders, moving me into position. “You, stand over here.” He turned to Melena and gestured to her. “And if you please, over here.” She moved into her spot next to me, and he smiled at her beatifically. “Excellent.”

He looked to Tamra and Andi. “And my beautiful witnesses, if you will, over here.” He turned to Lisa, “You must be Lisa. If you don’t mind, here, next to Melena. There.” He nodded in satisfaction.

Chase snapped his fingers. What now? Chase pointed at Andi. “You have a phone, right? Can you take photos?”

She nodded before shooting me a glance. “I’d love to. For posterity.” Oofta. That had been one of her arguments against me marrying Melena. Posterity. Family. Continuity. She didn’t think I should marry someone I wasn’t head over heels for. She thought I should wait until I wanted children. Andi had seen her share of messy break ups at work, the steady wave of child support orders and direct deposit requests to new individual bank accounts had damaged her optimism. I rubbed my forehead. I didn’t want to rehash our argument. Instead, I turned back to Melena, focusing on her. She looked amazing in her dress. She glowed with good health, and it was hard to believe we were here due to a heart ailment. Some of it was makeup and other trappings, but she really did look good. And that dress. My gaze wandered and it took Chase clearing his throat to bring my attention back up to her face.What? I was allowed to look.She was almost my wife. And I was a very lucky man. Melena caught my gaze and smiled. I wasn’t fooling her at all, but she didn’t seem to mind. We were made for each other.

Chase cleared his throat again and began the simple ceremony. “Do you, Melena—Wait, I don’t know your last name. What’s your last name?”