Olivia realized she was still staring into his blue eyes, which were now beginning to look amused. Shooting him another frosty look, she turned away so she could see what was happening.

Grinning like a loon, Adam was now making his way back down the aisle as a weepy but beaming Angel set herself up at the other end of it, one parent on each side of her. Turning her head to face Patrick - who looked like he was torn between relief and disappointment at losing the bet - Olivia smirked.

It was a beautiful ceremony, even if it was a little odd. Sam only slipped in a couple of Big Lebowski references, including a small sermon on the meaning of “abide,” which turned out to be quite touching as he talked about people choosing to abide together, to stay and grow together, all the days of their lives. Angel had cried again.

Jake had a feeling he’d be attending a lot of these soon, including his sister’s, if the way Lexie and Patrick were leaning on each other all through the ceremony was any indication. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he’d been with Patrick last week when the man had bought the ring. Andrew and Kate had gotten engaged last weekend too. Justin, Chris, and Jessica might not be having a conventional wedding, but it was still happening this spring. He was kind of surprised Rick and Maria weren’t already engaged, but he was sure Rick’s proposal was coming down the line too. Only Jared and Leigh really seemed uninterested in taking the next big step. Well, not uninterested exactly, just not in the same rush as everyone else.

Not that Angel and Adam had rushed. She’d been making him wait every step of the way. No wonder he’d gotten pushy about the wedding.

Still, surprise or not, she’d been just like every other happy, glowing bride as she said her vows. Several people in the audience had snorted when she’d actually promised to obey, and he was pretty sure at least one of them was her brother. Then again, if Lexie included “obey” in her marriage vows, he’d probably snort too, even though he knew that was exactly the kind of relationship she and Patrick had.

But he really tried not to think too hard about their relationship.

“I now pronounce you, man and wife, you may kiss the bride.”

Laughing happily, Angel actually bounced as she jumped forward into Adam’s arms. The big guy wrapped himself around her for a long kiss as everyone else laughed and clapped, thrilled to see the two of them finally come together. Jake’s own grin felt kind of cheesy, but he didn’t bother to hide it. One of the things he liked best about this group of people were their tight bonds and happiness. Sure they had drama sometimes, but it was mostly fun drama.