FH: Just Found Heaven Ch. 05: Ben AND Sam

Father O'Brien chuckled along with the other guests then said, "Okay Ben, you're up, though I'll be honest old friend, I don't think that you can top that. We're probably all Team Sam right now."

Ben took the good-natured ribbing with grace, but then his smile slowly morphed into that lazy, completely self-confident one that had gotten my dick on board with the idea of him and I long before the rest of me had. That smile always promised amazing things in private. Publicly though, I was stumped until he turned to give Father O'Brien the microphone. I raised an inquisitive eyebrow and got another grin and a wink before Ben pulled a tiny microphone out of the inner pocket of his suit jacket after he'd unbuttoned it. He pinned the microphone to his lapel and then tapped it lightly with one finger. "Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3....Sam, do you love me?"

He didn't wait for an answer, just grinned at my soft snort before taking both my hands in his now that he didn't have to hold the microphone.

"Way too smooth for a priest," I muttered, though I was grinning.

"The mold was definitely broken after I came into this world," Ben agreed with another lazy grin. He didn't bother to cover the microphone so his sass was rewarded with another round of laughter from her audience as my ears turned a shade of red that had nothing to do with overexposure to the sun.

I could hear the amusement in Father O'Brien's voice as he tried to reign in his own laughter when he said, "Ahem, are you ready to start, Ben? You have the rest of your life to flirt with Sam once I get you two through the ceremony."

His words were met with more chuckles, including a few woo hoos from the peanut gallery, also known as our bridal party. I wanted a sudden sinkhole to appear in the sand to swallow me up, but Ben finally had mercy on me and raised our linked hands to his lips to kiss the top of my knuckles before he curled his hands more securely around my own. His thumb brushed gently over the top of my hand as he met my gaze with such loving intensity that I felt warmed to my toes and it wasn't from embarrassment this time. In his eyes was a silent, devoted intimacy that made the world around us fade away again. Even the waves seemed to have lessened their crashing roar to a softer purr like they also wanted to listen to whatever Ben was going to say. I couldn't blame the elements. Knowing my fiancé and his flare for all things romantically dramatic, I was pretty sure that I'd want to commit every single word to memory.

Ben smiled and squeezed my hands again. "Sam, having been a priest for as long as I have, I've officiated many weddings over the years and have borne witness to displays of tenderness and fidelity that humbled me. I've also heard so many variations of wedding vows that when I began writing mine, I assumed that I had this in the bag so to speak and that getting my feelings down on paper would be easy peasy, and a literary marvel." His lips quirked at the corners in self-deprecating amusement. "It's embarrassing how epically wrong I was. Like WHOA !"

Ben grinned when his admission was met with entertained laughter from everyone, including me.

"I found myself tackling major writer's block not because I had nothing to say," he continued, "but because there were so many things that I wanted and needed to say and I knew that we just wouldn't have enough time today. So, that being said, I'm afraid that you'll have to make do with what I managed to come up with, then tolerate me plying you with romantic verses of love and devotion for the rest of our lives as they come to me. You good with that?" Ben grinned when I chuckled and nodded. "Fantastic. Now, on to the good stuff"

"That wasn't the good stuff?"

Ben grinned. "Not by a long shot, baby. I'm just getting started."

His smile was all warmth and mischief, and I couldn't help but grin as I nodded again. "Continue."

"Gracias mi amor," he said with a wink before his expression softened. "Sam, you know all about my past life and how who I used to be, has led me to become the man I am now. Which is a good thing and I give thanks to God every day that He put me on this path of sharing His grace and words with others because I've never felt so fulfilled in my life. But my past also made me a bit jaded about the idea of true love, let alone love at first sight. Yet, from the moment that I found you at the funeral home, tired and damaged, but not completely broken despite what you may have believed at the time, I was instantly drawn to you. I'd never felt that way toward anyone before and I wasn't sure why you, someone who was bedraggled and world-weary, sucked me in like you had magnetic properties. There was just something about you and it wasn't just because you were easily one of the sexiest men I'd ever met, though you were and still are," he said with a warm smile that made me chuckle and intensified the heat in my ears and cheeks.

"But as we talked, I saw glimpses of my past self in you and I told myself that the sudden connection I was feeling between us was just a result of wanting to help you in all the ways that I wish someone would 've have helped me back then. I tried to convince myself that that was all it was. That my desire to be close to you, paired with a sudden and ridiculous drive to help you find your way, were just stemming from my "shepherd" tendencies. But the more time that I spent with you, getting to know the man that you are, I began to see you not as someone that God put in my life to save, but someone He sent to save me. The name Samuel means, 'God has heard,' and I realized that He'd heard the unspoken need in my soul to have someone in my life to share both my life and my heart with."

Oh Ben... If I hadn't already been in love with him, he'd have owned me right then and there with that confession. I swallowed around the sudden lump in my throat. Ben had officially won the contest for most romantic wedding vows ever and in addition to me committing his words to memory, his prize would be my mouth on as many places as I could put it on our honeymoon because that verbal display of loving allegiance was worthy of, in his words, some serious, 'red rosing.

"You're killing me here," I murmured, earning a grin at my expense from Ben.

He winked. "Once I comprehended that, it was game on, my running shoes at the ready because I wasn't going to let you go without a fight. That's still the case now. For better or for worse, where you go, I will always follow, both in this life and in the next because you're the only man who's ever truly held my heart in his hands. And though that should scare me, I feel absolutely no fear because as a soldier you were a man who believed in honor and loyalty and who protected those in his care. From today forward, I'm putting myself in your care Sam, and I know I'll never regret that."

Fuck me. We were past red rosing.

Ben's handsome face blurred in my vision. I'd told Addie that crying would ruin my street cred, but any street cred I'd had was all shot to hell now as I blinked hard a few times and cleared my throat as if that would push back the wave of emotion that was threatening to overwhelm me. I cleared my throat hard again before I looked over at Father O'Brien again. "Yep, absolutely no contest. Ben won. Slam dunk."

Laughter burst forth from the direction of our seated guests and my friends and family who were standing up at the altar with me. Father O'Brien chuckled before he gestured for everyone to quiet down.

"I'll consider it a tie. Now, may I have the rings please?"

Tara and Max stepped forward almost like they'd synchronized the movements so that they could offer our wedding bands to Father O'Brien. Tara was grinning widely and paused to smack a kiss to each of our cheeks before she returned to her place. Max just handed my ring over to the priest with a smile that was somehow oddly neutral before he moved back to stand beside Adelyn. I exhaled slowly, knowing what was coming next thanks to the wedding planner's meticulous itinerary. On cue, Father O'Brien handed me Ben's ring once we let go of one another's hands.

I hadn't seen the wedding bands until now because Ben had picked them out. The ring looked like it was made from platinum which surprised me since neither Ben or I wore expensive jewelry. I'd worn the same tactical watch daily for years because it'd been a birthday gift from Max's parents after I finished my first tour in Afghanistan. I knew that Ben actually did own a Rolex--an artifact left over from his escort days, but his daily one was a Fossil brand watch with a brown leather wristband that he'd purchased years ago. The highly polished metal would look bright and highly visible against both my acquired tan and Ben's natural one. That might actually have been one of the reasons that he chosen these and I grinned at the thought. There was nothing subtle about them and though Ben wasn't usually a jealous man, unless I took my ring off, in public it'd be a classier, visual translation of Ben's name tattooed across my ass.

My grin widened, but then peered closer at the unique looking inlay between the two shining bands of polished silver.

"Meteorite," Ben said, drawing my attention back up to him. He smiled as I quirked an eyebrow because yeah, I was curious.

"The band is made of white tungsten and the inlay is meteorite. I thought it was appropriate because tungsten is one of the hardest metals on earth, comparable to a diamond and 10 times more durable than gold so it won't crack unless it's under the kind of immense pressure that hopefully, we'll never have to worry about."

I knew all of that because it was the same reason that I'd chosen a tungsten engagement band for him, but I suspected that Ben was saying it more for the benefit of our audience than for me.

"We've been through some trials together, yet we're still here." He smiled. " The inlay is meteorite because aside from looking cool, I thought that a piece of debris that originated in outer space and survived passing through our atmosphere to get here was a pretty iconic symbol of how true love can endure anything that's thrown at it."

I heard a soft sniff and in my peripheral vision I saw Sofia wiping suspiciously at the corner of her eyes.

"You totally won," I muttered.

Father O'Brien didn't bother hiding his chuckle. "Ben, Sam, are you ready?"

Ben and I both nodded and Father O'Brien smiled.

"Your ring exchange will visibly seal the vows of love and commitment that you've just expressed to each other. Notice that your wedding rings are a circle, an ancient symbol of wholeness. But in reality, a ring is no more than a circle of metal on its own until the vows of love and steadfast devotion to each other infuse it with a power and meaning that extends far beyond the sum of its parts. Then it represents an endless promise, one never to be broken. These rings are to be an outward symbol of the love and commitment between the two of you and a daily reminder of the heartfelt vows that you shared with one another today." He paused then nodded for me to take Ben's hand again so that I could slide the sentimental band onto his left ring finger.

"Sam, place the ring on Ben's hand and repeat after me: Ben, I give you this ring as a symbol to the world that you are my lover and my best friend, in all times and in all ways." He paused to move the microphone closer to my face so that my words would carry more clearly. Like most of the other parts of the itinerary, I'd memorized this piece so I was able to repeat the vows perfectly even though my voice wasn't as steady as Father O'Brien's had been.

The ring gleamed against the backdrop of Ben's natural caramel color and I brushed my thumb briefly over the metal band before I let go of his hand so that he could accept my ring from his friend's hand when Father O'Brien said, "Ben, take the ring you've selected for Sam. Place it on his hand and repeat after me: Sam, I give you this ring as a symbol to the world that you are my lover and my best friend in all times, and in all ways."

Ben's steady gaze never left mine as he repeated the phrase, sliding the ring on my finger without looking at what he was doing. The band felt cool and slightly heavy on my finger. Nothing terrible, just a very distinct and public reminder of what I already knew; I was his and he was mine. In Ben's eyes I saw that he knew exactly what I was thinking and his lips curved slightly in agreement.

"Ben and Sam, by the love that has brought you here today, by the vows and the rings you've exchanged in the presence of your loved ones, and by God's grace, it's my pleasure and honor to pronounce you husband and husband. You may now seal your marriage with a kiss."

The applause and cheering all around us was a muted backdrop of sound because my heart had started pounding in my ears the moment that Ben tugged me close and kissed me. It wasn't a kiss worthy of an R rating, but it wasn't G-rated chaste either. Ben always kissed me like he was the only man who had the right to and he wasn't about to change now that he actually was. My lips tingled when he finally pulled back, his grin a twin of mine when very feminine cat calls came from Tara and Sofia's direction.

Ben stole a second kiss before he turned to face our guests like the wedding planner had cued us yesterday, taking me with him since we were still holding hands.

"Family and friends," Father O'Brien said, "It's my pleasure to introduce you for the first time to the newlyweds, Samuel and Benjamin Santiago."

Everyone who'd been seated stood when Father O'Brien introduced us with Ben's surname. Ben had suggested that we hyphenate our names, but I'd chosen to take his instead because my last name was connected with so many memories that I didn't want or need to hold onto anymore. We were starting a new chapter of life together and Samuel Santiago had a flow to it that made my heart settle into a solid sense of home.

I laughed as Ben lifted our joined hands up overhead, pointing at the rings with his other hand as cameras clicked and everyone tried to get the best angles. A soft tug at the hem of my jacket made me glance down and I let go of Ben's hand only so that I could scoop Emma up onto my hip.

"Now Uncle Sam?"

I nodded, knowing exactly what she was asking even before she said, "Uncle Ben, you're our family now. We need to get you a green Christmas stocking just like Uncle Sam's!"

I snorted, but handed Emma over to Ben before we started making our way down the flower covered runner again. I glanced back briefly and saw Max nod once before he smiled. I smiled back, knowing my expression held all the genuine affection I felt for him. Another light tug at my other made me turn to look back at Ben and this time I was the one who leaned in for a kiss. I felt him smile against my lips before he squeezed my hand and turned to lead us down the aisle and back into the hotel with Emma still balanced on his hip.

After weed managed to extract ourselves from my niece after promises of a ridiculously expansive dessert bar after we took our formal photos, had our first dance and ate dinner, Ben and I allowed ourselves to be herded out to the private part of the hotel's beach for a photoshoot that seemed like it'd never end. I was melting by the time the photographers finally gave us a reprieve and the nerves that had eased as Ben and I had posed on the beautiful, quiet expanse of the beach, immediately kicked back in again because it was time to go in and be officially announced at the reception.

Confessing how I felt about Ben had been the hardest part, and I'd happily taken his last name, but walking into the atrium where we had 120 guests waiting for us to have our first dance as husbands was daunting. I'd never been slick on my feet like Max and when Ben and I went out together to either of Romans nightclubs, it wasn't exactly formal slow dance style. But I reminded myself that all that any couple needed to dance fluidly was to understand that one of them had to take the lead. The other person just had to follow, trusting that it would work out.

My expression softened when I glanced over at Ben who was talking to Sofia, Tara and my nieces while we waited for the DJ to start announcing the bridal party. I didn't see Max with them, but Tara made a beeline straight for me, looping her arm casually through mine. My lips twitched because that dress deserved so much commentary, but she'd ditched her heels somewhere and was back to her normal height which was almost a foot shorter than me. It also meant that she was now closer in proximity to parts of my body that I was extremely fond of.

"So, you guys did it. How do you feel now that you have some extraterrestrial bling going on?"

I chuckled. "Happy. Terrified. But in that order, so it's all good." I paused because I knew that I'd be taking my life in my hands, but the teenage boy inside me couldn't resist. "Better than you, though you look amazing. I like your hair."

She didn't go for my balls like I'd expected, but the arm that Tara didn't have looped through mine twisted enough so that she could reach across her body and goose my ribs less than gently.

"Ow! That was a compliment."

"I'm sure that it was and as soon as I'm back in my favorite maxi dress and looking through wedding photos we can reminisce, but for now, I have a headache from all the pins in this braid and I can't bend over in this dang dress without my tatas popping out. I also I hid my heels in a random closet. The struggle is real ."

I laughed out loud, enduring another jab to my ribs before Ben came over to rescue me. Tara snorted as he said, "nice dress," before she rolled her eyes to try and deflate the warmth of her grin.

"I'm not going to fill up the fine jar again for those wonderful little heathens, so suffice it to say that I love you both so much that I'm going to forgive you for being poop heads about the dress. At least the earrings are amazing. Ben, you know how to pick jewelry. Remember that for my next birthday. Donuts and sparkly things sound like a fair trade for my fashion misery."

I grinned as she leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek, then Ben's before she headed back over to where Adelyn was holding both her bouquet and Sofia's as her mother tried to straighten out Emma's bow. From experience with braiding Emma's thick hair into two perfect plaits every morning and that somehow always managed to be completely lopsided by the time she came home from school, I doubted that the bow would hold up for the next few hours, but she was adorable so she could pull off lopsided.

"Are you ready? I had the DJ cue the song you wanted for our first dance." Ben smiled and I could see in his eyes how pleased he still was that I'd wanted that to be the song we'd make our dance debut to. It helped ease some of my embarrassment about going that big, albeit it impulsive, with the romantic gesture.

"I'm good. I mean, as a kid I never even liked being the center of attention when people sang to Connor and I on our birthdays. I always wanted to melt through the fu--frigging floor," I amended as I caught myself. Cutting out curse words from my everyday vocabulary was still a work in progress, but I was getting better and Ben smiled, making the effort worth it.

"Mmm, so having all eyes on us feels a little overwhelming?"

I nodded slightly.

Ben smiled and reached up to gently brush his knuckles across my cheek. "I have a solution then." His smile deepened when I raised my eyebrow in silent question. "Just look at me. Keep your eyes on me for every one of those long 3 minutes and fifty seconds. It's just you and me."

"And 120 other people," I said drolly.