Him & I

How Long Will I Love You

How long will I give to you
As long as I live through you
However long you say
How long will I love you
As long as there are stars above you
And longer if I may
—— How Long Will I Love You, Ellie Goulding

"Jackie, it's not the end of the world," Cait sighed. "We were going to redo my hair and makeup anyhow. And I didn't get that wet. I bet you won't even be able to tell."

While they were getting some pictures in the church, and actually signing the marriage license, the brief rain shower had blown through and been replaced by a blue sky and a brilliant sun. And a rainbow appeared. Which had made Cait cry all over again. And thank the heavens for waterproof mascara. But Adam had hustled she and Grayson to the beach adjacent to the church, both of them removing their shoes, and gotten some amazing shots of them on the beach with the church and the rainbow in the background. Then they'd gotten into their limousine and spent the drive back to the house happily kissing each other and murmuring softly.

They'd arrived back at the house and gone out onto the upper lanai for a few minutes of privacy, but Jackie had found them. Now Cait was trying to calm her wedding planner, who was a little concerned that her bride had stood out in the rain, laughing and crying like she was nuts. And then taken pictures.

But the pictures would no doubt be phenomenal. Because the bride and groom had looked overjoyed. Jackie sighed. "We'll make it work," she said, biting her lip. "But we need to get busy. Grayson, we need to get you back to the resort so we can get your suit pressed and a clean shirt. Cait, you need to start over. And I need your wedding rings back."

They both looked a little shocked at that. "Take it off?" Cait asked faintly.

"It's just for a couple of hours," Jackie said quickly. "But we need to hurry. I've gotta get back to the resort and help Ramon."

"Jackie, go ahead," Grayson suggested. "I'll be over soon. I promise. And I'll bring the rings. But you go help Ramon. Rae will make sure that Cait gets ready on time."

Jackie looked at the two of them and recognized that they needed a few minutes alone. "Okay," she sighed. "Just don't delay too long, okay?"

"I got it," Grayson said firmly.

After she left, Grayson leaned in to kiss his wife. When he finally pulled away, he smiled at her. "Seems appropriate to be in this very spot," he smiled. "It was here that I first told you that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

"It was, wasn't it?" she smiled at him. "And I told you that I wanted that too."

"That was almost exactly two years ago," Grayson said wistfully. "And here we are."

"I love you, Grayson," she murmured, forehead pressed to his. "I know that wedding didn't go exactly to plan, but I'm really glad we're married."

"With you and I involved, I don't think we should have expected anything else," he laughed. "Very little goes to plan when it comes to us.  But I love you too. And we do get another shot at it. I guess you knew we might need a do over."

Cait laughed with him. "That wasn't the reason, but sure, we'll go with that."

"So, let's talk about how, exactly, the kids wound up at our private wedding ceremony," Grayson said, raising an eyebrow. "And why we invited them to even be here in the first place."

*****

Eventually, Grayson pulled himself away from his new wife. He took Cait's wedding ring, promising that he'd return it to her shortly. And he headed back to the resort.