Page 221 of One More Kiss

Epilogue

Johnny

“Wow,this tux smells like a pool hall.”

Danny laughed as he straightened my bow tie. “Well, I imagine that’s what you get in a day’s notice. It’s not like you’ll have it on long.”

I gave him a stern look.

He shrugged. “I’m not a child. I’m just glad you got me my own room. Sucks being here and not being able to get into the casinos.”

“Well, it’s not a vacation, we’re flying back out in the morning. And you need to rest up because we gotta pack up her apartment.”

Danny rolled his eyes but then grabbed my shoulders. “You look great. I’m so happy for you, Dad.”

“You don’t think I’m rushing?”

“Oh, you’re rushing. But I know you. This is what you want. And you seem so happy.”

I cupped his necked. My chest filled with warmth as I smiled at my son. He made me so proud, but I was also so ready to do this. “Let’s do this.”

I walked through the door into the chapel and CJ’s mom was already waiting in the pew. I walked to her. “You look beautiful, ma’am.”

She patted her hair and grinned. “Well, I can’t thank you enough for the spa day. And my room is just gorgeous.”

“I want you to know that I’ll take good care of your daughter, and you are welcome to come visit anytime.” I leaned down to her ear. “In fact, if you ever get tired of the city, I can have a cabin for an extended stay.”

She blushed. “Well, CJ may beat you if she knew you offered that. But I won’t forget.” She winked.

I patted her hand and then stepped back to the altar. I turned my face to the ceiling and took a deep breath. When I dropped my head, I looked over at Elvis, and suddenly panicked. This was a terrible idea…she deserved better than this.

“Danny,” I whispered. But before he could stand, the French doors at the end of the short walkway between the four rows of pews with pink and silver bows at the end opened and I forgot what I was about to say.

Surely it was the cheap lighting, but there was a halo surrounding CJ as she stood in a cream-colored gown that hugged her curves then flared at the knees. And it would take one small flick of my finger for her large breasts to burst right out of the neckline.

A grin crept over my face as tingles danced in my belly. Pressure built behind my eyes as she took one step at a time toward me, each one overly dramatic as she struggled to not laugh.

When she finally stood before me, she said, “Nice penguin outfit.” She fluttered her eyes at me with a giggle.

A breath I didn’t realize I had been holding escaped me and the tears I had been fighting streamed down my face.

Her eyes widened and she used her non-flower wielding hand to wipe them from my eyes. “Don’t cry.”

I grabbed her face and kissed her hard when Elvis cleared his throat. “Oh, sorry.”

We parted enough for Elvis to proceed with the ceremony, but I hardly heard any of what he said. When he stated the words, “I do,” I simply repeated it back. I could have just agreed to let her kill me and I wouldn’t have known.

But I heard the words, “I do,” roll from her lips and before Elvis could even finish, I grabbed her again, parting her lips and sending my tongue to find hers. We kissed like nobody was watching and only stopped when claps came from both sides of the room and cheesy organ music started playing.

“I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Heart! Please exist to the left for your complimentary slice of cake and bottle of champagne.”

We got to the end of the walkway, and I stopped her. “Wait,” I said as I scooped her legs up from the floor.

“Johnny, what are you doing?” she squealed.

I took two steps. “Carrying you over the threshold.” I kissed her then looked into her eyes. “Oh, by the way, I love you, CJ.”

She squeezed my neck, then said, “it’s about time. I love you, Johnny!”

The End…

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