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SIX MONTHS LATER-LAS VEGAS

TRINA

I can’t take my eyes off Ben as he prepares to say his vows. He looks hot as sin in his navy blue suit, and I cannot wait to get him out of it later. Hey, I can’t help it. These pregnancy hormones have me so horny I’m constantly trying to get Ben naked. Not that it takes much convincing. We’re only ten weeks into the pregnancy and we plan on telling our friends and family today. I trust we’ll know when the moment is right.

Ben focuses his smoky blue-gray eyes on me as he speaks.

“Trina, I’ve been in love with you for so long, it’s hard to remember a time I wasn’t. You’re the strongest, most beautiful woman—inside and out—that I’ve ever met, and I’m constantly in awe of you. I promise to love you with all of my heart, to cherish you—never taking for granted how amazing you are—and to honor our marriage, you, and our family with everything I do, with everything I am. My goal every day, for the rest of my life, will be to make your dreams come true, no matter how big or small.”

My eyes blur with tears at Ben’s words and I squeeze his hand tight as I prepare to say my vows.

“Ben, I know I resisted giving you a chance when we were younger because I think deep in my soul, I recognized you as my perfect other half and I knew that if I fell for you, there was no going back. I was right, because when I gave in, it was no time before I was wildly in love with you. It was exhilarating, but, as a young woman, it was also frightening how much I loved you. So, when we were apart, I tried really hard not to love you, to hate you even. But I never could, because you have always been the part of me that was missing, and my soul was never willing to let go of the string that tethered us together. You’re the most honorable man I know, and you make me feel safe and protected in a world I can’t always control. Thank you for not giving up on me, for freeing the parts of my heart that only your love could. I promise that, even though I know there will be moments you annoy the heck out of me,”—I let the chuckles from our friends and family die down—“I will never stop loving you with everything I have. I promise I will never stop seeing the amazing man you are and reminding you of it when you forget. I will honor you as we walk through this life together, never failing to appreciate the husband, friend, and, eventually, the father you’ll be to our babies.”

At this, Ben continues to hold one of my hands but takes his other and places it on my belly and, as our friends and family realize what I just said. Ben and I grin at each other to a cacophony of excited commotion from our loved ones.

“Really?” Rose, who is also our officiant today, thanks to the miracle of the internet and online ordination, asks.

We turn to her in unison and Ben nods. “Yep, we’re having twins. Coming in September.” Tears stream down her face and she smiles.

Once the crowd calms down, Rose finishes the ceremony.

We say I do and, with our friends and family cheering in the background, Ben and I share our first kiss as an on-purpose husband and wife. When we break apart, Ben turns to the group gathered—Fitz and Emily, Shayna and Finn, Annie and Jack, my friend and mentor Jordan and Reynolds, Ben’s other two sisters—Shyley and Shannon and their husbands, and my father-in-law.

“Trina and I love each of you and thank you for sharing our day. We want you to enjoy a cocktail hour in the reception area while we go take care of something,”—he turns to smirk at me—“and take a few photos. Then we’ll join you for dinner and dancing.”

Afterward, our friends and family surround us, flooding us with hugs, and I find that I actually don’t mind. As everyone makes their way to the reception area, Ben’s parents join us outside and we climb into two separate carriages. As the driver starts us on our journey, Ben turns to me and quietly says, “Have I told you how stunning you look today?”

I roll my eyes at him playfully. “Only like thirty times.”

Ben kisses my temple, then moves to my mouth, and we make out for the entire carriage ride. I don’t even realize we’ve stopped until our driver clears his throat.

“Oops, sorry,” Ben says to him as he pulls back from the kiss. Ben steps out of the carriage and then helps me down. Rose takes a photo of us in front of the brick building we’ve stopped at. Then we all enter the building, head to the second floor, and go to the reception desk.

When the woman sitting at the desk looks up, Ben politely says, “We’re here to see Sue.” The poor woman furrows her brow.

“I can help you.”

“Thank you but, no, it has to be Sue.”

“Okay.” She eyes our attire, then peeks behind her to make sure no one is listening. “But don’t let her ruin your day if she’s not… overly pleasant.”

Ben grins at her and thanks her for the warning. A few minutes later, a stout woman with what I suspect is a permanent scowl takes her time strolling across the reception area to meet us.

“I’m Sue.” It’s all she says, and she’s quite gruff.

“Hi Sue. I’m Ben Donley and this is my wife, Trina Flynn Donley. We got married, sort of accidentally, here last March and my wife was in a bit of panic then. She talked with you several times because it took a long time to be sure the officiant had turned in the marriage license and that we were, in fact, legally married. Turns out we were. But we’re back, and today we married?—”

“On purpose,” I add, leaning into Ben’s side.

“On purpose,” Ben smiles down at me before returning his attention to Sue. “And we’re here with our officiant,”—he gestures to Rose—“to drop off our marriage license so there’s no question this time.”

Sue crosses her arms over her chest and scowls. “You can’t get married twice.” Sarcasm drips from her voice.

I open my mouth to speak, but Ben beats me to it. “Well, ma’am, we can, and we did. So, here’s our official marriage license.”

“I’m not taking it. You can’t get married twice. It’s not my fault you didn’t do it right the first time.”

I tense.

Before either of us can respond, Rose steps up in front of Sue. “Hold it right there. First, don’t ever speak to my son and my new daughter that way. The way they did this was perfect for them from the start. Second, you will take this marriage license, and you will file it because it’s important to them. And if you have a problem with that?—”

“Sue, take the license and file it.” A deep male voice booms from behind Sue. I look over to see an older man standing in the doorway Sue originally came out of. “Then meet me in my office so we can talk about how we treat guests to our city.”

I can’t help but grin as I return my attention back to Rose and Sue, standing toe to toe. Rose gives her a saccharine sweet smile and hands over the license.

After Sue and her boss disappear behind the door, the receptionist returns to her desk and smiles at us.“Would you like me to take some photos of the four of you?”

Five minutes and about ten photos later, we’re back in our carriages and heading to our reception. When we pull up to the venue for our wedding and celebration dinner, Ben’s parents go in ahead of us. Ben helps me out of the carriage and pulls me to him, wrapping me in his arms in the middle of the busy sidewalk.

“Thank you for marrying me, beautiful,” he whispers near my ear. It sends shivers through my body. “And for trusting me enough to let me love you for the rest of our lives, babe. My heart is yours. It’s always only been you I wanted. Only you and me. And now our family.” He lowers both hands to cradle my low belly, where our babies are growing.

I pull back and reach up to kiss him. “Just remember how much you love me if either of these little ones takes after me and you’ve got a mini-me to contend with as well.” I wink at him.

“I should be so lucky.”

And with that, he takes my hand, and we head into our reception to celebrate our on-purpose marriage with those we love most.

* * *

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