I'm sure when I look at the pictures from this reception, I will see that I acknowledged the other three hundred people who are here. But right now, all I see is my husband.

My husband.

"Well, you two are just the cutest couple ever. We really do wish you the best," the woman standing in front of us says.

We are cute. He's cute and I can't stop looking at him. I'm making him blush because I swear he can read my thoughts now that he's my husband.

My husband.

"Thank you, Aunt Karen. We hope you enjoy the rest of the evening. The Masens have really outdone themselves."

He makes me smile. I love how gracious he is about everything. My family and our wealth can be overwhelming. He handles it all so well. Most people would assume when the bride says she wants to get married at her parents' house and have the reception there, it's going to be a small affair. Not when it's my house. Like Daddy said, we Masens always do things bigger and better.

Jonathan pulls me away from his family's table. His hand holds mine firmly. We've been connected almost since the moment the wedding ceremony was over. Neither one of us wants to let go. Ever.

"You really need to stop looking at me like that if you want me to make it through this entire reception." His lips find mine and I want to leave the reception immediately and kiss all night long.

"Like what?" I giggle.

"Like you just won the goddamn lottery and want to celebrate naked."

"I did and I do," I tease. He kisses me again, and I wonder who would notice if we didn't stay.

"We need you two to come over by the cake and cut it so the caterers can take it back to the kitchen to be plated," Lala says, making me very aware that everyone would unfortunately take notice of our absence. And I wouldn't put it past Daddy to have a GPS chip implanted in the penny in my shoe. I need to remember to give that back.

Charlotte takes hold of Jon's other arm and leads us to the cake. She comments on how handsome he looks tonight and he makes her blush with a compliment of his own. Lala loves Jonathan as much as she loves me. She was the first one to find out about us. She caught us kissing on the rooftop patio late one night, long after Jonathan was supposed to be off duty. I might have tried to say he was giving me mouth to mouth, but Lala was much smarter than the lovestruck idiot I was back then. She promised not to say a word to my father. She doesn't like secrets, but she liked Jonathan enough not to throw him to the wolves either.

"You know you're our guest, Lala. You do not need to be in charge of anything today," I remind her as she points one of the servers with a tray full of hors d'oeuvres in a better direction.

She smiles. "Oh, I know, sweet girl. But you know me, I've never been able to let go of complete control over the food that is served anywhere inside these walls. Your poor mother doesn't even know how to boil water anymore."

"The two of them will definitely starve without you." I can't imagine this house without Charlotte. She belongs here as much as any other member of the family.

We make it to the cake and someone hands us a knife. I have kind of been looking forward to this part. I chose the most delicious cake ever made. I plan to eat my piece and Jon's after dinner. He always gets dessert just so I can have two. I have a tiny bit of a sweets addiction. I blame my father. He has spoiled me with things like Belgian chocolate and French pastries since I was old enough to eat solid foods. I literally cry when I eat beignets. I probably should weigh four hundred pounds. Hanna's jealousy over my metabolism is well deserved.

"Don't you dare smash any cake in my face, Mrs. Kent," Jonathan says after we pose for a couple pictures with the colossal cake.

"And waste all that yummy goodness? Never, Mr. Kent." I kiss his lips. They are part of my sweets addiction, I'm sure of it. I have never kissed a sweeter man.

"All right, now both of you hold on to the knife handle and look back at me before you actually cut the cake." The photographer holds up something that checks the lighting and then raises his camera to his face. "Okay, ready?"

I put on my wedding day smile and pose for the millionth time today. And immediately after the flash goes off, I hear the most absurd sound I can imagine. It's a loud screech like you'd hear from some kind of monkey at the zoo. I look for Alec, who I assume is behind the noise, but I don't see him anywhere. What I do see makes me not think this is Alec's doing...I know.

"Is that a chimpanzee?" Jonathan's eyes go wide because, yes, a freaking chimpanzee hangs from one of the giant crystal chandeliers at the other end of the ballroom. The little chimp is in the middle of what appears to be an anxiety attack. Its wail fills the entire ballroom.

I am going to kill my brother.

I scan the room. My soon-to-be-dead brother is nowhere to be found. So typical. He makes a mess and leaves it for everyone else to clean up. Hanna is laughing her ass off. Tyler already has the security team rounded up and brainstorming how to take down a monkey that is now causing all the guests to run away. As they exit, I see my brother pushing his way in, shouting, "Come here, Kiko. Relax, girl. It's okay, sweetheart."

He's followed by...Thea? Thea is shouting the same things as walking-dead-Alec. Kiko must be as pissed off at Alec as I am. She wants nothing to do with him and jumps down on one of the tables, knocking over the enormous centerpiece. Water and flowers crash to the floor, frightening the animal even more. She dodges security, who has decided to surround her.

Kiko has other ideas. She ducks under a table and comes out the other side, making a run for it. Jonathan and I can't move, immobilized in our shock. Kiko the chimp is headed for us. She's squealing and panicked. Security is doing more damage than she is as they practically barrel each other over in their attempts to grab her. And before I can even comprehend what a disaster this is, she climbs up my dress and on my shoulders, hiding under my veil.

I try not to freak out, but let's be real, there's a freaking chimp on my head! Jon tries to untangle her from the netting of the veil as the security guys, my brother, and Thea all come rushing at me. I step back and lose my balance. Jonathan reaches for me, and in his valiant attempt to save me from falling into the cake, manages to knock himself off his feet and pretty much right on top of the french vanilla with fresh strawberries and buttercream frosted masterpiece that will never make it into my belly.

Alec and Thea scream at security to back away. "You're scaring her! I got this! I got her. Please." My brother is beside himself. "Kiko, it's okay, baby. Stay still, Faith."

Stay still? There's a psychotic chimpanzee on my head, but I'm supposed to stay still?

"She's caught in the veil. Thea, help her get her head out."

The two of them nearly rip my hair out as they try to detach Kiko from the veil that is very much attached to my head.

"We are so, so sorry, Faith. I had her in my arms, but we...got distracted for a minute," Thea apologizes, her face turning red. My brother bites his lip, trying to hide that smirk I know all too well.

"Distracted?"

"I got her," Alec says, pulling the little monster free. He tries to comfort her, but she immediately reaches for Thea like a small child does for its mother.

Thea gathers the chimp up in her arms and rubs its back. "It's okay, Kiko. Don't be afraid."

"She likes you," Alec says to Thea. He's staring at her like she's the only person in the room. Like the entire ballroom isn't in shambles. Like Thea is the best thing since...

Oh. My. God. My brother is in love with Thea. And by the look on her face right now as she stares back at him, giggling and blushing as he sweeps some hair from her cheek, I would guess the feeling is mutual.

I'm fairly certain I'm in the middle of a very bad dream.

My husband stands up, covered in the sweetest buttercream in all of the Pacific Northwest. He asks if I'm all right, carefully looking over every inch of me. Always my protector. Always trying to keep me safe.

"I'm fine. Our cake is ruined, you're a mess, tables have been destroyed, but I'm fine."

I'm not fine. I want to cry. I bite the inside of my cheek so I don't start sobbing like a baby.

"I'm sure I can get cleaned up. Please don't cry, baby. How many people can say they had a chimpanzee crash their wedding? That's pretty cool, I think." He lifts my chin with two fingers and looks at me with those eyes. I have the best husband in the entire world.

"We're so sorry, Faith." Thea's in tears. She's not the one who should be apologizing. No, it's the guy standing at her side, petting the chimp's head with one hand while the other arm is wrapped around my best friend. And his hand is gently rubbing up and down her arm like he's silently begging her not to cry.

"Can you hold my brother's monkey for a minute?" I ask Thea, grabbing a fistful of Alec's shirt and tugging him outside. We exit through one set of french doors and I drag him until I know we're far enough away not to be overheard.

"Faith-"

"Don't. I don't even want to hear all the excuses you're going to throw my way right now." I love my brother. I do. But sometimes... sometimes it feels like he hates me. My tears fall in earnest.

"Oh man. Please don't cry." He tries to wrap his arms around me, but I push him away. "Please listen. Poachers killed that chimp's mother. She's an orphan. I had to rescue her. I couldn't leave her. I couldn't."

I wipe the flowing tears from my cheeks. "You couldn't find a sanctuary in Cameroon? You had to bring her here? Dad is going to kill you, you know."

"There was no time for me to do anything in Cameroon. I needed to get home to be here for you. And Dad is not going to kill me. He won't. Dad knows better than anyone how hard it is to leave an orphan in Africa."

We aren't talking about chimps anymore. My brother is this weird mixture of selfishly careless and unselfishly caring. "Sometimes I think you care about everything else in the world more than me."

Now he looks completely crestfallen. He grips my arms. "You are my sister. I've looked up to you and loved you my whole life."

"You planned a trip right before my wedding, you missed the rehearsal, you unleashed a wild animal on my reception. You didn't even say anything to me all day!" I didn't realize how much that bothered me until right now.

"Faith, I swear I thought I had everything under control. I never wanted this to happen at your reception. And the weather messed me up or I would have been here last night. I wanted to be there last night." He lets me go and puts his hands on his head. "Everyone adores you. You have three hundred people in that ballroom who think you are one of the most amazing women they will ever know. I figured you didn't need anything from me. You have everyone's undying love and support. You always have."

I tug on the lapels of his jacket. "What you aren't understanding is you are important to me. More important than 99% of the people in that ballroom. Don't you get that? Your love and support matter more to me. You matter more to me."

This time, when he wraps his arms around me, I let him. He kisses the top of my head. "Shit. Sometimes I am such an idiot."

"You can say that again." It's nice to laugh with him instead of cry.

"I love you, Pennylove. I am so happy for you and Jon. I know you two are going to have the best life together."

"We won't be eating wedding cake tonight, but we will have a good life. That's for sure."

"I'm sorry about the cake. I know you love cake. I'll buy you ten cakes, I promise."

"Loving someone is more than just saying the words, Alec. You have to be responsible and trustworthy. You can't run away when things get tough."

"Okay, okay. I get it. I'll be a better brother. I will show you that I love you. I swear."

I pull out of his arms and poke him in the chest. "I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about my best friend in the whole wide world."

"Okay! I promise not to leave Hanna in a Bali jail ever again."

"Not that best friend." I roll my eyes at his denseness. "My other best friend in the entire world!"

"Uhhh... Oh! Ooooh." He's smiling way too big.

"Do not even think about breaking Thea's heart or I will do bodily harm. And I'll get Tyler, Hanna, and Jonathan to help me. There will be blood."

"I practically just met the woman, Faith. We're not in love and no one is breaking anyone's heart."

I feign similar indifference. "Oh, okay, well then I'll just tell Jackson that we're on for that double date with her when Jon and I get back from our honeymoon."

My brother's eyes go from almost rolling to full of fiery passion. "Like hell you will! Thea and Jackson? Are you kidding me? She's so far out of that boy's league. Please."

I can't help but laugh. Transparent much? "Responsible. Trustworthy. Considerate. Caring. Humble. These are important things to strive for, Alec. They make a man worthy of Thea's love."

"I'm so done having this conversation with you. But I get it, okay? I totally get it."

I don't know why, but I believe him. Wow, my brother and Thea. Unbelieveable. Thank goodness she's not an oversharer like Hanna. I could never go there with her. Ever.

"We're good? You forgive me?" he asks, taking my hand and leading me back to the house.

"We're good." I squeeze his hand a little tighter. "I mean, Jonathan was right. How many people have a chimp as a wedding crasher?"

"None, that's how many." He's so annoyingly proud of that, I want to hit him.

"I'm sure our children will think it's very funny someday."

"We'll add it the list of totally awesome things their uncle Alec did that ended up helping an event go from memorable to unforgettable."

I dropped my head on his shoulder. "I probably would have smuggled Kiko into the States, too."

"Of course you would have. You're Faith Masen. The most kickass do-gooder in the world."

He's so stinking sweet when he wants to be. Maybe, just maybe, this thing between him and Thea could actually work out. "I love you."

"Love you, too, sis."

"And it's Faith Kent," I remind him.

Alec nods. "Man, that's right. Dad is never going to call you that."

A/N:

Thanks to the usuals. Thanks to all of you for letting us write this silly little story. Thanks to all who have donated to katalina dot fandomcauses dot com. All three of us in the trike are contributing an outtake to the cause. Please think about it. And to everyone who has taken the time to vote for me in the Harlequin contest - thank you so very much. This fandom rocks my world. Jo and BDC, you rock my universe. Go vote for them in the most epic Lemonade Stand weekly poll ever. Edward Cullen - Dick for Hire and The Practice of Love are up. xoxo, Trouble