Page 46 of An American in London

There are a thousand people in the hotel suite, and I have no clue what at least half of them are doing.

How did this wedding get so complicated?

I just needed a dress and a ring. Maybe some flowers.

Things have gotten a little out of hand.

None of it is my doing. Ben and I met with the wedding planner, and every time she suggested something, Ben said yes to it. And she suggested a lot of things.

Even though I’d have been happy to go a different, much simpler route, I kind of like that Ben’s so completely into it.

Strike that. I love that he’s so completely into it.

If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have gone along with our ever-expanding plans, and Ben wouldn’t have wanted me to.

Who’d have thought my haughty Brit would turn to mush so easily?

I smile at myself in the mirror, and Meera, the makeup artist, pauses in a silent admonishment. I drop my smile.

“Nearly done,” she says.

“Then it’s my turn,” Melanie says. “And I’m going to take until three days after the wedding is over because of this.

” Yet again, she points to a zit on her forehead.

“Do you have prosthetics? Like, could you put a layer of rubber over it to cover it up? Or maybe we should lean into it and make a feature of it?”

Meera laughs as my phone goes off.

It’s Ben.

Meera and Melanie continue to talk about her zit, and I send up a silent prayer that she doesn’t end up convincing Meera to cover it up with a picture of Captain America or something. I’m not concerned with a fancy wedding, but I’d really like a good picture of me, Melanie, and Ben.

“Are we allowed to speak?” I ask as I pick up the call.

“We’re allowed to do whatever we want. It’s our wedding.” Ben is steadfast in his independence and equally committed to me having my independence. That doesn’t mean he won’t stand in front of a bus for me; I know he would. And I for him. I love him wildly. I love him fiercely.

I’ll love him forever.

Life feels so different from what it was before Ben. It feels like the sun shines a little brighter because I have my biggest champion right next to me. The past hasn’t been buried, but has been left in the past.

The door to the suite swings open, and my dad appears, followed by three people carrying flowers.

Dad’s already got his boutonniere. But there’s my bouquet, plus Melanie’s and Elizabeth’s.

Nick’s wife has become one of my closest friends.

She’s really good at translating American to British and vice versa—a much-needed skill I’m happy to take advantage of.

Thanks to her, I don’t use the term “fanny pack” anymore.

“How is everything going down there?” I ask Ben.

“All that’s missing is you.”

My heart inches higher in my chest. “I miss you.”

“Same.”

“After today you get to have me forever, so there’s that.”

I can hear his smile at the end of the line.

I get these calls every day. He doesn’t call to say anything in particular, just to hear my voice.

Just to connect. These little moments have become the best parts of my day.

The way he can’t go more than a few hours before checking in is one of my favorite things about him. That and his nice ass.

“The duke gave me some written directions to our honeymoon destination.”

“Google Maps doesn’t work?” I ask.

“Apparently not. The route is through private land.”

Scotland might not be the first choice of honeymoon for a lot of married couples, but when the duke and duchess offered their place there for our use, Ben and I were thrilled.

I can’t think of anything better than being in the middle of nowhere with Ben, wrapped up in a tartan blanket in front of a roaring fire, which is what I’m told we’ll have to do to keep warm in August in Scotland.

“And the duchess sends her love,” he adds.

If it hadn’t been for the duke and duchess, Ben and I wouldn’t be about to get married.

We’ve got a lot to thank them for. The duchess thinks our love story should be turned into a movie.

I’m not sure the silver screen could capture how magical it is, being with Ben.

And who would play him? Anyone, including Daniel de Luca, would seem like a poor second next to my soon-to-be husband.

“I can’t wait to see everyone as I walk down the aisle,” I reply. “I’m excited.”

“Before you do, I’m going to get some photographs with Dad. And Mum.”

“Maybe do one at the Churchill desk.”

“Yeah,” he says. “I think that would be ...”

“The full-circle moment you’ve been working your entire life for?”

He chuckles and I can picture his dimple coming to life. “Something like that.”

Ben’s father is on a new drug trial for his early-onset dementia.

Ben found the best doctors in the world, and for now, his father’s symptoms have stabilized.

It means that Ben got to experience telling his dad he’d bought The Fairfield Hotel.

He got to bring his parents back, not as employees, but as VIPs.

Ben never said anything, but I knew it felt good to him, like he’d waited a lifetime to do it.

Suggesting we hold the wedding at The Fairfield was like giving voice to a foregone conclusion.

I imagine the staff were slightly less enthusiastic about hosting the wedding of their new boss.

The hotel is beautiful and the perfect location for the start of our lives together.

Along with Ginny, I invited some of my friends from New York.

Obviously, Melanie’s here. Ginger and Callie as well.

But the others couldn’t make it, and I don’t think we’ll stay in touch.

There’s no animosity, just the gentle dissolution of relationships that stopped being meaningful.

My mom used to say people are in our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

I didn’t know it at the time, but a lot of my New York friends have turned out to be seasonal.

Jed was definitely in my life for a reason, and although it wasn’t nice being cheated on, splitting up was definitely the right thing for us both.

And not just because I met the love of my life just after.

Ben, on the other hand, will be in my life for the entirety of it. My best friend, my lover, my husband.

“You’re done,” Meera says. “Are you happy?” She nods toward the mirror.

“Couldn’t be happier,” I reply and slip off the chair. It’s true, but it’s got nothing to do with what I look like.

My eyes snag on Dad, who’s sitting in the corner, reading a newspaper amid the chaos. I can’t explain why, but I want a few moments with him before I’m married. “I gotta go,” I tell Ben. We swap I love you s, then I hang up and head over to Dad. He stands.

“You look beautiful,” he says, and his eyes go glassy.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“It makes me so happy that you’re ... happy. Not just happy, but with someone like Ben,” he says. “He’s a good man. I always worried with ... the other one.” Dad won’t say Jed’s name since he heard about Fifi. “I worried it was too much of a compromise. I blame myself for that.”

“Blame yourself? Why would my boyfriend be your fault?”

He pulls in a breath and puts his hands in his pockets. “After your mother died, I was ... a wreck.”

I close my eyes at the memories of him in those early days after Mom died.

“And you did everything not to make yourself a burden,” he continues. “To keep me happy. I knew it at the time, but I had no energy to stop you. I wasn’t the parent you deserved during those times.”

I slip my hand through his arm. “Don’t say that. You did the best you could.”

“It wasn’t good enough. You deserved more and I’m sorry.”

“I love you so much.” What else can I say? I don’t blame him for those days. Not at all. But the reason I stayed with Jed so long was probably because I was good at not being a burden. I was good at keeping someone happy at the expense of what I needed.

“Ben’s a good man,” he says again.

“The best,” I agree.

“I have something for you.” He reaches into his breast pocket. “It’s nothing fancy, but I thought you might like it today.” He pulls out a small leather jewelry box that I recognize from my mother’s dressing table.

I glance up at him, searching his face for an explanation, but he’s focused on the box.

Inside are a pair of diamond earrings. I never saw my mom wear anything like this. We never had enough money for something so extravagant.

“They don’t quite match,” Dad says. “You can see that this one has a slightly different setting, just to keep it more secure.”

He glances up at me as if to check that I’m following.

“They’re beautiful,” I say. They look exactly the same at first glance, but the one on the left has an extra claw.

“The right one is new,” he says. “The left one is ... the stone from your mother’s engagement ring.” His voice falters on the last word. I tip my head back and blink to stop the tears from falling.

“Dad ...” I say, almost lost for words. “I love them.”

“I wanted you to have something that was hers and something that came from me as well. This seemed like a good idea.”

“It’s the perfect idea.” It’s so sentimental and beautiful and completely perfect. I get to have something of both my parents with me as I walk down the aisle.

“I guess it fits the criteria for something old and something new. But don’t feel you have to wear them today.”

“Of course I’m going to wear them today.

” My eyes start to well up again at the thought of my mom.

She would have loved Ben and our love story and having a daughter whose husband looks just like Daniel De Luca.

Except better, in my very humble opinion.

I’ve missed her more than ever, planning this wedding, choosing my dress, and picking the invitations.

She would have taken so much joy from the entire process.

The only thing that makes it okay is that I know she would have been so happy for me.

I know she would have loved Ben and how he loves me.

“She loved you so much,” Dad says.

I try to swallow down the lump in my throat. “I know. And I’m so lucky that I got her for as long as I did.”

Dad nods and pulls a tissue from his pocket. He hands it to me, then takes another for himself. He’s come prepared. “Absolutely. We were both lucky.”

“Are you sure you won’t move to the UK?” I dab the corners of my eyes.

Dad pats my hand. “I’ll be a frequent visitor. I have no desire to leave a house that’s seen so much joy. And I look forward to my grandchildren spending summers with me, adding to the memories.”

I nod, thinking back to my summers in Madison County. “They were the happiest times.”

Dad pulls in a breath. “There are plenty of happy times to come.”

I know he’s right.

Before I can respond, Lila, the wedding planner, bursts into the room. “Where are we up to? Are we fifteen minutes away from being ready? The groom is getting restless, and I’m not sure how long he’s going to last without coming up here and ruining everything.”

I laugh. “He can come up if he wants, but I think we’re ready, aren’t we?” I glance around. Melanie’s still in the makeup chair, but at least she’s smiling.

“Zit-gate is under control,” Melanie calls. “We’re good to go.”

Everyone in the wedding party files out. Lila hands me my bouquet as we exit the suite and head downstairs.

I see Ben’s broad back through the crack in the door to the ballroom and smile when his shoulders lower at the opening strains of the processional music.

My soon-to-be husband isn’t a patient man.

That’s why I know I’m so important to him—he waited for me far longer than he wanted to.

Nick looks toward the doors, straining to see what’s going on.

Ben is probably threatening to march up the aisle himself and drag me to the altar to speed things up.

The doors open, Ben turns, and our gazes lock. I know I should take in the faces of those seated either side of me, who have all gathered here to see Ben and me get married, including the duke and duchess. But all I see is Ben.

The man I mistook for someone else when we met.

The man I pretended to be engaged to.

The man I thought was a vacation romance.

“You look beautiful,” he says, voice hushed, as I stand before him.

I smile, never taking my eyes from him. “Did I ever tell you that you look like a famous movie star?” I ask him.

I hadn’t believed in happily-ever-afters for a long time, until I met Ben. Now we’re in ours every day. We’re living the scenes the credits usually roll over. And it’s the best part of our entire story.