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It was quiet, which surprised me, considering there was a small group waiting for us just a few feet away.
When we came through the other end of the tree line, there stood all my cousins and their husbands and their kids. Reese’s cousins were there, as well, but considering they were a small group of four, the Thomas family was large. I didn’t know how they’d kept all the kids so quiet, but they had. Dylan was there, holding baby Hugh, with Wolf standing beside her.
“Oh my word. What are you all doing here?” my mother gasped, and everyone started hugging one another.
“We have no idea. Finny said we needed to be here, and we came.” Dylan shrugged. “Although, we didn’t know we wouldn’t be allowed in the house and that we’d be hidden out in the trees like criminals.”
Wolf barked out a laugh. “We’re on a beach, baby. We’re hardly being hidden like criminals.”
“I peed in the trees already. It feels a bit scandalous when you’re wearing a dress and carrying a newborn.” She raised a brow.
“Don’t act like it’s your first time peeing in public,” Everly said over her laughter as she hugged me. “Happy to be here for whatever this is, Finny.”
“We’re so happy you included us.” Ashlan kissed my cheek.
“Fine. We’re happy to be here,” Dylan said as she kissed my cheek, and Reese gushed over the baby.
“Listen, if it’s important to you, it’s important to us,” Vivi said, giving me a hug while holding her little girl in her arms. She was adorable and looked just like her mama.
Uncle Jack made his rounds, shaking everyone’s hands, and Cage gave up and tied Maxine to the tree before crossing his arms over his chest. “Can you tell us why we’re all down here now, please?”
Reese looked at me, and I reached for her hands, moving to stand in front of the group. I called out to Father Davis, and he came walking out from the other side of the pine trees, and everyone’s eyes widened when they saw him.
“We wanted you all to be here today because we’re getting married.” I put my hands up before anyone could say anything. “We wanted to do it last week, but it was important for us to have you here.”
“This is exactly what we want for our special day. Surrounded by the people we love, in our favorite place, at our favorite time of day,” Reese said, smiling up at me.
“Before sunset,” I said, winking at her. “So, thanks for being here. Let’s do this.”
There were some whistles, and everyone clapped their hands and watched as we stood in front of Father Davis.
He did a short intro and said that we would each be reading our vows to one another. He motioned for Reese to go first.
“Finnegan Charles ‘Chewy’ Reynolds, you were my fairy tale before I even knew it. You have been my best friend and my ride or die for my entire life. You were there when I was delivered the worst news of my life and learned I had cancer.” Her voice shook, and a tear streamed down her cheek. A lump formed in my throat, but I squeezed her hands and nodded. Because together, we could and would get through anything. “And somehow, you made that awful day my most memorable New Year’s Eve. You have celebrated my wins and picked me up during my losses. You have cheered me on through every up and down in my life. You have shown me what real love is and that I should chase every dream that I have. But I’ve come to learn that the only thing I really want to chase is the cute boy in the baseball cap who rides horses like he was born to and then goes off and becomes a big movie star. You are my dream come true, Finn Reynolds. I have loved you since my earliest memory, and I will love you for as long as I’m on this earth.”
There were sniffs and gasps, and Reese didn’t even try to stop the tears from falling.
“Damn, girl, you’re a hard act to follow,” I said as the group erupted in laughter.
“Go ahead, Finn,” Father Davis said.
“Well, we’ve done just about everything backward, and I’ve got to say, backward is the new forward.” I chuckled. “I cannot recall a single day in my life that you weren’t in my thoughts. Not a single day where I didn’t love you fiercely. We started this relationship by lying to everyone and pretending that we were a couple when we weren’t. But you see”—I glanced out at our families with a big smirk on my face—“that was mistake number one. Try fake dating someone you’re already in love with. That poor bastard, Carl, didn’t stand a chance.” I winced and made an apologetic face at Father Davis.
“Continue,” he said, over more laughter.
“You see, Reese and I loved one another before we even knew what it meant. My dad has always told the story about the first time that he saw Mama and all the hair on his arms stood on end, and he just knew she was the woman for him.”
“Damn straight!” my father shouted over more chuckles.
“Well, we’ve given him a hard time over the years, as we’ve all made fun of how hard and fast he fell. But it hit me when I was in Tokyo that I think I fell for Reese Murphy before I knew what it meant to fall. When we were meeting out in that treehouse before the sun went down every single day. Desperate to spend just a few more minutes with my favorite girl.” I leaned down and rested my forehead against hers. “I’d already given you my heart, so I spent many years being single because my soulmate and I needed time to figure out what this was between us. But the minute the opportunity came—fake dating didn’t make much sense, did it, Miney?”
She shook her head, and her bottom lip wobbled. “Nope.”
“Because my heart has always been yours. You are my best friend, my confidant, and the love of my life.”
She sniffed as tears streamed down her face. “You’re the love of my life.”
“Can I tell them the good news?” I whispered, and everyone laughed again because apparently, I was a loud whisperer.
