Page 102 of Goodbye Paradise
The pastor beamed at both of us. “By the power vested in me by the Commonwealth, I congratulate you on your marriage.”
There was a round of applause, while Josh gave me a shy smile.
“Kiss him already,” Miriam cried.
I laughed, feeling terribly self-conscious. Josh and I did not do PDA atall.
Who knew that Josh would be the first one to shake off our lifelong hangups? He stepped into my space, grabbed my chin in one hand, and planted a kiss on my lips.
And the world did not end. Not at all. The cheering only grew louder.
Not to be outdone, I slipped my arms around his waist and pulled him in. I made it a real kiss. As he always did, Josh tasted like everything I’d always wanted.
Kissing him in front of everyone we knew? It was as easy as rolling off a log.
When I finally stepped back, breaking off the kiss, Josh’s face was pink. But he looked as happy as I’d ever seen him. “You survived it,” he said, smiling.
“I certainly did,” I agreed. He might have meant the wedding. But I meant everything that had led me to this moment.
I survived it. And he was the reason why.
“Now you can have ribs and beer, and then take me to Florida,” Josh gave me a nudge toward the family who were waiting to congratulate us.
“I can’t wait,” I agreed.
The
End
* * *
