I am not receiving money or property off of anything submitted here. I am only borrowing the characters Janet Evanovich created. My use of JE's characters will be different than her use of them and they will change and be considered by many to be OOC. The characters I own are mine and may be borrowed here by anyone for their use here. I will return JE's characters when I am finished with them and they will be in the same pristine condition as when they were borrowed...no matter what their fate is in my fiction. Thank you for reading.

As I dressed for dinner that night it occurred to me that in less than thirty-six hours Tank and Lula would be married. It blew my mind to think of it like that. They were making the commitment and it seemed looking around the ship that there were a lot of people on the ship who thought commitment was the way to go. Gabe and Padma obviously did. They had married and were expecting their first child. Natalie and Cal were engaged as well as Connie and Woody. It seemed that I was the only person I knew these days without a permanent dance partner. Well, there was me and there was Ranger. It seemed more likely that we'd end up together because he ran out of options at this point than because he loved me and wanted to be with me. That made me sad.

I put on the blue dress that was just a couple of shades lighter than my eyes and I got the sapphires out of the safe and this time I wore them all. I needed a little bit of Brian's friendship right then. If he was there, he would make me feel better about the whole thing. As far as former lovers went, he was the bomb. He was currently in Australia traveling about and figuring himself out. I missed him. I especially missed him when I needed his sanity. Manuel could take Ranger's side. Brian would be less likely to, although he had let me know that Ranger was a good guy and I could do worse at the end of our relationship.

I took one last look at myself in the mirror and went into the sitting room where Ranger was waiting with his jacket tossed casually across the back of the couch and looking completely unconcerned about everything. I adjusted my earring, "are you about ready?"

He turned and blinked at me, "oh my God. You maybe should change. You're not supposed to upstage the bride."

I laughed, "thank you. That's for tomorrow. I promise you that tomorrow I won't look at all bride-like. Besides I've seen Lula in that dress and nobody will be able to steal her thunder tomorrow."

"I'm not so sure about that," he got lazily to his feet and reached for his jacket. "I've ordered us a car."

"Oh great," I nodded. "How is the remainder of the wedding party getting there?"

"Various car services," he shrugged.

"Okay," I smiled and reached for my bag. "I'm ready."

"You do look beautiful Stephanie," he said softly and picked up the shawl matching my dress from the end of the couch.

"Thank you Ranger. You look pretty damn hot yourself," I sighed.

"Thank you," he smiled and offered me his arm.

He drove us to the beach where a lot of activity was under way to prepare for the wedding the next day. It didn't take us long to find the wedding party.

"Thank God you're here," Felicia said. "Its bad luck for the bride and groom to practice themselves at the wedding. We need you two to stand in for them tonight."

I blinked, "er…are you sure? I mean…"

"Of course Felicia," Ranger said casually, "we'll do anything you need us to do."

"Thank you Ricardo darling," she smiled and tilted her face to accept his kiss.

The Reverend Burns and his wife approached us. I wouldn't have known he was the reverend except that his collar had that little white thing on it. You know…the priest thing. "I'm happy to finally meet you," the reverend extended his hand to Ranger.

"We're pleased to meet you as well," Ranger smiled.

"Stephanie if you'll go with Evelyn she'll tell you what to do and Ranger you come with me and I'll talk you though Tank's part. For the sake of events tomorrow we'll tell you what your jobs are then as well, okay?"

"Okay," Ranger agreed.

Evelyn Burns took my hand and led me back up the path to the waiting area at the top of the hill.

Evelyn handed me a fake bouquet of flowers. "When the wedding march begins you start down the path. Do you hear me Lula," she turned to the bride.

"I hear you," she nodded.

"You take a step and pause. Take a step and pause. Okay Stephanie, just wait for the sound. When you're the maid of honor, you take the same path, but I'll tell you when to go."

"Okay," I nodded.

As soon as the music began I began to walk. Evelyn cleared her throat once and I slowed my pace to the one she'd set for me. After all, this was only a rehearsal and not the real thing and I wasn't even the bride. However, knowing all of that didn't stop my breath from catching when I came through the arches and saw Ranger waiting at the end of the blue carpet by the minister with his hands crossed lightly in front of him. I wondered if it would be like that if we really got married. I wondered if we'd elope in Vegas or if we'd just go downtown and get married when the time came. I would like to have a real wedding, but I was smart enough to know that just getting Ranger down the aisle would be hard enough. I'd honestly take him however he offered to do the deed. I wondered if he knew that.

I came to a stop and we went through the ceremony and the minister talked us through various things and told us and Tank and Lula what would happen when it came down to the actual ceremony. We practiced three more times making sure the timing was right and Lula even walked it with me once to make sure she had the pace right.

By the time the reverend and Mrs. Burns determined that we had it down pat, I felt like my skin was alive. I was jumpy and nervous and I was three seconds from running back to the ship and hiding under the bed until the whole thing was over. It was too close to being what I really wanted for me. I was going to lose it.

We trudged up the hill to the Governor's hotel and the private dining room that awaited us. We dined on steak and lobster and the most gorgeous cakes. Then Jean Luc got to his feet.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for being here. Thank you for taking time from your busy lives to be part of Pierre…I mean Tank and Lula's wedding. We never thought this day would come." He turned to the bridal couple, "our darling children. We know we haven't lost a son. We have gained a sassy and saucy daughter-in-law who wants to share her life with our son and in the most traditional way." He paused and wiped away his tears, "Felicia and I couldn't be happier with your choice son. Lula is truly our daughter." He turned back to the dinner mates, "We have to thank Stephanie and Ranger for bringing these two together, and without them…we wouldn't be here today." There was some applause then before he smiled, "and now…it's Stephanie's turn to speak."

I got to my feet and brushed back my own tears. "Four years ago, my life changed. Four years ago a lot of truly amazing people came into my life. Among those people were Tank and Lula and I'll be honest with you, if you'd told me we'd be here today I'd have laughed myself silly." The crowd tittered with me, "but tomorrow my friends…my dear friends Lula and Tank are promising their lives to each other. They're promising to love one another forever. They're promising to put their faith in God and in each other. But…they're a little ahead of the game. They already made that vow. This wedding is only a formality. To Tank and to Lula, thank you for setting the example of love I'd like to emulate." I raised my glass to them and sat down.

There was a ring of cheers and Lula blew a kiss at me and Tank just nodded.

Ranger got slowly to his feet, "I've known Tank since I was eighteen years old. That's a long time…about fifteen years. I always knew Tank had the capacity to love as he loves Lula. He is probably one of the most loyal human beings I've ever had the privilege to know in my life. It's been a blessing to have him in my life. He's saved my life on countless occasions and in more ways than I can list. He's my friend. He's my teacher. He's my brother. And tomorrow, he marries the love of his life and he's still teaching me. He's teaching me that you don't have to be less than you are to love and be loved. So…to my friend Tank and his beloved Lula…I wish you joy, I'd wish you love…but that you already have."

I raised my glass when everyone else did, but the tears I kept wiping from my face kept me from looking at the man I loved. If only he meant those words because of me. If only. If only.

After the toasts we settled into groups with conversations. I found myself with Natalie in the corner just watching.

"Are you okay Steph," she asked.

"Yea," I smiled. "I'm so damn happy for them."

"But you can't help but wish some of that happiness could be for you, right?"

"Maybe," I laughed. "I feel so selfish."

"Is your speech tomorrow going to be the same?"

"Not completely, but similar," I sighed. "Was it okay?"

"It was," she agreed. "He kept watching you to see if you'd meet his eyes. But you never looked at him. He looked so disappointed when you didn't."

"Why would it matter," I shrugged.

"You don't really think that, do you?"

"I do," I nodded and sipped my drink.

"Well…he's coming this way, so be prepared.

"I'm always prepared for Ranger," I said straightening.

"Liar," she raised a brow.

"God, I'm transparent," I sighed. I plastered a smile on my face and turned toward Ranger, "hello Ranger, long time no see."

"Are you drunk," he asked.

"I am not," I shook my head. "I'm simply maintaining a pleasant disposition for the upcoming nuptials of Pierre Jean Luc 'Tank' Thibodaux and Lula Emmaline Brown."

"Emmaline," he raised a brow and the corners of his mouth tilted up.

"Hey…I didn't name her that. You need to talk to Odetta."

"That's just…I'd never name a kid Emmaline," he said seriously. "Do you want to dance?"

"Sure," I agreed and let him pull me out to the dance floor. He tugged me against his warm body as the music played slowly in the background. It was Michael Bolton's When a Man loves a Woman. I almost moaned aloud. "So…as a matter of curiosity, what would you name a child?"

"I wouldn't name her Emmaline. I didn't get to name Julie. I suppose it could be a family name on her mother's side. But maybe it's just a name she liked. I don't have the right to question it. I think I'd go with more traditional names though."

"Are we talking traditional names in Cuba or…"

"Just traditional," he laughed. "You know like William or Charles and maybe Elizabeth and Sarah."

"Ah that is very traditional," I nodded.

"What about you? I mean you named a hamster Rex so I don't think you'll…"

"Thank you but Rex is a very traditional name for a pet."

"Yea," he grinned, "if your pet is a German Shepherd it's a very common name. But Rex, in case you haven't noticed, is a hamster."

"That is a fact I am very well aware. He was chosen because he doesn't take up a lot of space and he doesn't have to go out at five in the morning to keep him from peeing on the rug."

"Then he's a wise choice."

"But I like the name Rex, so that's what I named him."

"In any case…what would you name a child?"

"I don't know. I might name a boy Connor or maybe Fisher or Zachary. I like both of those names. And for a girl, I like Emily and Madeline and Alexandra."

"Those are good names," he nodded. "What do you think those two will name their children?"

"Something Creole," I said with a smile.

"What's Creole?"

"I don't know. I think they're all French names…you know like Jean Luc."

"Ah…you're probably right," he nodded.

"Probably something like Emmaline," I smiled.

He shook his head. "I guess we can look forward to Pierre and Emmaline juniors then," he said with a smile.

"I think so," I nodded.

He glanced over his shoulder at Tank and Lula dancing together and grinning at each other like idiots. "They're going to make it, aren't they?"

"Yep," I smiled. "They are going to make it."

"Thank God. Do you think all of these couples will make it?"

"Yea," I nodded and my smile grew. "I think they will. That's the good catholic girl in me talking though. I can't imagine anything ever breaking up Tank and Lula or how about Cal and Natalie. These couples searched for each other. They deserve all their happiness."

"Yea, they do," he agreed and tugged me a little tighter. "How are the hives?"

"What," I blinked up at him.

"Your hives," he smiled. "You always get hives at weddings."

"We're not at a wedding," I reminded him.

"Babe…you just walked down the aisle to me like five times pretending to get married. That's enough to give you hives on any other day. Are you telling me that you don't have hives?"

"I don't have hives," I blinked up at my arms in surprise.

"Well…maybe you don't have commitment issues anymore," he said softly.

I smiled and relaxed against him, "yea…maybe I don't."