Chapter 12

Maria

One Year Later . . .

Maria stares into Mark's eyes. She can't help it. She's crying and trying really hard to hold back sobs. He looks so beautiful and even though his hands are holding hers, she can tell he wants to wipe away his tears.

The way he watches her right this moment is unreal. There's complete adoration in his misty eyes. She'll never get tired of him looking at her this way. It'll forever be etched into her mind for as long as she lives.

To their left is a pastor. He rambles on and on about marriage and all the things that go with the vows, but she couldn't care less. Today. Today she is marrying the man of her dreams.

"You may now kiss the bride," the pastor says with cheer in his tone.

Mark lets go of one of her hands, wraps it around her waist, and tugs her to him. He kisses her deeply, passionately, and the crowd cheers. She can especially hear her maid of honor, Darius, hoot and holler beside them. It's not normal to have a guy as a maid of honor, but everything about her life is abnormal, including how Mark and her met.

Maria kisses him back just as passionately, and when they break for air, they giggle to one another. "Ready?" Mark asks, breaking their little bubble.

"Ready," she whispers back, barely heard above the crowd.

He grabs her hand once more and they turn to face the crowd. He holds up their joined hands and they make their way down the aisle, the wedding party following close behind as joyous music plays.

They only had two people in their wedding party: Darius, and Mark's best man, Sean. She's met Sean a few times, though she gets the feeling that Mark doesn't like her around him. She can understand why. The guy is a player. A nice guy, but a player.

If someone would have told her in college that she would be marrying the guy she fake-dated, she would have laughed her ass off. How everything worked out, she'll never understand. But she and Mark work. They just do. They're each other's other halves in every way possible.

Maria opened up her own coffee shop with Darius a few months ago. It was a present from Mark, and the business is successful. Chase had made the switch from The Brew to their little place as well, which she was delighted about. She'd miss the guy otherwise.

Darius' relationship with Homer has gotten serious and he moved in with him at the same time Maria moved in with Mark.

Everything worked out according to no one's plan. And Maria prefers it that way. Planning for the future is way less fun than being surprised by it.