Page 184 of Banter & Blushes

“Both times?

“Both times.”

The song ended, and Ryan welcomed everyone to the ceremony. Our guests sat, and I noticed Mom wiping at her eyes. Twice in two days! She really was getting sentimental in her (not very) old age. “Our bride and groom have written their own vows. Go ahead, Zaki.”

He didn’t hesitate for a beat. “Arwyn, from the moment we met—the second time—I felt something shift in me. I chalked it up to friendship, but it was more than that. A connection I couldn’t explain. A feeling that you may be the key to my complete healing. I couldn’t explain it, and I dare not speak it. But then, after a time, I saw the way you looked at me and my girls—with your soft, kind, observant eyes that reflected your gentle, loving heart—and somehow, it hit me like a puck to the head that you were about to brighten our world.

“You stepped into the chaos of the twins’ giggles, crazy dogs, and life under a microscope with an ease and poise that you didn’t think youhad in you, but you wanted to be there for us. I knew we’d each found the missing parts of ourselves. Your quiet strength and my loud chaos have only ever brought out the best in each other. When you told me you loved me, I felt more joy than I could have imagined. And you didn’t just love me—yousawme. You listened when I didn’t have words. You steadied me when life kept threatening to knock me off-balance.

“I promise to love you and protect your heart with the same fierceness I protect Isla and Amelie. I’ll make you laugh when life gets too heavy, hold your hand when you feel alone, give you space when you need it, and never stop choosing you—ever. You are my safe place, my unexpected joy, my forever adventure, my lighthouse beam in the storm. Together, wherever we end up, we’ll build our home on a solid foundation of love. And I promise, no pranks in the house.”

There was a jaunty quirk to his lips, and then they spread into a wide grin. I couldn’t help but smile back. He’d spoken all the words I’d hoped to hear, wanted to hear, needed to hear.

Words that told me I was wanted and that Ifit.With him, with his girls, and in their life.

Ryan prompted me to speak my vows, and I swallowed the lump that’d been growing steadily since Zaki’s first sentence. I’d worked all week on memorizing my words, but I was nervous I’d forget something important.

“Zaki, you came into my life like an unexpected check to the boards. I’ll admit, your chaos was not something I wanted to be around. But as I grew to know you, you didn’t seem so chaotic. You aim to live life to the fullest, and I admire that. At home, your persona was comforting, grounding, and everything I could ever have hoped to find in a life partner.

“I didn’t expect love to look like what we’ve created, but every bit of it is perfect. You’re steady like a well-brewed cup of tea, bold in your convictions, and gentle in the way you love. You’ve taught me that love isn’t always fireworks—it’s warm hands holding mine, it’s being known and accepted completely, and it’s showing up every single day and being present in a way I’ve never been. I promise to love your girls like they’ve always been mine. I promise to make space for you when you need it, to keep choosing you over and over, and to keep showing up with open arms. I promise I will be there waiting at the end of every road trip and to be there for you in any and every other way you need me. Always.”

And now he was crying, too.

“I believe the girls have something to say,” Ryan said.

“Yes, we do!” Isla replied.

“It’s in my wedding diary!” Amelie explained.

She had a wedding diary?

As the girls approached us, Zaki pulled a small, sparkly book from his back pocket and handed it to her. She turned a few pages.

“Macy, can we please use your microphone?” Isla asked. “The people in the back need to hear this.”

There was a tittering of laughter as Macy brought the mic over and handed it to Isla.

“Thank you,” she said into it. “Amelie is going to hold her diary, and we are going to read our parts. We would like to thank Hallie and Harlan’s mommy, Mrs. Shelby, for helping us write the rhymes at camp and for fixing Amelie’s spelling. And for copying it perfectly when we were done onto new pages so it’s easy for us to read it better. She’s a writer, you know.”

“A verygoodwriter,” Amelie emphasized. “She helped us find rhymes and make all of our ideas fit.” She looked up at Ryan. “Can we start now?”

“Take it away, girls,” he said.

Isla began. “‘We Love You, Arwyn!’ A poem by Isla and Amelie.” She looked up at the guests. All eyes were fixed on them. “We used to be a team of five. Just Daddy, us, and our silly doggies! But now there’s you, and that’s just right, like Olaf warm-hugging Elsa tight.”

She paused, then Amelie read from the book. “You’re kind like Anna and smart as well. You read us lovely stories to our friends we tell. You braid our hair and sing a little flat, but you know we don’t care about that.” Amelie tossed her hair over her shoulder and turned to me. “Right?”

“Right,” I assured her with a broad grin.

“My turn again,” Isla said. “You bake cookies, you read to us at night, and youalwaysmake the wrongs feel right. You’re patient, fun, and super cool—and we’re so glad you help us with our school!”

Amelie read the next quatrain. “We love you so much and now you can see, you’re the perfect match for our fam-i-ly! Thanks for marrying Daddy and joining our fun family crew. We’re so glad you said ‘I do!’”

The audience clapped and whistled. “She hasn’t said that yet,” Isla fretted in a loud whisper.

“But she will,” Amelie whispered back. “Right, Wynnie?”

“You bet!” I assured her. There was no doubt in my mind.

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