Page 123 of Peach Tree Family

"It does seem that he and my aunt will be leaving us in peace now," Theo said and looked toward Ace who was laughing as he and the other kids chased each other all around the peach trees.

By the time Julian and Rob made their appearance, they got the kids to settle down. But now that the kids were quiet, Danny was getting anxious. He was hugging Lenny to him, so Julian picked them up to hold them between him and Rob.

"You ready to give them the boutonnieres you made?" Lara asked. Danny nodded, and she brought out a white box that was decorated with the letters J and R and something else, all drawn in crayon. "Danny decorated the box with your initials and a wedding cake drawing."

Danny looked shy but proud of himself at the same time. He then opened the box and inside there were two small clusters of peach flowers with another flower. When Rob saw them, his eyes got tearful and he turned to his sister and his dad. "Peach flowers and jasmine, Mom's favorite. I wondered why I smelled jasmine."

"I asked your sister about that," Lara admitted.

"Thank you," Rob told her and hugged her and his sister and his dad, then he hugged Julian and Danny. "These are so beautiful. You did a great job."

Danny jumped down so Julian and Rob could pin the boutonnieres on each other. They did it while their eyes met and they exchanged loving looks. Done, they turned and showed Danny how they looked and he clapped.

It turned out there was a boutonniere for Danny too and one for Lenny that tied to his collar. They posed for some "before" pictures, as Rob called them. While Rob was having his picture taken with his family, Mitch clapped Julian on the shoulder and made him jump.

"Sorry. How are you doing?" Mitch asked him.

"I'm scared out of my mind, and I don't know why. I want this more than anything," Julian said.

"I know the feeling," Mitch told him with a smile.

"I thought it was only Rico who went out of his mind at your wedding?" Julian said.

"He just doesn't keep things bottled up," Mitch said. "You'll feel better when it's a done deal."

Right before the ceremony, Julian and Rob had Danny make his best man speech so he wouldn't have to do it in front of a lot of guests he didn't know. Seth was so nervous for the little guy, he clasped Theo's hand kind of hard and held his breath. Theo squeezed his hand back and nudged his shoulder.

As Julian and Rob held Danny up between them, he spoke very softly. "Rob and Julian are gonna be husbands. And they're gonna be a happy family with me and Lenny." He stopped then said a quiet little, "Yay," and Julian and Rob hugged him.

"You did great," Rob told him and kissed his cheek.

"Your speech was so good," Julian said and gazed at Danny and then at Rob with tears in his eyes.

Now it was time for the ceremony to start and Seth was even more nervous than before. He could feel how important this moment was and how much love went into it. Theo could tell he was shaky and he kept one arm around his waist and the other around Ace's shoulders.

Sammy and Gloria were the flower girls. They threw petals on the path that Julian and Rob would be walking between the peach trees. Julian walked with Danny by his side, and Rob walked between his sister and his dad.

The justice of the peace, who was also Mrs. Del Rio's boyfriend, talked about the beauty and responsibility of marriage. Then the grooms turned to each other to say their vows.

Julian went first, speaking softly while he held Rob's hand to his heart. "Rob, since the day I met you, you've been my guardian angel. You've given me everything I always wanted and needed and never had before you. You're my sunrise, bright and beautiful, bringing light and hope into my life." He then started to put a wedding ring on Rob's finger. "With this ring, I take you as my husband and promise to love you forever and do everything in my power to make you happy."

Rob kissed his hand, and in that small gesture showed so much passion and love. Then he said his own vows. "Julian, I was just coasting along until I met you, not living any kind of life. Then you came along and filled my heart with happiness and love. With this ring, I make you my husband and the love of my life, and I promise to be yours, give myself to you heart and soul for all time."

They kissed even before the justice of the peace could pronounce them married. As everyone laughed and clapped, Julian looked a little embarrassed about that, but Rob didn't. The two of them were beaming with happiness and everyone rushed to hug them and congratulate them, but Danny was first.

"Are we married together now?" Danny asked and Rob laughed and lifted him high.

"Yes, we're married together," Rob told him.

Rob and Julian were surrounded by their family and friends, sharing good wishes, tears and happiness. And then they were off to the reception.

The reception was at Stone Creek Inn, but going into the hall all decked out for the event, Seth didn't recognize the place. Plus he was there as a guest and that was weird. He kept greeting the servers instead of the other guests.

If he wasn't there with Theo, he wouldn't have known what to do with himself. But Theo knew how to meet and greet, and Seth followed his lead. He still felt like people were looking at him funny, so he must not have been doing too good at faking it.

When he told Theo that, he had a different explanation. "People are ogling you."

Seth didn't think that could be right. If anyone was being ogled it was Theo. "I only see people checking you out, and I wish they'd stop it."

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