Chapter 8: "The Great Stark-Howlett Wedding"
True to form, Tony had run with the chance to go overboard with the wedding preparations, and by the time the first week of the year rolled around, he had somehow managed to get a big party going while also keeping it relatively private and away from prying eyes — by hosting the big reception at his home in Malibu.
Security was high with how many heroes were there in addition to Tony's own personal measures, and while there were of course a few photographers clamoring to try and find a way inside, the only "official" photographers for the day were James and Peter Parker — though considering the fact that Howard had asked James to be his best man and Peter was Sadie's godfather, the two of them were doing quite the juggling act, with Kari stepping in from time to time as well.
The grounds had been decorated to sheer perfection, of course. Even in the middle of a warm California winter, Tony had managed to plot out a winter wonderland wedding, complete with white lace canopies draped overhead and twinkling lights — as well as a few ice sculptures around the punch bowls.
And the catering was enough to feed an army, as always. But then again, considering who was on the guest list, that was sort of to be expected.
So, all of the details had been taken care of. Which was a good thing, considering neither the bride nor the groom was entirely prepared to deal with… well, any of it.
Sadie was anxious, all things considered, but her mother was taking her sweet time getting her hair settled and basically trying to calm her down. "You'll be fine," K told her quietly over her shoulder. "Just have to relax, remember why you're doing this."
"I just wasn't … this is happening so fast," Sadie said quietly.
"Yeah, I know the feeling," K chuckled. "But … you love him, right?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Did you want to marry him later?"
"Ye-es," Sadie answered quietly. "Just not … so fast."
"Well … just keep taking after me and you'll be just fine," K said with a little smirk. "I said the same thing about your father. We're doing alright."
"You guys were a lot older," Sadie pointed out, to which K pinched her hard at the side.
"No kidding. Don't talk age with me right now. Talk about intent," K replied. "If he's the right one, and you love him, then … you'd be an idiot not to take as much time with him as you can. You'll wear him out. You'll live long past him — so make this first one really count." K took a moment to finish her hair and then turned her to give her a tight hug. "From here on, age isn't a factor for you. At all. So forget the numbers and go be happy."
Sadie did her best not to cry — as she really wanted to — and instead snuggled in until Logan came in a short moment later, and she let go of her mother to curl in with her father.
"This is usually where I tell you girls to run," Logan told her quietly as he pulled her a little tighter.
"Is that what you're going to tell me?" Sadie asked.
"Seein' as you had to jump through a few extra hoops to get this far?" Logan said, one eyebrow raised. "I doubt you really want to."
"Is that okay?"
Logan took her hand and kissed her forehead. "If he can make you happy, then I'll let him do it." She smiled to herself at that and nodded her head. "They're waiting, but you just take your time. He can wait."
On the other side of the grounds, Howard was pacing with a sort of nervous, frenetic energy. He'd already changed, and he looked as impeccable as if he were going out to an official event for SI — except for his hair, which was poking out in places from where he would occasionally grab it or run his hand through it.
It wasn't a bad kind of nervous, either. It was more… anxious. Impatient. And yeah, a little bit terrified, because hey, he was only seventeen. This was a big deal, and it wasn't at all something that he'd expected to do before he hit his twenties.
"You're going to wear a hole in the floor the way you're going," James said, watching him pace with a frown from where he was relaxing. He'd already gotten the shots he wanted of Pepper fussing over Howard's tie and tux, and now it was just a matter of waiting on the girls.
"He's not going to stop," Tony said. He was sprawled out on one of the couches in the room simply watching Howard's nervous path. "Pretty sure if I'd done the proper ceremony instead of eloping, I'd've done the same thing."
Howard finally stopped and turned toward the two of them. "You're not helping."
Tony laughed as he got to his feet and clapped a hand on Howard's shoulder. "Hey," he said, this time a bit more seriously as he ducked his head down so that he could catch Howard's gaze. "That feeling in the pit of your stomach? Not the scared part — the part where you're just waiting for the day to be over so you can be married? Focus on that." He smirked. "I know if I had, I wouldn't have chickened out of asking your mom so many times."
"And the scared part?"
"That goes away too," Tony chuckled. "Eventually. It's mostly nerves." He looked over at James, chuckled, and added, "Plus, if I was marrying someone whose dad could kill me, I'd be nervous too."
"Thanks, Dad, that's real helpful," Howard said, rolling his eyes — though he'd stopped pacing, so he had at least lost some of the anxiety.
"To be fair," James said, "if Dad wanted you dead, you'd be dead."
"That's something going in my favor, at least," Howard said, shaking his head to himself.
Tony smirked and shrugged openly. "Hey, you're almost eighteen. If I was getting married at your age, I'd be a little antsy too. You're entitled." He leaned forward. "But I gotta tell you, being married is way more fun than dating. You'll enjoy it."
Howard smiled a bit at the encouragement and then seemed to realize his hair was sticking up, so he quickly flattened it and took one more deep breath before it was time to head out anyway — to where there was a gorgeous floral arch with white roses that Leslie Ann had done as soon as she heard Howard wanted those flowers in his wedding.
It really did look stunning, though Howard also didn't miss the fact that the director of SHIELD was sitting up with Sadie's family and giving him his most impressive glare. Which, admittedly, wasn't as good as Logan's was, but still. Peter Parker's "If you hurt her…" look was just … it was odd.
But on the other hand, Pepper and Tony looked downright thrilled by the whole thing, and Howard couldn't help but grin at them once he took his place and waited for Sadie, suddenly realizing that he didn't know what to do with his hands. In his pockets? Yeah. That would work.
"You look like you're waiting for a bus," James said with a smirk.
Howard blinked at him and then quickly pulled his hands back out again. "Like I know what a groom's supposed to look like," he muttered.
James had to chuckle at him before he reached over and put a hand on the back of Howard's neck and then took just a second to make use of a couple pressure points that helped with anxiety, not that anyone could tell what he was doing if they didn't know. "Just let your hands rest at your sides and breathe," James told him over his shoulder.
Howard's shoulders dropped a bit, and he nodded, doing his best to look like he wasn't out of his depth — though that was easier when the most enthusiastic flower girl in the world came around, blonde hair swinging behind her with every skipping step, as Lily beamed delightedly at everyone. And John was doing his best impression of dignified trying to keep up with Lily as the ringbearer, grinning to himself as he tried to take as careful steps as a three-year-old was able. So it was really hard to be anxious at all watching the two of them being… them.
Behind them were the small group of bridesmaids and groomsmen, with Zoe clearly trying to get Chance to laugh at whatever she was whispering under her breath that had Cody hiding his face in the aisle trying not to snort out loud. Though Malin and Nikki were much more regal, grinning to themselves, with Amadi as the maid of honor last of all before Logan and Sadie would make their appearance.
When Sadie and Logan did make their entrance together, though, Howard had to take a moment to again remember to breathe. Not from anxiety but from the fact that he'd never seen Sadie look like that before, and he didn't know what to do about it.
When she and Logan got to the end of the aisle, Logan took a moment to give her a kiss on the cheek and whisper something to her that got a huge grin before he winked her way and stepped over to sit with K.
Howard beamed at Sadie as Kurt started his introduction, though obviously, he didn't quite pay attention to the start of it and took a moment that was obvious to Sadie where he blinked back into paying attention as Kurt said, "And what better way to begin the year than to celebrate love?"
Most of the anxiety was gone by the time it came time for the vows, and Howard was grinning Sadie's way when he finally got to put the ring on her finger. "I promise, Sadie, I'll always treat you like a queen," he told her with a little smile — not about to let that die. Ever. "I really am excited to be a family with you. With both of you," he added. "You're going to do amazing things, and I can't wait to be there with you."
"Howard, although this was quicker than I expected, I'm proud not only to be with you, but to share what will have to be an amazing daughter with you, too. I can only hope that she'll be as happy with us as I'm sure we'll be with each other and with her." Sadie bit her lip and watched him for a long moment, knowing full well that he was going to lose it.
Howard couldn't stop grinning at Sadie for that, and he barely waited for Kurt to tell him he could kiss Sadie before he did just that — which was a really good cover for when he did, in fact, lose his cool a little and got more than a little emotional.
It was clearly a family trait, too, because although Pepper wasn't being subtle about the handkerchief she had balled up in her hands, Tony was trying to hide by putting his head on her shoulder. Which was fooling absolutely no one.
As soon as the kiss broke, Howard and Sadie turned to the group to be presented as husband and wife, and then, Howard finally broke into a laugh, seized Sadie's hand, and all but pulled her along. "Dance with me, Sadie," he told her.
"I thought you weren't much of a dancer," she laughed, though she didn't argue with him one bit.
"No fancy stuff, but hey, I know ballroom. Waltz with me, Sadie!" he said, grinning even wider.
She had to smile at him — it was infectious after all, and honestly, it was a relief for that much to be past them. So, she tipped her chin up and took up her position before she leaned forward to kiss him as the music started.
And while most of the group was watching Howard and Sadie dance their first dance, Tony stole over to K with a grin. "You,me, and a marriage license," he said in a whisper over her shoulder. "Come on, sweetheart, you know you want to."
She had to chuckle at him. "Oh. You're on."
He had to laugh, especially because they really did need to sign the license for their kids. But it was too good of a teasing opportunity to pass up. "Knew I'd get you to sign one with me one of these days."
"Took you long enough to ask," she had to tease right back. "It's a good thing I don't age as fast as everyone else."
"Yeah, that's not fair," Tony said, shaking his head.
"Like you're complaining about that part," K said, before she gave Logan a quick kiss on the cheek and headed off with Tony. "Get the official stuff out of the way, right?"
"K, I'm offended," Tony said, putting a hand on his heart. "You make it sound like a chore to do this signing with me!"
"Not at all," she said, raising one eyebrow as she took his arm. "I just thought you'd want to rush through that part and dance."
"Well…" Tony grinned her way. "Shall we do the in-law dances first or save them for a more private setting?"
"Exactly what kind of in-law dance are you expecting?" she asked. "I'd rather not give you a heart attack if I can avoid it."
Tony tapped his chest right over the glowing arc reactor. "Safe and sound, K."
"Ye of little faith," she said, tutting and shaking her head slowly.
"I really want to make you prove it," he said with a steadily widening grin.
"Ah, but there's the whole pesky bit about already being spoken for. On both sides." She gave his arm a little squeeze. "Too slow, Mr. Stark."
"And I'll never stop trying to catch up," he said, one hand over his heart before he pulled a pen from his suit pocket and, with a flourish, signed his name to the legal document that would marry their kids.
K smiled his way and took her turn — with her legal name for a change, which simply wasn't something he was used to seeing and earned a muted sort of smile as she finished up. "So. Now what?"
"Now, you and I dance. At some point." Tony shrugged. "And there will be cake and toasts and all that. Geez, haven't you been to, like, a hundred of these?" he had to tease.
"Oh, at least," she agreed. "Just never paid attention to the dance order. I was always too busy. Wrapped up in a handsome, dark-haired guy."
"Yes, I know. I'm very distracting," Tony said without missing a beat.
"Oh, sweetheart, no," she said before she popped up to kiss his cheek. "You're … all salt and pepper."
Tony ran a hand through his hair and made a face. "So you're saying you'd go for me if I dyed it?" he teased.
"Can't stand the smell of the dye," she admitted with a shrug.
"Well, I really did miss my shot, didn't I?" Tony said, with the full-on disappointed look going on, even though he was grinning behind it.
"Looks like," she agreed. "But hey, Billy said somewhere in some complete disaster of a reality …"
"We're amazing together, yeah," Tony said, though when they did get caught up to the rest of the group, he stole a quick peck on her cheek and then swept off to go pull Pepper into a dance that she clearly looked as if she needed it with how emotional she was.
Not everyone was on the dance floor, of course. Elin had come to see her sister get married, but this far into the game, she was not going to do anything that resembled spinning. Though she had an adorable willing gopher in Chelsea, who seemed to be very concerned about the babies inside Elin and kept bringing Elin things she thought she might need. Flowers… food… she even offered her silk blankie in case she needed it.
In return, Elin had pulled her over to snuggle up close and kissed her head every time she came up with a new suggestion. "Why don't you dance with Chance?" Elin suggested.
"Oooh, yes," Chelsea agreed, the curls that her mom had done with her hair already falling out from all of the bouncing around she'd been doing. She climbed up into the chair next to Elin to kiss her cheek and then bent over to kiss Elin's stomach before she climbed down to grab a grinning Chance by the hand to insist, "You gotta dance. Elin says!"
Not that Chance was going to argue that in the least. He just laughed and picked Chelsea up to head out to dance with her. "You excited about the twins, Chels?" he had to tease, laughing even harder when she nodded so enthusiastically that her headband almost fell off of her head.
He leaned forward until they were almost nose to nose and whispered, "Me too."
Chelsea grinned and threw her arms around Chance's neck while they were dancing, giving him a solid hug before he spun her around and she started to laugh. "I'm gonna help lots with your babies!" she informed him. "Just like I help with Ariel and John and Kurt!"
"Yeah, you and Lily are really good at taking care of the younger kids," he said, nodding seriously.
"That's 'cause Lily has lots of brothers and sisters," Chelsea said seriously. "Her mommy's gonna have another one 'cause of Kurt was a boy and they want a girl, but Kurt decided he wanted to come anyway because he's impatient. That's what my mama says. She says he's just like my papa."
Chance couldn't help but start laughing at that. "Yeah, Kurts are definitely impatient."
Of course, Kurt was with Kurt for the time being, since Logan and K had missed out on dancing at the last wedding and they were going to make up for the missed opportunity. And neither of the Kurts was going to miss out on messing with the other, both of them grinning and giggling and totally entertaining the people sitting around them.
"We are so lucky you have an eternally young best friend, because this is such a good look on you," Kate said, grinning as she leaned over to rest her chin on Kurt's shoulder.
"It really is," Kurt said with a grin. "If we get them drunk, do you think we'll have a shot at another one soon?"
"Oh, I'm sure," Kate said, laughing. "But to be fair, you're about to have three little Howlett grandbabies to play with too. Greedy." She leaned over to kiss his cheek affectionately.
"Yes, three little ones … but one of them will be across the country if what I'm hearing is right," Kurt defended. "We'll be short one little girl."
"And that's just unacceptable," Kate laughed, still with her chin on his shoulder as she grinned up at him. "You are so, so spoiled. And I love you for it."
"Blame them," Kurt said with his chin tipped up as he snuggled the little one. "If they weren't doing such a good job of giving me little ones in a steady stream …"
Kate just smirked at that and then leaned over to kiss him and gestured toward where Krissy and Ariel were dancing together on the dance floor. "And, of course… grandkids…"
"You know, if you're lucky, the next girl will be named for you," Kurt teased.
Kate grinned at that. "It's a good thing that I'm so lucky, then, isn't it?"
"It really is," Kurt said with a grin before he stole a kiss and leaned in, with baby Kurt pulling on her hair.
And it hadn't escaped Howard's notice that the adults and little kids were all getting so much attention, either. He watched as James ended up with Ariel attached to his leg chanting for her godfather to play with her and then turned back to Sadie with a small smile. "We're going to have to visit often," he said suddenly.
"You love them," she accused with a falsely shocked expression. "All of them!"
He had to laugh at her tone. "Yeah, they're kind of amazing," he pointed out.
"You never thought that would happen, did you?" she teased, smiling at him. "And here you are, ready for the next big Howlett gathering, aren't you?"
Howard couldn't help but laugh. "Well, the next big… anything," he said. "I mean, all the Avenger kids would go out for parties and stuff with the team and we'd bring the tower down, but this is just… totally something else."
She kissed his cheek and pulled him toward the edge of the dance floor. "Let's work our way down the roster so we can curl up sooner, huh?"
He broke into an even wider grin at that. "Not gonna say no to that suggestion," he said, offering her his hand so they could head over to where Tony and Pepper were and he could tap his mom on the shoulder. "Can I have this dance?" he asked with a smirk, earning a laugh out of Pepper as she took his hand.
And Tony didn't even wait to do the same with Sadie, grinning widely at her. "Stealing you," he informed her, pulling her into a dance — and sure to call out to Logan and K. "No, no! You two keep doing what you're doing! I'll just take my daughter — who clearly learned from you — and show her how our family parties!"
K just waved over Logan's shoulder at him, still wrapped up in a kiss — though they hadn't stopped dancing either.
"You know that's not going to deter anything, right?" Sadie said with a little smile. "They're just like that … all the time."
"Oh, I know," Tony assured her. "But what fun is it to just let them be them without teasing them?"
"Well … teasing's really only fun if you get a rise out of someone," she pointed out.
"Nah," Tony said, grinning. "Those two don't rise to the bait. Gotta tease them anyway or they'll get bored."
"I don't think they get bored," Sadie laughed.
"Maybe, but it's still fun to mess with them," he said. "But hey, by the way, welcome to the family. Officially."
"I'm sorry this was all so rushed," she told him quietly. "I really am."
Tony shook his head at her. "Hey. Doesn't matter. You're a Stark now." He grinned. "Sorry about your luck. Ha!"
She shook her head and gave him a little hug. "I'm not. James always said you guys were alright, and Howard's been great."
"Glowing reviews," Tony said with a smirk. "And hey, I couldn't ask for a better daughter. My only daughter. Kind of exciting!"
"It's kind of a big deal," she agreed.
"And a granddaughter." Tony offered her his hand as the song came to a close. "Come on. You should dance with your other dad."
"You mean the younger-looking one?" Sadie asked without missing a beat.
"Oh yeah. There's your mother in there," Tony laughed delightedly.
"I did learn from the best," Sadie said with a shrug as they headed over to where Logan and K were still doing their lip-locked slow dance.
"Your turn!" Tony sang out, gesturing toward where Howard was headed over with Pepper. "I want my wife back too."
The two of them stopped long enough to share a little look. "Party crasher," Logan grumbled, though he stepped back and then pulled Sadie out for a sweeping sort of waltz that she was grinning over.
"Rude," K muttered. "Howard … please tell me you're a better dancer than your father."
"I did take a few ballroom classes in Chicago," Howard said.
She raised an eyebrow at that. "Impress me, then," she said.
Howard smiled and offered her his hand and then led into a waltz, which was really the dance he knew best — and he wasn't half bad at it, even if it wasn't nearly as graceful as his wife and her father were.
K had to smile his way, and with a few quick words, she had him in a different, just as graceful version. "Just have to know a few tricks," she told him, then looked past his shoulder to shout toward Tony and Pepper. "Second generation … so. Much. better. I give Pepper full credit!"
Howard had to shake his head at that. "She did want me to do more than just tech classes," he admitted.
"Well, I can teach you how to stun your wife if you'd like," K told him. "Waltz was never her forte unless the guy leading knew what he was doing."
Howard broke into a delighted grin at that. "Impress my wife with dancing? Yes. Please. Teach me the secrets."
She had to laugh but went right into dance teacher mode all the same, giving him the best little tips and teaching him when to add some flourish into the steps, which really just meant that they had more than one song together. And Howard learned fast. By the middle of the second song, he was leading on his own — and doing beautifully, according to K.
"You're ready."
Howard grinned. "Thanks, Mom," he said, pausing a bit before he called her that and then grinning wider still.
"Any time, sweetheart," K said before she kissed his cheek. "We'll get you dancing all of them like a pro."
Howard nodded, still grinning as he led her back to Logan and Sadie, and then, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself before he offered Sadie his hand. "One more dance before we do the cake cutting and all that nonsense?"
"Sure," she said with a nod. "Are you up for that?"
"Are you?" he asked. "You're the one with the baby and the dizziness."
"Howard, I'm dizzy, but not that dizzy. Besides, I didn't quit dancing," she told him. "I haven't done as much as before, but enough to feel alright."
"Oh good," he said. "Because I was hoping to steal a waltz." With that, he simply led her out into the waltz as K had shown him, grinning wider with every step when he saw in Sadie's expression that she recognized some of the teaching.
"Oh, that was sneaky," she told him. "Having Mom teach you like that … no wonder she said you were better than your Dad at this."
Howard chuckled. "No, no, she taught me just now. I was already better than my dad; come on."
Across the floor, Pepper was grinning and laughing to herself as Logan took her out for a dance that made use of all the ballroom dancing she'd learned — which was a switch, since K couldn't help but pick at Tony and critique him on his form. K and Tony's dance involved a lot of laughter and chiding correction with 'hands, Stark', with Tony chuckling and continuing to get her laughing while moving his hands to a more proper position.
Howard shook his head at the scene across the floor and turned back to Sadie with a smirk. "Are we sure Maria's not going to get a complex with those two?" he teased.
"It's all in good fun," Sadie promised. "Mom likes to pick. Your Dad likes to pick … that's really all it is or, you know, Dad would snap him in half."
"Oh, I know," Howard said, then leaned in to steal a kiss. "That and there's something about a gorgeous woman and the men in my family…"
"I'd hope that I'm pretty enough to keep you from doing the same kind of nonsense."
"Well, obviously," Howard said, then kissed her again.
When the song finally came to an end, the two of them got the chance to cut into the gorgeous, tall, white wedding cake — though they'd barely gotten their small bites out of it before little Lydia Parker had rushed over to Sadie to pull on her arm. "C'mon, c'mon. I want to get the flowers!"
"Okay, okay! I didn't know you had a boyfriend, little Parker," Sadie said.
"I don't," Lydia said. "I just want flowers."
She leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Okay then; we're just doing what we're told right now."
"Oh, I never do that," Lydia said with a spark of trouble in her eyes before she rushed off to go round up some other troublemakers, all but dragging Wade's little boy, Ryan, over to the fun. "The garter's not as good as flowers, but you can have one of my flowers when I catch it, okay?" she informed him .
"I don't know," Ryan said, looking at her suspiciously. "Dad says you spiders are trouble."
"You can't get in trouble with flowers," Lydia said in a totally exasperated tone.
Howard couldn't help but laugh as he leaned over Sadie's shoulder. "Your godfather's girl is hilarious."
"She really is," Sadie said. "Her favorite song drives him completely crazy, but Dad's been singing it to her for as long as she's been alive."
"Oh, yeah, I've heard her singing it around the tower. It's hilarious," Howard laughed.
"Nothing like an eight-year-old belting out every word to Lydia, The Tattooed Lady," Sadie had to agree with a smile.
"It's even better when Santiago comes over with America. He has a killer harmony, believe it or not."
"I believe it," she agreed as he pulled her to where Pepper was waving them in.
Once the girls were all set up, Sadie tossed the flowers over her shoulder. Lydia jumped for them, but she was just a little too short, and Amadi, who was standing right behind her, caught them instead. But when Lydia started to pout, Amadi smiled and leaned down to hand her the bouquet.
"I don't really have anything to do with these," she said. "Why don't you take them for me?"
Lydia stared up at her for a moment and positively danced in place before she threw her arms around Amadi's neck and started to thank her.
Amadi just had to laugh before she nudged Lydia on her way so the little girl could start giving out flowers to all of her favorite people — her dad first, then her mom, and so on.
And Cody was too busy laughing at Lydia cutting in front of the boys to give flowers to Santiago and Ryan — no matter what they were in the middle of, and despite the fact that Ryan kept telling her that this was for the boys — that he didn't notice it until he was too late and the delicate lace was in his hand when he caught it reflexively.
Annie let out a little laugh that she didn't even try to hide, and Cody turned her way with a dry look. Really, Mom?
What, I can't look forward to my baby boy finding happiness?
Cody shook his head at that, though when his mom was grinning that much, he couldn't really argue it and instead simply tucked the lace into his jacket pocket, though of course, he didn't escape Lydia, who made sure that he got two flowers, "since you got to catch the b- the b- the thingy."
"Buncha flowers," Lily said confidently as she brushed a long strand of blonde hair out of her face on her way past them — clearly on a mission. She completely blasted by, ignoring all of them all the way up until she was standing right behind Harry and pulled on his shirt until he turned to look at her. "You gotta dance with me. Right now." She put her hands on her hips and blinked up at him, tapping her toe and fully expecting him to drop everything and dance with her. Right. Now.
Harry looked surprised for a moment before he grinned, and not only did he turn to dance for her but he cheated with a little magic that would bring her up to his eye level. "Anything for my little sister," he said.
"Good! Because you're the only brother I haven't danced with yet. And Sammy says you're a slacker."
"Sammy's a tattle-tale," Harry laughed.
"But she's not wrong! Papa Teddy says so!"
"Oh, well if Dad says so," Harry said, laughing even more at the determined look on her face before he decided to up the ante a bit and pulled them both into a swirl so they were dancing up above the rest of the group. "Better?"
She giggled and nodded at him before she tried to tip up her chin and copy what K had been doing when she danced with anyone other than Logan.
By the time the two of them came down again, Billy was grinning widely and reached up to catch Lily before she could hit the ground. "You're gonna put all the other dancers to shame," he told her.
She grinned even wider and wrapped her arms around his neck. "That's what Mama says too!"
"Then it must be true," Billy said, shifting so he could scoop her up onto his shoulders. "Come on — your sister's about to head out, and I'm going to dump a whole bunch of magical flowers on their heads before they go. It'll be great."
She giggled at him and simply enjoyed her view — especially since she always seemed a lot more quiet and relaxed when she could look over the top of everyone else.
By that time, Howard and Sadie had changed into clothes that were a little more comfortable for travel — though they still looked stunning, of course. And they both looked much happier and more relaxed as their friends and family saw them off to the limo that would drive them to the beach house where they'd get to hide away for a little while.
Both of them burst into laughter when they got hit by the barrage of flowers from Billy literally steps away from the car — right when Howard had opened the door, so that they were sure to trail some into the seat as well.
But, of course, by the time they got to their little hideaway, Sadie was worn out and more than ready to just curl up, wrapped up with Howard and, for the first time in months, perfectly relaxed.