We trade rings, and then I finally get to kiss her. Finally. I draw her to me and kiss her, and I never want to let her go. But then I hear her dad say, “Go get my hatchet.”

I lift my head and chuckle. “I love you,” I tell her. I kiss the tip of her nose.

The preacher introduces us as Mr. and Mrs. Peter Reed, and everyone stands up and claps. We accept congratulations from Patty and John, but Patty’s looking tired, so she doesn’t stay long. Carrie and Nick hang out with us, though, for a little while.

I hear a thump on the microphone in front of Emily, and we turn toward her.

“I have a little present for you guys,” she says. She blushes. “So, if you can give me a minute…”

She fiddles with her guitar, and then she starts to play.

She’s a ninja in a pair of heels,

A corner piece of the puzzle.

She’s everything he never knew he needed,

And everything he ever wanted.

She’s a sweetheart of a lady and

An ass-kicker when he needs it.

She’s fiercely protective,

And soft as cotton when he holds her tight.

She’s got him,

Heart and soul.

She needs him,

To have and hold.

He’s the breath that she breathes,

And the thoughts in her head,

He’s the light in the darkness

When she’s feeling lonely.

He’s a rose in a bed of thorns,

A bad boy when it’s needed.

He’s everything she never knew she needed,

And everything she ever wanted.

He’s a tatted piece of art,

A softie beneath the shell.

He’s the purr beneath the growl,

And hard as nails when he holds her tight.

He’s got her,

Heart and soul.

He needs her,

To have and hold.

She’s the breath that he breathes,

And the thoughts in his head,

She’s the light in the darkness

When he’s feeling lonely.

Someday when they’re older,

And their mouths refuse to talk,

Or they falter in their walk,

They’ll look back on this day

And remember what brought them here.

And it’ll take them there,

Because a love like that never fails.

It flies.

It jumps.

It flips.

It fights.

It loves.

It’s theirs, and it’s all they ever needed—one another.

My heart is in my throat when Emily stops. She sets her guitar to the side and Reagan pulls me forward to thank her. She hugs Emily. I don’t even know what to say.

“I’m awesome, right?” Emily says, and she opens her arms for me. I hug her, holding her tight.

She whispers in my ear, “Logan will write the lyrics down for you so you can keep them.”

“Thank you,” I say.

She nods.

Logan walks up and wraps his arm around Emily. “That was perfect,” he tells her.

“I’ll play it for you again in a few weeks,” she says to Logan. “After.” She looks at him and he nods.

“After what?” I ask.

“After she’s naked, dude,” Logan says.

Reagan laughs.

We mingle with my family for a couple of hours, with people going in and out of the house. Until Friday says, “Oh, crap. We’re supposed to be doing tats tonight!” Paul looks at his watch.

We’re supposed to be doing tattoos at the open-air festival tonight. There has been a lot of press about it, and it’s all for charity. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to raise a bunch of money for the charity Emily has earmarked. She wants to give money to the shelters in New York City where she stayed before she met Logan, so she organized this event, and we brought the camera crews because it seemed like a good opportunity.

“Why don’t you take tonight off?” Paul says, clapping me on the shoulder. “We can do it without you.”

“Fuck no,” I protest. “I’m going.”

“You just got married,” he reminds me.

I look down at Reagan. “Do you want me to take the night off?”

She shakes her head. “No. I want to go, too.”

“Well, go and change clothes.” Paul makes a motion like he’s pushing us out of the room.

I take Reagan’s hand and pull her to our bedroom. I close the door behind us, and I kiss her, and that’s all it takes. I go hard immediately. I press her against the door and hold her there. “We have time for a quickie?” I ask.

She nods, and she starts to unbutton my pants. I spread my legs and let her put her hand inside, and I groan as she takes me into her fist. I’m ready, and she’s not, so I pull her hand out of my pants and drop to my knees in front of her. I lift her dress and pull her panties down, and place my mouth on her. She looks down at me and nods.

I used to be afraid to hurt her, but she’s proven that she’s made of stronger stuff than I’ve ever given her credit for.

I slide two fingers inside her, and lick across her clit, over and over, until her legs begin to tremble. She threads her fingers into my hair, and I look up at her. Her mouth hangs open and her eyes are closed. Then she comes on my face. She looks down at me, her eyes going soft as she comes, and she stares at me, until I’ve drawn every last quake and quiver from her body.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

“You’re welcome, Mrs. Reed.” I stand up and turn to go and get a condom. But she pulls me back to her. “I need to get a—”