Page 42 of A More Than Mayhem Christmas

I lift the veil, revealing her eyes—eyes that turn amber beneath the flames of the tiki torch.

“You look beautiful.”

Her laugh is soft. Her smile softer. Then she looks over at my family. “Sorry to wake you,” she tells them. “And thank you for coming.”

“Of course, sweetheart,” Mom says, her voice shaking with emotion as she wipes the tears off her cheeks. “Thank you for inviting us.”

Logan clears his throat, then asks, “Are we ready?”

“Yeah.” I reach for Kayla’s hands, but they’re too busy holding the branches. Mom’s quick to take them from her, then retake her seat.

“Short and sweet, right?” Logan whispers, confirming my earlier request.

“Short and sweet,” I tell him.

“Okay. You got the rings?”

My eyes snap to his. “Therings.” I stupidly pat my pockets, as if two rings will somehow appear out of thin air.

“I got you,” Dad says, struggling to remove his wedding ring, then doing the same with my mom’s. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them without their rings the entire time I’ve been alive. Not once. He gets up to give Kayla his and gives Mom’s to me and then quickly sits back down. “Go ahead.”

I look at the ring between my fingers, at the inscription inside with their initials and wedding date. There are pictures of their wedding around the house, of them cutting the cake and sharing their first dance. You could see it in their eyes, how deep their love ran, how excited they were to declare the rest of their lives as one.

“Jake,” Kayla whispers, and I lift my gaze to her tear-soaked eyes.

Iknewit. Even before my family showed up… even beforesheappeared, I knew something was wrong. “It’s okay,” I murmur.

She tries hard,sohard, to contain her sob, but the moment it’s out, she falls into me. I hold her close, repeat, “It’s okay.” I place my mouth to her ear, whisper the words, “We don’t have to do this. I didn’t mean to pressure you?—”

“No.” She pulls away, neck craned to look up at me. “That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

“Just keep holding me a minute,” she asks, and so I do. I’d hold her for a minute. A lifetime. It doesn’t matter. And I’ll wait for her. We all will. Because we know when she’s ready, she’ll give us everything she has, everything she is. Every perfect piece of her. Eventually, she pulls back slightly, kissing me once before saying, loud enough for everyone to hear, “As soon as the courthouse opens and we can legally marry, we’ll do it. I want nothing more in this world than to be your wife and for you to be my husband, and I don’t want you to have to go another day questioning that. Heck, you may as well start calling me your wife, because there’s no stopping it now.”

I laugh once, relief pouring through me in waves. “That sounds like a solid plan.” And then I kiss her, the way I’ve wanted to since I saw her walking toward me. “Wait,” I say, backing up slightly. “Does that mean we’re not doing this?”

Kayla presses her lips tight, sucking in air through her nose, as she turns to the people closest to us. “Thank you guys so much,” she says, motioning to our surroundings. “Thank you for putting all of this together on such short notice.” She focuses on my family. “Thank you for coming when I called, and not asking questions… It’s just…” Kayla looks up at me, tears welling in her eyes.

I nod, offer an encouraging smile. I understand why it took her years to open up to me, just like I understand why it was so hard to do so. More than anything, though, I held on to the faith that when she was ready, she would. And I know… I feel it in my gut… she’s ready now.

She faces the world head on, her shoulders back, chin raised. “You know, I was dreading coming here tonight. Not to see you all, but cominghere, to the cabin. The thing is, I’ve been thinkingabout my family a lot lately. More about their deaths than their lives… and this place… it’s the last time I was truly happy while they were still alive. I left here that night thinking I had the world at my feet, and then… it was all ripped away from me, but now? Now, I think it’s time to replace those memories with new ones. Withgoodones.” Kayla chokes on a sob but finds the strength to continue. “I… I said no to Jake in the past, because I couldn’t imagine a wedding without my family, but as I stand here, I realize that Ihavea family… in all of you. So… if it’s okay with your family, Luce, I’d really like to come back here, on the anniversary of their deaths, and have a proper wedding. Acelebration.”

“Of course!” Lucy cries, wiping her tears.

Kayla takes my mom’s ring from me and approaches my parents. “And, Nathan,” she says to my dad, handing him back his ring. “I’d really love it if the man who’s been my father-figure for over a decade would consider walking me down the aisle?”

“Aw, honey.” I’ve never seen my dad cry. I see it now. “I would be honored.”

Kayla hugs him tight, and I picture a much younger version of her doing the same with her father, looking up at the strongest, bravest man in her world. Then she turns to my mom, giving her ring back, and then my sister. “Would you mind helping me plan and maybe taking me dress shopping?”

My mom and sister are too emotional to speak, so they just hug her, the way my dad did.

Tears blur my vision, and I look around at our friends, at all the girls crying and the guys comforting them. Behind me, Logan sniffs, and I turn to him just as he wipes at his eyes. “It’s the wind. Shut up.”

I chuckle under my breath, wiping at my own eyes, then taunt him with a whispered, “You’re such a little bitch.”

He glares at me, then whispers back, “So isyour mom.”

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