In the few days leading up to my wedding to Dickie Orr, I'd been anxious because I hadn't been entirely sure I was doing the right thing. I'd suspected he had cheated on me, but had no proof. I'd had the feeling that I wasn't as in love with him as I should have been. There had also been the stress of wedding planning, making sure everything was in place and nothing needed replaced last minute, along with dealing with my mother. It was completely the opposite experience with Ranger. The stress of not having to plan anything was a major relief, but the biggest relief of all was that I'd never been so sure about my feelings for anyone in my life, and marrying him was going to be the best decision I'd ever made.

Ranger had arranged for us to meet with the same jeweler that had designed my engagement ring right after Thanksgiving to choose our wedding bands. Over the summer, after both he and Tank had gotten engaged and another man in his office had gotten married, Ranger had decided to amend the jewelry protocol at his office to permit married men to wear their wedding bands as long as they were simple bands with no stones. This change had been well-received, as many of his men had gotten married since starting their job at Rangeman.

Ranger's wedding ring was a simple platinum band, while mine, which was made to match my engagement ring, had diamonds three-quarters of the way around the platinum band. The jeweler had sent them to us via a bonded courier the day after Christmas with instructions that if they didn't fit or were not what we had wanted that he could have them changed before New Year's Eve. Thankfully, they'd been exactly what we had planned, so no last minute changes were necessary. We had waited to apply for our marriage license until right after Christmas to avoid any blabbermouths at the Registrar's office spilling the beans to someone who knew us, but thankfully neither of us knew anyone in that office and the risk of the secret getting out seemed negligible.

When Ranger's alarm went off on New Year's Eve morning, my eyes flew open and I felt a rush of excitement course through me. I was getting married before the end of the day. I rolled over and snuggled into Ranger before he could climb out of bed.

"This is the last morning you'll wake up as a single man. Are sure you want to marry me? You only have a few hours left to change your mind."

"Tempting, but I've already spent quite a bit of time and money on you so it would be dumb not to get some return from my investment," he replied, smirking at me.

"Hilarious. If you ever get tired of the security business, you could take that act on the road."

"I need to get to work so that I can justify running off to get married this evening," he said, giving me a playful smack on the butt as he moved to sit up in bed.

"I know, I know," I told him, pulling the blankets back over me. "We need to leave by seven-thirty so we can get there on time, so get home in time to get ready. Traffic is going to be a nightmare on the Turnpike."

"Nagging me like a wife already," he said, leaning back to kiss me. "This shouldn't be a big adjustment for us after tonight."

It was difficult to not appear too excited in front of anyone as I did my routine of checking in at the office and stopping by my parents' house. Everyone was excited for the party that evening and even more eager to learn the wedding date. I promised them that they'd find about it that night and that I thought everyone would be happy with the date we'd chosen. Julie kept trying to guess the date all day, but I told her I wasn't saying anything. I'd nearly had a stroke when she had jokingly asked if we planned to get married at the party that night.

Ranger came home at six o'clock, just as I was starting to get ready. I'd told him to hurry up and get dressed, as I was going to banish him from the bedroom while I got ready. Since we wouldn't have the whole walk-down-the-aisle experience, I didn't want him to see me until I was completely put together in what I was going to wear when I married him. He had rolled his eyes at me, but had gotten dressed quickly and gone downstairs. Julie bounced back and forth between the office, my bedroom and the bathroom while she got ready, asking for my opinion on her hair, a different color of nail polish, and then nail polisher remover.

"Five minute warning, babe," Ranger said, knocking on the door an hour and a half later.

"I'll be down in a minute," I replied, giving myself a once over in the full length mirror on the bedroom wall.

In honor of becoming "Mrs. Ranger" as Lula had joked on more than one occasion, I'd gone with a black halter dress that I'd found at Macy's. It gathered slightly right under the bust with a matching silk band for some contrast while the hem fell to my knees in a slightly asymmetrical cut. I had a black clutch and strappy black heels to match. It wasn't an exceptionally smart outfit to wear during the winter, but I had a knee-length black wool coat that would keep me warm when we were outside and there wasn't any snow on the ground that would get my feet wet. My hair was pinned up in a loose bun with a few curls strategically left out, and my make-up was subtle. In keeping with tradition, I'd borrowed my Grandma Mazur's diamond bracelet, which was also doubling as my 'something old', my dress was my 'something new' and I wore my sapphire earrings as my 'something blue'. My personal assessment was that I looked pretty damn fantastic.

I smoothed out the skirt on my dress one last time, grabbed my purse and double checked that I had both wedding bands and the marriage license before I headed out of my bedroom and down the stairs. Ranger and Julie were waiting for me in the living, both pulling on coats. Julie was wearing a silver flapper-style dress and matching heels. As expected, Ranger was in a black suit with a black dress shirt and black tie.

"How do I look?" I asked as I approached him.

He gave me a very slow once-over. "Beautiful," he said, pulling me into him for a quick kiss.

"When I have kids someday…," Julie began, rolling her eyes at us.

"You'll embarrass them just as much," Ranger finished as he helped me into my coat.

The drive to Newark took longer than usual because everyone else in the state of New Jersey seemed to be going out for the evening. We pulled up at the restaurant at nine o'clock and left the Cayenne with the valet. Our coats were checked at the door and we headed into the restaurant, which had been closed to public for the evening because of the party. People were mingling around the room with appetizers and drinks in hand. They were catching up with family members they hadn't seen recently or were meeting members of the other family. Seating had been arranged at round tables with eight people per table. Ranger, Julie and I were sitting with my parents, Grandma Mazur, Lola and Javier at a table that was situated in the front of the room near an immaculately maintained aquarium that housed beautiful exotic fish and water plants. We made our way towards the middle of the room, where my parents were standing with Lola and Javier.

"It's about time you three arrived," Lola said, pulling me into a hug. "We were starting to wonder about the guests of honor."

"You look beautiful tonight, dear," my mother said, stunning me into silence for a beat. My mother so rarely complimented my appearance that it took me a minute to process what I had heard.

We were greeted by various friends and family members who came over to talk to us briefly before engaging our parents in conversation. Ranger grabbed my hand and guided me across the room to where a tall, thin Latino man was standing talking to Emilio and Lucy.

"This is the man that's going to marry us tonight," he said quietly as we approached.

"Carlos," the judge said, shaking Ranger's hand. "I've been looking for you."

"We just arrived," Ranger replied. "Stephanie, this is Judge Rafael Cruz. Rafael, this is my fiancée, Stephanie Plum."

I shook hands with Rafael while Emilio and Lucy excused themselves to go check on the entrees, which were due to be served at ten. Celia had informed me the day before that Ranger and I were expected to thank everyone for coming and to announce our wedding date and locale at nine-thirty, which was when everyone would be seated in preparation for the salad course.

"Thank you for agreeing to marry us tonight," I said in a low voice.

"It's my pleasure," Rafael said with a smile. "It's the least I could considering I spent a good part of my teenage years getting Carlos into trouble."

I gave Ranger a sideways glance. "Who do you think talked me into stealing a car at fourteen?" he asked, tilting his head in Rafael's direction.

I surreptitiously handed Rafael the marriage license, which he scanned quickly and pocketed. "I'll follow your lead as to when we will start everything. Did you write your own vows, or am I doing something standard?"

"Standard," I replied. Ranger and I had agreed that neither of us were exceptionally good at expressing feelings, nor were we comfortable being that personal in front of so many people. We already knew what we needed to know about our love for each other.

We moved on from Rafael as he was approached by more people from Ranger's old neighborhood and found Aurelia and John sitting at a table with Sofia and Tony. Sofia was offering Aurelia pregnancy advice while John texted on his cell phone and Tony knocked back a glass of champagne. We accepted our own glasses from a passing server.

"No kids tonight?" Ranger asked as we approached Tony.

"Nope, hired a babysitter for the night and have a hotel room booked upstairs," Tony replied, looking ecstatic. "It's sad how excited we are for a night of sleep without someone waking us up because they need a drink of water, which they later pee out in their bed."

"Tony, stop that," Sofia said, smacking her husband on the arm. "You're going to make them not want to have kids. It's not that bad. If it were, do you think we'd be on number five?"

"The only reason we're on number five is because the condom broke," Tony muttered quietly, making me choke on the sip of champagne I'd just taken. Ranger shook his head and guided me away from the table before we heard about any more contraceptive failures.

Celia, Lucy and Lola had started working their way through the room, ushering people to their seats so that everyone was seated by nine-thirty on the dot. I had butterflies in my stomach and was bouncing a knee under the table. Ranger put a hand on my knee to stop it from moving and leaned in close to whisper in my ear.

"Are you nervous?"

"No, just excited," I whispered back, giving him a kiss. "Okay, maybe I'm a little nervous, but not about getting married. I'm just nervous to announce it to everyone."

Ranger nodded his understanding and held one of my hands while we awaited Celia's indication that we should begin speaking. I kept thinking that she might have missed her calling as an Army General, directing the troops to where they needed to go.

"Thank you everyone for coming tonight," Celia said, standing a few feet away from us in the front of the room. The room fell silent and took a deep breath in anticipation. Ranger had informed me that since I was better at speaking to other humans I should be the one to do the speaking at the party. I had tried to argue that he was a successful C.E.O, but he had informed me that his skills as a C.E.O. wouldn't be effective with this crowd.

"I'm happy you all could be here this evening, not only to ring in the New Year with us, but to celebrate the fact that my baby brother Carlos has found the woman of his dreams and is finally settling down," Celia continued, which was met with a round of applause and several awws.

"The woman of your dreams, huh?" I asked Ranger, smiling at him.

"Celia likes to exaggerate," he responded.

"Jerk."

"First the nagging, now the name-calling," Ranger said, shaking his head. "You're a fast learner."

I elbowed him in the side as Celia indicated that I would informing everyone of when we planned to get married so that they could save the date ahead of time. Ranger squeezed my hand supportively as I stood up to face the room at-large. Our friends and families were all mixed together at the various tables, all staring at me expectantly. Our parents looked up at me excitedly while Julie struggled not to bounce in her seat. I blew out a sigh before I started speaking, asking God to help me not pass out or throw up.

"Hi everybody," I said nervously. "Um, thank you for coming this evening. We are very excited to be able to celebrate with you tonight. I know you all have been anxious for us to set a wedding date."

"Yes, we have," Lola and my mother commented at the exact same time, making everyone in the room laugh.

"Well, I am very excited to tell you that Carlos and I have decided to get married in Newark, and since the people we love are already here, we've decided to do it tonight," I said, and a collective gasp went through the room. "The Honorable Judge Rafael Cruz has agreed to officiate for us this evening so for your pre-dinner enjoyment, we will be getting married."

Applause and cheers rang out through the room. Our mothers and grandmothers all started crying with joy and Julie shrieked with delight. I saw Rafael stand up and make his way towards the front of the room, and Ranger stood up next to me and pulled out my chair.

"Are you ready?" I asked him as I pulled out wedding rings out of my purse and moving my engagement ring to my right hand.

"As I'll ever be," he replied, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the front of the room.

"Ladies and gentleman, we are surprisingly gathered here today to witness the marriage of Ricardo Carlos Manoso and Stephanie Anne Plum. They will give and receive rings as demonstrations of their vows to join together into one life and love," Rafael said, his voice ringing out through the quiet room.

Ranger and I were standing in front of Rafael, holding hands and standing close. I could only imagine what was going through his head, but mine was filled with the joy that I was finally marrying the man I loved and telling myself that I wasn't going to cry.

"Ricardo Carlos Manoso, do you take Stephanie Anne Plum to be your wife, and do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her for as long as you live?"

"I do," Ranger said with absolute certainty as he slipped my wedding band on to my left hand.

"Stephanie Anne Plum, do you take Ricardo Carlos Manoso to be your husband, and do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him for as long as you live?"

"I do," I said clearly, sliding his wedding band onto his left hand. I bit my bottom lip to keep from bursting into tears. Ranger gave an ever-so-slight shake of his head. He found my emotional girl moments funny.

"If anyone in this room believes there is a reason that these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace," Rafael said, trying not to crack up as he added under his breath so that only Ranger and I could hear him. "But only if you're ready to die tonight."

No one said anything and Rafael spoke again. "That being said, by the authority invested in me by the state of New Jersey, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Ranger pulled me into him and gave me a surprisingly demonstrative kiss, considering we were in front of a large group of people, and everyone clapped and cheered. Ranger wrapped his arms around me and rested his cheek against mine for a moment after we ended our kiss.

"I love you, babe," he whispered in my ear.

"I love you too," I replied, sniffling as a tear fell down my cheek.

"You almost made it," Ranger said, pulling back to wipe the tear away as our families started making their way towards us. Julie nearly bowled us over with her enthusiasm.

"I can't believe you did this!" she said, hugging Ranger. "This is so cool. I can't believe you actually got married." She moved on to hug me as well as Lola hugged Ranger.

"I can't believe it," my mother said, embracing me next. "You kids…"

I was hugged by my father, both of my grandmothers, Lola, Javier, both of Ranger's grandmothers, and all of our siblings before Lula and Connie made their ways up to us.

"Girl, you know how to surprise people," Lula said, hugging me so tightly that I was worried she might crack a rib. "I can't believe you planned all of this without telling us."

"It wasn't easy," I said as Lula released me, and Connie took her place. "I almost slipped up and told someone most days."

"And you," Lula said, pointing at Ranger. "You had better take care of my girl, or you'll have me to answer to."

"And all God's people said 'Amen'," Connie said as we tried not to crack up over Lula's bravado.

Dinner was served ten minutes late because of the uproar caused by the surprise wedding, but no one seemed to mind. The dinner was delicious, consisting of Caesar salad, arroz con pollo, green beans, and a delicious tiramisu for dessert.

Celia, armed with a camera that looked like it should belong to a professional photographer, subjected Ranger and me to an impromptu photo shoot to help us remember our wedding day after dinner was completed. She also included Julie in a few of the pictures before gathering both sets of parents for a larger photo.

"I thought the whole point of this was to avoid all of the typical wedding stuff," Ranger said after we'd been taking pictures for almost thirty minutes.

"I don't mind taking a few pictures to help remember our wedding day," I replied as Celia declared the photo shoot over.

"Neither do I, but that was excessive."

"She's your sister. Do you think you could have stopped her?"

"No."

"Then why bother complaining?"

"Because I can't shoot anything."

As the clock got closer to midnight, people started migrating towards the bar, where big screen televisions were tuned to Times Square and the countdown began. At the stroke of midnight, everyone wished each a happy New Year and kissed their respective partners. Ranger tilted my head up and kissed me briefly. I could see his eyes were getting dark, which I interpreted to mean that he was ready to get out of there and get started on the traditional wedding night activities.

"Let's start saying our goodbyes and get out of here," I whispered in his ear. "I have plans for you tonight."

We headed over to our respective parents and bid them goodbye, telling them that we needed to get Julie home, plus Ranger was still going to work in the morning because he typically had several call-offs because men were too hung over to work safely. We thanked Celia and Lucy for all of the planning and work they put into the party, which had been terrific, and set out to find Julie. We saw her sitting at a table in the corner, playing with a piece of fringe hanging from her dress.

"Ready to leave?" Ranger asked her. Julie didn't meet Ranger's eye when she nodded, but stood up and grabbed her purse. We made our way out of the restaurant, which was slow work because people kept stopping us to congratulate us. As we reached the door, I noticed Silvia sitting in the lap of my cousin Phil. They were all over each other to the point that I felt like I should cover Julie's eyes.

"That's not the man Silvia showed up with," I told Ranger as we left. "In fact, I think I've seen her with a couple of different men this evening that weren't her date. Now she's making out with my cousin Phil, who's married with two kids."

"Katrina said Aunt Silvia's a slut," Julie commented as we reached the lobby.

Ranger looked conflicted as we stopped at the coat check. "You shouldn't say that, Julie."

"It's what Katrina said," Julie said quietly, again not looking him in the eye.

"Even if it's true, you shouldn't say it," Ranger told her, assessing this sudden change in Julie's usual exuberance. "Are you okay?"

She nodded as she accepted her coat. "Yeah, I'm just tired."

Ranger and I looked at each other, trying to figure out what was going on with her. I watched her as we walked out to the car, wondering if she possibly had gotten into some alcohol at the party, but she showed no signs of being intoxicated. She was quiet on the way back to the house, staring out the window the entire time. She looked scared and confused, even sad. She went upstairs as soon as we arrived back home an hour later, bidding us a quiet and hasty good night.

"What do you think is wrong with her?" I asked as we hung our coats in the closet under the stairs.

"Not sure," Ranger said. "I'll talk to her in the morning. I thought maybe she had gotten into some alcohol at the party, but I didn't smell it on her and she wasn't exhibiting any other signs of having something in her system."

"I thought about that too," I told him, making our way upstairs. "Maybe she's just tired and will be better in the morning."

We went into our bedroom and I immediately started taking the hairpins out of my hair. They were starting to give me a headache. While I was doing that, Ranger had started getting undressed, stripping down to nothing by the time I pulled the last pin out of my hair. He came up behind me, pushed my hair aside and started untying the knot at the base of my neck that kept my dress up. Once that was loose, he pulled the zipper down my back and let the dress fall in a pool at my feet. I turned around to face him, putting my arms around his neck and kissed him, pressing my almost-naked body into his. He guided me over to the bed and proceeded to remove my underwear and high heels before covering his body with mine. I put thoughts about Julie's sudden mood change aside in that moment and enjoyed making love with my husband.