Nothing can top the high I am feeling right now, hearing her name announced with mine.
Danielle Lawson, it has a nice ring to it.
I wink at her before taking the lead. I’ve spent countless hours practicing our dance in the kitchen to surprise everyone. We dance our way to the center of the dance floor, making our first official appearance as husband and wife. I think I even shock Dani with my smooth moves as I spin her around and dip her before capturing her mouth in a passionate kiss. Just wait till she sees my moves later.
As I bring her back to her feet, my wife is beaming. “Wow, Mr. Lawson. Where have you been hiding those moves? That was incredibly sexy.”
I smirk. “I’ve been practicing.”
She will see just how much I’ve been practicing.
“Will everyone please clear the dance floor so that Mr. and Mrs. Lawson can share their first dance as husband and wife.”
The familiar guitar strums of “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur begins to play through the speakers. Dani and I had chosen this song for our first dance as man and wife the first time we heard it. The lyrics really spoke to us about our relationship. It didn’t matter how long it took us to get there; there was no way in hell I was going to let her go. With one hand in Dani’s and the other on her lower back pulling her closer to me, we begin to sway side to side.
My eyes meet her baby blues, and everything fades away. I link our fingers on the hand that is closest to my chest. Our fingers fit perfectly together. I wonder if that happens for everyone when they meet their soul mate; they just know because they fit perfectly together.
“I can’t believe we did it,” she says, looking up at me.
“We did, didn’t we?” I smile at her.
“This is the most amazing day of my life. I’ve been dreaming of this day my entire life, and it was perfect. Thank you.”
“You deserve all of this and more, baby. I plan to spend every day showing you just how much you deserve.”
“I look forward to that.” She removes her hand from mine and wraps it around the back of my neck.
I pull her closer to me with both hands now on her lower back. With her hand on my chest, we continue to sway. No words are needed. I have to hold back a growl at her proximity and the way she plays with the hair at the bottom of my neck.
As the music fades and the crowd applauses, we take a moment to relish in this feeling. Dani is first to pull away slowly. I bend down, meeting her halfway, and press my lips against hers. I slowly lick the seam of her mouth, and she opens.
Our kiss is over too quickly when someone in the crowd shouts, “Get a room!”
I take her hand and lead her to our table that holds the entire wedding party. I pull her chair out for her before I take my seat.
The DJ begins to speak. “Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure at this time to welcome to the front the father of the bride, the one and only Adam Jacobs.”
My father-in-law accepts the microphone from the DJ when he arrives at the front. “I would like to welcome everyone here today to celebrate the joining of Danielle and Kyler and say thank you so much for coming. I won’t take up too much of your time so that we can get on to the amazing meal planned. I’ve had to listen to the delicious items being served today for months and months, and I can’t wait to dive in.”
Him and me both—my stomach has been growling all day at the thought of crab cakes and filet mignon.
Adam puts his hand in his pocket and focuses on our table. “There are days in a father’s life that he will dread: the day his daughter rides a bike without training wheels, the day she brings home her first boyfriend, the day she gets her driver’s license, and the day she says ‘I do.’ Those are all days when a father realizes his daughter doesn’t need him. She is a strong, independent woman able to fly on her own.”
Dani reaches for my hand under the table, and her grip tightens as her father continues.
“Danielle, when I held you in my arms for the first time, I knew I would have to let you go one day, but I wasn’t ready, so I held on a little tighter. I knew one day a man would enter my daughter’s life and replace me in her life. Replace me as her hero, replace me as the one she runs to when she needs help, goes to for advice and needs a hand to hold.”
Adam begins to walk side to side, the crowd soaking up his every word. “While giving my daughter away is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, I am honored and so proud to call Kyler my son-in-law. It was our annual Fourth of July barbeque when Zach brought Kyler home to meet us. He captured our hearts and instantly became a part of our family. I was not at all surprised to find he had done the same to Dani. There is something about Kyler that puts a smile on your face, and that’s what he did to my baby girl—he put a smile on her face, a smile we all missed.
“They say that women marry a man with many attributes of her father, so that is also how I know she picked a good one here because come on, look at me.”
The crowd erupts in laughter as he runs his hand up and down, and I see a glimpse of my best friend when he is older. The apple did not fall far from the tree on that one.
“I’m not typically a betting man…”
“Bullshit!” Zach fake coughs beside me.
Not only did Adam and Brian bet on how long it would take Zach and Haylee to begin dating, but I learned recently that they also had a bet going as to how long it would take me to ask for permission to marry Dani. For once, Adam had won the bet.