Ms. Evanovich owns hers. I own mine. They mingle. They tingle. They…well, you know. I make nothing of intrinsic value.

Connie and Woody's wedding is based on a real possibility at Disney World complete with wedding planner, location, cake, dress, and special guests. This could be you.

I have to hand it to Connie, she knows what she likes. She knows what she looks good in and when she really wants something, she takes no prisoners and she suffers whatever she must to get what she wants. She stood still for more than an hour while they turned her into a princess. She knew it was Ariel's dress. And naturally she was a little reticent since Ariel had been most recently portrayed by that psycho Amanda, but what's a girl to do if it's THE perfect dress? I'll tell you what Connie did, she pfft'd it off. Yes, pfft'd. I'd try to explain it, but if you don't know what it is, it wouldn't matter anyway. The other dresses they showed us were pretty, but Ariel's had the bling and it fit her like a glove. She was gorgeous. She made the right choice.

The dresses she picked out for Lula, Natalie and I were pretty too. She chose a black form fitting strapless sheath. I worried for half a second that Lula would feel intimidated by the shape of the dress. I know, what was I thinking? She gasped with glee and shimmied into that dress and owned it. Frankly, I think she looked better in it that I did. Hopefully, my husband didn't agree.

There's this spot at the Magic Kingdom right in front of the castle where they put on shows when the park is open. That's where Lula and Woody chose to get married.

So the street in front of the castle was complete decorated for the wedding. There was an aisle with pretty chairs on either side draped in cream fabric. There were gorgeous pink and cream flowers lining the aisle and just to define it further, a pink carpet with crowns on it. The castle had a pale pink light shining on it making it fit with the wedding. Lula and I carried pink and cream flowers. The same flowers surrounded the altar. It was gorgeous. It was a wedding for a princess. And well…Connie sure as hell fits that bill in more ways than one.

I went down the aisle first since Lula was Connie's matron of honor. I could have gone second and was originally supposed to, but when we did the rehearsal line up she wanted to match me with my husband since she wasn't able to do that with Lula. Lula was her matron of honor and Manny was Woody's best man. That meant Lula couldn't walk with Tank. She said that was fine. She understood it was Connie's day.

Lula was more reasonable than I've ever seen her. It could be because Connie had offered to carry her child. As much as I complain that I'll be pushing out Ric's enormous progeny in about seven months, I have to say…Connie was going to be hurting more than I was. Really! I don't think she's thought about the fact that something Tank had part in creating was coming out her hoo-hah. I know I've been thinking about it since Lula told me she was going to do it. I think Ric's been thinking about it too. He keeps opening his mouth to say something, but wisely thinks better of it before he inserts his size 13 foot right down his gullet.

Anyhoo…I digress. When the music started, the wedding coordinator genius sent me down the aisle. I took a couple of steps and looked around and was amazed at the number of people I saw there. I saw almost everyone I knew from Connie's family and quite a few people that had to be from Woody's side of the family. There were a large number of Rangeman employees there, at least all of the core group including Lester, Bobby and Hal. I hadn't expected them and it took everything in my power not to stop and hug them. I hadn't seen them in forever it seemed. I gave a slight finger wave from my waist where I was holding my flowers and grinned. Yes, I have control issues still.

Once I got a good look around my eyes drifted forward I saw Ric standing at the end of the aisle beside Tank and really, it was all I needed to motivate me to keep on moving. I didn't really remember our wedding. I have occasional little glimpses of it that jump into my head, but I don't remember it much even having seen the video that one time. But the beach in Cayman and in front of Cinderella's Castle (and wasn't that just apropos) at Disney World in the Magic Kingdom wasn't going to be easy to beat. In any case since we hadn't had our own real walk down the aisle, I was using our friends' weddings to sort of mentally recreate our wedding into something I wanted it to be. If our friends kept having real weddings and inviting us to participate, pretty soon we'd have a complete wedding by proxy…at least in my head. That's what I was going with anyway.

I stopped across from Ranger and smiled.

He winked at me and waggled his brow at my dress.

I struggled to control my giggle as Natalie came down the aisle and stopped across from Tank.

Lula was next, and she really did own that dress. No matter what I looked like, no matter what Natalie looked like (and let there be no mistake she was gorgeous) Lula really looked great. Lula can be intimidating in the right dress and that was totally the right dress. The look in Tank's eye was all the proof I needed.

Then the music changed and Connie started down the aisle. Along with the rest of the crowd, I turned to look and my mouth dropped open. I mean, I saw her before I started down the aisle and she looked good, but when she started down the aisle in that setting…she was breathtaking. Ranger's brow even went up. I would have been jealous, but heck if I swung that way I'd think about it. I glanced over at Woody and gasped at the expression on his face. He looked…possessive and proud and so much in love it took a person's breath away. I felt another little feeling of comfort settling over me. Once again, the stars were all aligned and I could feel it. I was where I was supposed to be with the people I was supposed to be with. All was right with the world.

Connie and Woody joined hands and turned to the man officiating the wedding and it began. The words were quickly spoken. The rings were carefully exchanged. The prayers were gently said. Then Woody caught Connie's face between his hands and kissed her so reverently that tears filled my eyes. She was his world. It was clear.

They hurried back down the aisle laughing and seeing only each other. That was how it was supposed to be.

Lula hooked her arm through Manny's and winked and Tank and followed behind them. Natalie took Tank's arm. He dwarfed her. Yea, he dwarfs most people, he really dwarfed Natalie.

Then I took Ranger's arm and followed them. I leaned into his body and put my cheek to his arm. "I love you," I whispered.

"Love you more," he murmured smiling at the crowd as we moved.

"Not a chance," I said happily.

Now, I have to say, I've been to some rocking Rangeman weddings in recent days and this one may have been one of the most joyous so far. That fact could be colored by the fact that I know my husband and I are in a good place for the first time attending one of these shindigs. Maybe I looked at it through different eyes. All I can say is, it was magnificent.

The food was incredible. We stood in the reception line for a while and I finally got to see the guys from the office.

"You're looking Beautiful," Lester leaned down to kiss me as Marina hugged Ric.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," I admitted. "How are things?"

"As you can imagine running perfectly smoothly," he said smugly.

I laughed, "How long are you guys here?"

"Just tonight," he shrugged. "We fly out in the morning. Nobody wanted to miss Woody's big day though. It was worth it."

"I'm glad you're here. I know Woody is too."

"Tank says he has some stories to tell me when you guys get back," he grinned. He leaned forward in confusion and whispered to me, "He said Ranger ate chili cheese fries."

I burst out laughing.

"Say it ain't so," he blinked at me.

I nodded as I laughed, "oh yeah. It's so. And he followed the chili cheese fries with a cheeseburger and chocolate cake."

"It was a Cuban Cheeseburger," Ranger growled at us. "It was my duty to taste it."

"Your duty," Lester blinked at him before turning back to me. "Who is this guy?"

"Even if it was his duty to taste the Cuban Cheeseburger, nobody held a gun to his head with the fries or the chocolate cake," I grinned. "And…even though we were sharing the cake, he ate more than I did."

Lester grabbed Ranger's hands and studied them, "and you still have all of your appendages?"

Ranger rolled his eyes and jerked his hands back.

"And Little Ranger is still intact," Lester grinned.

"What are you calling little," Ranger narrowed his eyes at his cousin.

Lester looked over at me.

"Hey…this time I'm with him. There's nothing little about him."

"Ewww...," Marina muttered. "That's too much information."

I grinned, "go on, have a drink and eat some caviar and you'll feel a hundred percent better."

"That sounds like a plan," she said and hooked her arm through Lester's and dragged him off.

"It's not little," Ric grumbled much like a three year old who'd been sent to the corner.

I tucked my hand up in his elbow and leaned against him, "baby…it's not little. It, like your head, is enormous and I am constantly amazed that it fits in my body."

"Damn straight," he kissed my nose and grinned and straightened and turned to greet Bobby with a hug.

"Damn straight," I muttered. "Well, except for that little turn near the end that always hits my…"

"Okay," Hal asked as he stopped in front of me.

I blinked and suddenly remembered where I was. "Hal," I hugged him with a grin.

"You're okay," he repeated when he let go.

"Oh you know," I shrugged. "You know how Lester and Ranger get?"

"Yea," he laughed. "By the way, thank you."

"For what," I frowned.

"I won the office pool," he grinned.

"What office pool," I asked suspiciously.

"You know the one about how long it would take for you to find trouble on your honeymoon."

I gasped. "You did not!"

"I did," he grinned.

"Did you hear that," I nudged Ranger.

"I did," he nodded. "Who had the furthest out?"

"Jenna, but she hardly counts since she's really new to the team."

I leaned in, "watch yourself with her. She and Manuel they are…muy caliente."

"No way," he blinked wide-eyed and turned to search the room till he found them in the corner curled up on one chair whispering. "I didn't see that one coming."

"It was only a matter of time," Bobby said thoughtfully beside him. "I mean, they were constantly going at each other. She was taking her time training the dogs to do what he wanted. She muttered to them whenever they were out of his earshot about him. I actually heard her tell them that she didn't care if they took till Christmas to figure out not to put evidence in their mouths. What's really weird is it looked like they understood her and snickered. And Manuel…he muttered about her. He calls her Cookie for God's sake. Is that the kind of nickname you give someone you despise? I don't think so. Yeah, the two of them were just a matter of time."

I laughed, "Yea…and what used to spark with ire, now sparks with something else."

"It does," Hal said in awe.

"Oh yea," I agreed. "They're all over each other…all the time."

"Interesting," he said with narrowed eyes.

"Speaking of…how's Marilyn?"

He rolled his eyes, "she moved on to a bad boy that Hector set her up with. I was too nice for her."

"Never mind," I said and hugged him around his waist. "The right girl is out there, you will find her…"

"Or you'll find her for me," he said with a ghost of a smile.

"Exactly," I nodded.

"Matchmaker Manoso," Bobby shook his head. "Now that's the one that surprised me the most."

"Well, yeah," Hal agreed. "That and Rangeman eating chili cheese fries. I still can't wrap my brain around it."

"I'm sure it's pregnancy cravings," I grinned.

"Yea, but he's not pregnant," Hal reminded me.

"Pshaw," I waved my hand at him. "I manifest some signs of the pregnancy and he does the others. It's how the male copes with the female carrying his child. It's not like he can knock me up again…while I'm still pregnant, so he has to do something to proclaim to far and wide that I'm with child."

"He's not a baboon," Bobby reminded me.

"He certainly postures like one sometimes," Hal grinned.

The two hit a high five over my head.

"He is my husband," I reminded them. "Don't talk shit about him when I'm right here."

"Sorry Steph," Bobby grinned.

"How much longer have we got to stand here," Ranger turned and interrupted us. "They're going to eat all the Crostini before we get over there," he whined.

Bobby blinked at him and then looked at me, "although. You could be right. Fascinating," he muttered. "I may have to do some research."

I grinned and watched them walk away. "The magic wedding planner said we'd have to take a few more pictures and then we could go. The line is gone on our end, so we just wait till Natalie and Tank are done and we smile pretty and then we go eat."

"Thank God," he groaned. "I'm starving!"

Lester strolled over with a couple of little plates and handed one to Ranger and one to me. "Some of everything," he winked and walked away.

"Thank God," Ranger groaned and picked up one of the hors d'œuvres and stuffed it into his mouth.

I watched him devour his plate and then slid my untouched plate on top of his empty one. "Here you go. You're gonna need the energy later. You look really hot in that tux."

He just grinned.

After dinner, I had chicken and Ranger had steak and lobster…and part of my chicken, the dancing started. The fab five (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy) had showed up during dinner to entertain and mingle. Mickey and Minnie pulled Woody and Connie to the dance floor to dance their first dance and after a few minutes joined them. Eventually the floor was filled as everyone danced and laughed and celebrated Connie and Woody's happiness.

They cut the cake about an hour after that and Ranger had two pieces. It was good. I don't know if I was that good though. Then he pulled me to the dance floor saying he needed to exercise it off.

We stood near our table dancing…sort of. We were holding each other and swaying as music played. It was better than some.

"I really screwed you out of something special didn't I," he finally asked kissing my temple.

I frowned in confusion and looked up at him, "what are you talking about?"

"This," he waved his hand around. "You didn't get this."

"Oh…you mean a big wedding," I smiled.

"Right," he sighed.

"This is bigger than I would have wanted," I admitted.

"What would you have wanted," he asked and kissed me again.

"I like where we got married," I said with a sigh. "I like that I was happy and you were happy during it."

"Me too," he admitted.

"The only thing missing was friends and family. Other than Manuel, there was nobody there who knew us and who would have rejoiced with us."

"I know," he sighed. "I'll make it up to you."

"You can't turn back time," I said seriously.

"We could still have a ceremony to sort of renew our vows or something."

"I don't need that," I admitted. "I thought when everyone first started talking about that it would be cool, but now I'm really happy with how things are. I really do love our life. I don't want to go backwards Ric."

"Would it be going backwards," he asked seriously.

"Did you mean what you said when you married me?"

"What," he blinked in surprise.

"Did you mean it? Did you mean to love me for the rest of your life? Did you mean that you were marrying your best friend? Did you mean it when you committed yourself to my happiness? Did you mean it when you said forever?"

"I meant it," he whispered softly.

"I did too," I kissed his chin.

"But you were…"

"Drunk or sober, I meant the words then and I mean them now," I said seriously. "I don't need to revisit it and do it again. That's going backwards. For us…from now on, we only go forward. Besides, we get to be in our friends' weddings and we can piece bits of them together to collage one of our own in our heads."

He laughed. "You're nuts. That's why I love you."

I grinned, "And when our daughters get married, we'll get to do it again."

He paled, "daughters…get married."

"Yea," I nodded with a grin.

"How can they get married if they're locked in a tower till they're sixty?"

"You said forty," I reminded him.

"I changed it to fifty," he reminded me.

"That's still less than sixty," I pointed out.

"I've had a change of heart," he said grimly.

I smiled. It didn't matter what he said. I knew him. He was a big bad former Army Ranger. He had done things so dark that he'd never see light completely ever again to protect others. And yet, the women…girls…he loved had him wrapped around their little fingers. His mother did. His sister's did. Julie did. Hell, my mother did. I know I did. There was no doubt that the child in my womb would as well…even if it was a boy.

"Why are you smiling," he asked scattering kisses along my jaw.

"I love you and I'm happy."

"Forever Stephanie…I meant it for forever," he said gently.

I smiled and burrowed into him and sighed. Forever still wouldn't be long enough.