Page 137 of By Invitation Only

I was slowly moving my stuff out, and Taylor was slowly moving her belongings in, but it didn’t stop us from having weekly dinners together. Carrie was still my best mate. Now that Peyton and I could go out in public, it was an entirely different ball game. Being able to walk out in the daylight with my fiancée was bloody brilliant. We also saw a lot more of Sam as we came and went. Even though things had started off rocky with that wanker, I think he was finally starting to realize I wasn’t going anywhere. It didn’t stop him from banging on our wall a few nights a week, but Peyton and I found ways to tune him out. Like using her dining room table with cuffs or taking a shower together that lasted a really long time. Or we just left, took a walk, didnormalthings.

“That’s going to be so beautiful,” Peyton exclaimed.

I wondered if she wanted to get married at the beach too. I had an idea of where I wanted to get married that I needed to ask her about.

“At sunset,” Carrie clarified.

“I cannotwait. You both are going to look stunning,” Peyton stated.

“You will too on your big day,” Taylor said.

Peyton looked over at me.

“You’ll be the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen,” I told her.

“Hey,” Carrie protested.

My eyes cut to her. “Sorry,wife, but it’s true.”

“We’re all going to be beautiful brides,” Peyton countered.

This was true, but I only cared about the one who had my heart in the palm of her hand.

I was legally a single man. My divorce with Carrie was finalized and filed with the Beverly Hills Superior Court. The easiest divorce I’d ever done. We filed the petition, the response, and all other documents needed. When we met with the judge for our first hearing, I explained we’d come up with a settlement agreement. I was probably the easiest propria persona (pro per or pro se) case Judge Brown had ever presided over.

Unlike normal divorces, Carrie and I went to celebrate with our friends. It was more or less a divorce party, but both of us were there.

And today my ex-wife was marrying her girlfriend.

I never thought it would happen. Granted, I didn’t think a lot of stuff that was happening was ever going to happen. But since I’d first met Carrie, I knew she wanted the dream wedding. It’s a shame that society and the law still frown upon same-sex couples getting married in some states and countries. When would love be enough?

That was what I admired about Carrie. She wasn’t just my best mate who liked pussy as much as me. She was an attorney fighting for the rights of her fellow peers facing the same hardships as she. I was positive that one day no one would bat an eye at two women or two men getting married.

“I’m going to go find my seat,” Peyton said behind me.

I turned from the floor length mirror in our hotel room. “Let me escort you.”

“You have someone else to escort.” She smiled.

“I do, but they won’t start without me,” I teased. “By the way, baby, you’re beautiful tonight.”

She smiled, and a blush flushed her cheeks. The same color as her pink, strapless dress. Her hair was up in some sort of twist. A twist I couldn’t wait to take apart and watch her hair cascade around her shoulders as I made love to her. We were in a hotel, at a wedding—a wedding where I was giving away my ex-wife—and getting laid was what happened at weddings. It was tradition.

We walked out of the white beachfront hotel and down to where the sand met a walkway. Peyton slipped off her silver, strappy heels and handed them to the attendant collecting shoes. She turned to me. “You’re not taking yours off?”

“I’ll empty them after I walk Carrie down the aisle.”

“You know she’ll be barefoot, right?”

“It’s her day, baby. I’m just here to give her away.”

Peyton gave me a warm smile. “For what it’s worth, I think it’s special that you are since her father is no longer with us.”

I stuck out my elbow for Peyton to slip her arm in and we began walking toward the white, cushioned, bench-style seats. “I told her years ago that I would. No matter what happened between us, I wasn’t going to miss this day.”

She leaned her head on the side of my shoulder was we walked, not saying a word. The sweet gesture was all I needed. This was a big deal. One I would cherish for the rest of my life.

We made it to the four post, wood arbour that had various white flowers wrapped around the legs. The benches for guests were in a circle instead of the traditional bride’s side and groom’s side. Carrie had wanted everyone to have the best view of her getting hitched, and I have to say it was a brilliant idea.