SIX MONTHS LATER
Becca
I sit at the table, Ben at my side, glowing with so much happiness I’m sure I could burst.
One hand rests on our perfect little bump and the other clasps onto Ben’s. He gives me a squeeze, looking over, dashing in his wedding suit, with his clean-shaven face and his intense eyes and silver hair.
“I love you so much,” I whisper for the millionth time today.
I still feel energized from the ceremony. Walking down the aisle, it wasn’t the guests or the music who made me feel beautiful.
It was Ben, his gaze fixated on me, his desire plain in every inch of him.
Now, the whole room turns to Alex as he taps a spoon against his champagne glass.
It meant so much to me and Ben that Alex wanted to be his best man and basically insisted on it.
“How many times do I have to tell you I love you two as a couple? Especially now that I’ve seen how great you are together.”
Alex smiles across the room, looking at Mom and Dad and June and everybody else, then finally he settles on us.
“People might look at Ben and Becca and think they’re an odd couple. Maybe it’s the age gap. Or maybe it’s the fact that Ben is my best friend. But what they wouldn’t know, couldn’t know, is how perfect they are for each other. You only could if you’ve known them like I have.
“It’s a cliché, maybe, to say somebody completes another person. But that’s exactly what I see here. Ben completes Becca, and Becca completes Ben.”
Tears well in my eyes, his words making me want to scream in pure happiness.
I can’t believe I ever hid in Ben’s gym, afraid of my big brother’s reaction.
“They make each other better in all the best ways. They support each other. And when they look at each other, it’s like the whole world stops. They’re so in love. Anybody could see that. I planned on telling some jokes when I got up here, but you know what, there’s nothing funny about this.
“This is joy, plain and simple, the sort that sometimes makes people uncomfortable. How can people be that happy? But they are. I witness it every single day. They are made for each other. I never believed in destiny, fate, or any of that stuff, but after hearing their story, I can honestly say I do. Something brought them together. And I’m so happy it did.”
Alex raises his glass, looking over at me with a wink. I laugh away the tears and raise my glass in response, and then the whole room does, the silverware glittering beneath the chandeliers.
“To the happy couple.” Alex cheers. “To their future!”
Everybody cheers along with him, then Ben turns to me, my husband – my freaking husband – smiling broadly.
It’s his new smile, no longer a smirk, the one that’s touched his face every single day since Alex gave us his blessing.
“Forever, Becca bee,” he whispers, leaning down and kissing me softly on the forehead, his hand smoothing over my belly to rest on our beautiful bump.