He knew she wasn’t going to vomit.

And she also wasn’t going to cry.

She might shed a tear but only if she didn’t manage to swallow back the laughter she was fighting.

Their chairs pulled close so he could throw his arm easily around the back of hers, he curled her to his side.

She made a choking noise.

He dipped his mouth again to her ear.

“Hold it in,” he muttered.

“You’re not helping, Merry,” she wheezed.

“You can’t bust a gut laughin’ during the best man’s speech. Especially at this wedding.”

“Just let me deep breathe,” she forced out.

“You’re not breathing at all.”

She turned and whacked him one on his arm.

He smiled down at her.

She glared at him.

That was one way to get her not to laugh.

He knew a better way, and to keep her from laughing, he employed it, leaning in and taking her mouth in a hard, sweet kiss.

When he was done, she lifted her hand and rested it on his neck, her thumb stroking his throat.

He kissed her nose.

She melted into him and turned in his arm, giving her attention back to the best man.

Garrett didn’t give his attention to the drunken best man, who was totally fucking up his speech.

He looked at the groom.

When he did, he saw Ethan looking at him.

Garrett held his boy’s eyes, grabbed his glass, and lifted it his way.

Ethan dipped his chin.

His drunk friend quit jabbering and managed to slur out his request for everyone to toast the happy couple.

They did.

This meant, thankfully, the fool was done and conversation began to resume. Ethan stood and took the microphone from his bud.

Conversation stopped when he spoke into it.

“I have a few things to say.”

Cher’s attention perked up.

So did Garrett’s.

Ethan looked to his bride.

“I’m a lucky man today,” he said softly into the microphone.

Cher pressed closer.

Ethan’s woman’s face flushed with happiness.

“Thank you, baby, for saying yes,” Ethan went on.

His new wife put her hand to her mouth, and even though her new husband stood at her side, she blew him a kiss.

“So sweet,” Eve whispered.

Garrett looked to his right, seeing his daughter leaned into her elbows on the table, watching her brother.

He looked beyond her and saw his eldest girl, Shelby, doing the same except not with her elbows on the table.

He and Cher got two and two.

Shelby had her mother’s eyes.

Eve had her father’s.

Garrett looked to the wedding party and saw Matt up there with his brother.

And Mathias’s eyes were blue.

Garrett looked to Ethan when he again spoke.

“I need to say what I gotta say, and I need to say it now with everyone in this room who means something to me, to my wife.” He looked down at her again then back at the room. “And I need to say it so you all know. Because you all should know, today of all days. You should know I made some vows in a church. And they mean something to me. I signed a legal paper. And that means something to me too. But I’m gonna make some vows right now that mean everything.”