Thirty minutes before the wedding is scheduled to start, we put on our tuxes and prepare to head down.

“Yo, Heath, can you do me a favor?” Nathan approaches me, looking sharper than I can ever remember seeing him. “I need to give Chloe her wedding gift before the ceremony, but I’m not supposed to see her.”

I take the present covered not in wrapping paper, but in college-ruled notebook paper with his writing all over it. I give it a little shake. “What is it?”

“It’s not for you.” He blushes and now I really want to know what’s inside. “Can you get it to her or not?”

“Yeah, of course.”

I find the girls’ suite and knock. When it swings open, my heart squeezes in my chest. “Holy shit, babe.”

“Heath.” Ginny looks around. “What are you doing?”

I’m still staring slack-jawed. Listen, Ginny, on an average day, is a knockout. She’s generally casual—not a lot of makeup, hair straight or pulled away from her face in a braid… she doesn’t need all the extra stuff to be the hottest girl I’ve ever seen, but right now… hair in big waves, eyes lined with black, wearing a dress that pushes her boobs up and shoes that make her legs look twice as long…

“Heath?”

I shake my head. “Fuck, you look… fuck.”

She giggles. “You look nice too. I’ve been waiting for this day.” She runs a hand along the lapel of my jacket. “You in a tux is really something.”

“Yeah?” I step into her. “I’m starting to see the appeal of weddings.”

“What’s that?”

“Open bar and a night of fun while I try to figure out how to sneak you away without anyone noticing.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You’re beautiful.”

“Five-minute warning!” someone yells from inside the room.

“Can you give this to Chloe? I don’t want to go in there. It looks like a bomb went off.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you down there.”

She turns, but I catch her wrist and pull her back to me, taking her lips in a much quicker kiss than I’d like. Someday I’m gonna marry that girl, but today it’s all about Nathan and Chloe.

The guys and I head down first. The hotel restaurant has a huge patio that extends out onto the beach and there are flowers everywhere. In pots, hanging from the doorway, lining the wall. It’s nuts.

People are seated and waiting for the ceremony. The other groomsmen bring Chloe’s mom and grandparents up the aisle.

“What do you say?” I hold out my arm for my mom. Her eyes are already glassy. She’s for sure going to cry, probably in the first thirty seconds. She lets out a breath and flutters her lashes a few times as if she’s trying to stop the tears.