by J. M. Snyder
Hawaiian Wedding
By J.M. Snyder
Published by JMS Books LLC
Visit jms-books.com for more information.
Copyright 2014 J.M. Snyder
ISBN 9781611526110
Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com
Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.
All rights reserved.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Published in the United States of America.
* * * *
Hawaiian Wedding
By J.M. Snyder
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 1
When Remy McIntosh got divorced, he never thought he would think of ever getting married again. Things hadn’t worked out with Kate, though they were still good friends, and his eight year old son Braden was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Until he met Lane Anders.
After two years with Lane, Remy was surprised to find himself thinking of the M word again, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to wake up beside the man every day for the rest of his life. With Kate, there hadn’t really been that breathless feeling of forever—they’d been best friends, true, but had never really been in love, but when she found out she was pregnant, Remy did the right thing and proposed. Unfortunately, it hadn’t worked out. They both loved their son very much; they just didn’t love each other.
With Lane, though…things with Lane were different. Just thinking about him brought a smile to Remy’s face, and seeing him always made Remy catch his breath, even at the end of a long day spent together. Lane’s was the first face Remy wanted to see when he awoke and the last voice he wanted to hear murmur into him as he drifted off to sleep. He wanted to spend as much time with his lover as he could, and even then Remy suspected an eternity together might not be enough time to explore everything they had to offer each other. He was in love, pure and simple.
And he wanted the whole world to know it.
He’d found the perfect symbol of their love—a simple band of gold with a single, triangle-shaped diamond centered in it. Over the summer he’d shown the ring to Lane, partly to make sure his lover liked it as much as he did, and partly to plant the seed of a pending proposal. When Lane seemed interested, Remy went ahead and ordered the ring as a Christmas present. Funnily enough, Lane not only took the hint but ran with it himself—he ordered a ring of his own, this one for Remy. As they exchanged the identical gift boxes on Christmas Day, snowed in at the cabin where they vacationed for the holiday, they didn’t even have to ask the inherent question. The fact that they both bought the same ring answered it for them. All they needed was to set the date.
Oh, and visit a state where gay marriage was legal.
At the time Remy and Lane went from boyfriends to fiancés, same-sex marriage was only legal in a handful of states. Virginia wasn’t one of them. Remy had suggested a quick trip to Massachusetts, which was lovely in the fall and was the first state to legalize gay marriage. An autumn wedding would be nice, and Boston would make for a quaint, romantic honeymoon.
But Lane had other ideas. If they had to travel, he wanted to make it worth their while, and the big headline earlier in the month had been when Hawaii voted to allow same-sex unions. Of course, just thinking about a trip to Hawaii made Remy’s body tingle all over, like a little boy excited about the impending holidays. The word was written in his mind in sunset colors, airbrushed over crashing waves and white sands, with palm trees swaying in a soft breeze. He pictured tanned bodies and fruity drinks served in hollowed-out coconuts. Hula girls, wearing leis and grass skirts and bikini tops, and cabana boys with disheveled hair and puka shell necklaces.
Hawaii. Hell yeah! Straight or gay, who wouldn’t want to be married there? It would be the perfect way to kick off the beginning of the rest of their lives together.
* * * *
Remy was an urban planner, a profession he went into because he had an almost anal need for order and schedules in his everyday life. He liked to map out his world in neat little compartments—in his mind’s eye, he saw his days much as they appeared in his day planner, narrow boxes with where and when penciled in. Every calendar he had was filled up: the large one that covered his desk at work, the one in his email program that synced with the one on his phone, even the old-school, leather-bound planner he still carried around. He took pleasure in writing down his days, not just what he had to do but, in the evenings, what he had done. And he kept the day planners going back years in a box in his closet. He could open any of them and recall in an instant any moment in his past just by reading what he wrote down for that day. He knew some people flew through life by the seat of their pants but how they managed to do that, he had no clue.
One thing Remy hated was when his carefully laid plans went awry. That had happened over the holidays when he’d planned to spend two blissful weeks alone with Lane, isolated in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains. At the last minute, his ex-wife Kate wanted to take a couples’ cruise with her current beau and had dumped their son Braden onto him. No, that wasn’t fair—she was a full-time mom, and Remy only saw Braden every other weekend, so she deserved a much-needed break from parenting. But Remy hadn’t planned on having his son tag along on a romantic getaway with his lover, and to make matters worse, not only hadn’t Braden met Lane, the boy didn’t even know the men were dating. The evening Remy picked his son up, Braden caught the two kissing in the kitchen, unaware they were being watched, and that set him off on a bad foot with Lane from the start.
Eventually, though, Remy managed to talk things out with Braden, who might be young but was more perceptive than Remy gave him credit for. To him, “gay” was an insult, and he had a hard time understanding how a man once married to a woman might be attracted to another man. But Lane was funny and hip and cool, a lot cooler than Kate’s boyfriend Mike, and in the end Braden came around to him. The only caveat Braden had was that Remy couldn’t kiss Lane in front of his friends. As if someone might catch Remy and Lane necking on the playground during recess, or something.
With Braden in tow, needless to say their romantic holiday was anything but, and Remy was put out that the final meeting between the two most important men in his life hadn’t quite gone off as he’d originally planned. When he got home from the cabin, he had to erase the original date on his calendar for the meeting, May 10th, when he’d hoped to introduce Braden to Lane over ice cream. He had a new date to pencil in, though—a wedding date. But how far out would give him enough time to
plan the biggest day of the rest of his life?
* * * *
His first thought was the wedding would be small, just the two of them. Hawaii was on the other side of the continent, six time zones away, and a quick look at the cost of travel packages curbed any thought of inviting anyone else along for the trip. Besides, they could get the ceremony out of the way and then dive right into the honeymoon, lounging on the beach, watching the sunset, sipping margaritas, and enjoying each other. As if they didn’t already do that enough. Still, as newlyweds, Remy wanted Lane all to himself, and one way to ensure that happened would be to tell no one else of their plans until they came home married men.
Only once again, things didn’t quite work out according to plan.
When they got back to Richmond at the end of their two weeks at the cabin, Remy first drove to Kate’s home in the West End to drop off Braden, who had to be back to school the next morning. He bounded out of Lane’s Jeep with a much happier attitude than he’d had when he left home, a huge smile on his face. But the presents filling the back of the Jeep were only part of the reason for his happiness. “Mom!” he cried when he saw Kate on the stoop by the door that led into the kitchen. “Guess what? We’re going to Hawaii!”
She laughed and looked from Remy to Lane and back again, seeking an explanation. “Oh, you are, are you?”
Lane exited the passenger side door and gave her a tired grin. “Hey, Kate. How was your cruise?”
“Wonderful.” She came down the few steps into the garage, her slippers silent on the concrete floor, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Then she ruffled Braden’s hair as he brushed by her on his way inside, his backpack and duffel bag slung over one shoulder. “Take those bags all the way upstairs, young man. Did you like your presents?”
“Loved them!” he called as he raced up the stairs. “Thanks, Mom!”
“Thank Santa,” she told him.
Remy had gone around the back of the Jeep and begun to unload the gifts, which they’d put back into the large black trash bags Kate had used to hide them in originally. With her hands on her hips, she watched him a moment. “So, what’s this about Hawaii?” she finally asked.
“We’re going to Hawaii,” Remy said. “Lane and me. Not Braden.”
Kate frowned as Lane came up beside her to lean against the Jeep. “Why?”
With a flamboyant gesture, Lane held out his left hand. A moment later, Remy followed suit. Kate looked at both of them, her brows knitted together, unsure what she was supposed to be looking at. “I’m not…”
Remy wriggled his ring finger to draw her attention to it, and Lane did the same.
Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened in a surprised O. A moment later, she squealed in delight. “Oh my God! You didn’t!” She slapped Remy’s arm, then gripped it hard and shook him. “Oooh, come in and tell me all about it. Did you plan this? I know you did, I know you. I love those rings! Lane!”
Releasing Remy, Kate flung herself at Lane and he caught her in a tight hug. With a laugh, she swung from Lane to Remy, and planted a wet kiss in the corner of his mouth. “I’m so happy for you both,” she sighed. “I want details! Come in, come in! I’ll put on some coffee. I have to know!”
She took Lane’s left hand in her right, and Remy’s right hand in her left, and led them up the steps towards the open door into the kitchen. Halfway there, she slipped her arms through theirs and hugged them to her, pleased at their news. “Oh, I’m so excited for you both!” she cried. “Wait. Why Hawaii?”
Lane looked over the top of Kate’s head at Remy, who shrugged. “Well, we can’t get married here,” Remy pointed out.
“D.C.’s closer,” Kate said. “I can be your best man. Best maid? Best matron. What would they call that, anyway? Whatever, I’d be able to be there.”
“Still, Hawaii,” Lane said, as if that was all the argument needed.
Kate laughed, a deep, throaty sound that warmed the cold garage. “Yeah, right? Hawaii, it is. I’m sure we can find a good deal online somewhere. I mean, how often does your ex-husband get hitched to another man, anyway?”
Remy stopped in mid-step. Kate took another step and turned to look back at him. Lane made it to the top stoop before he, too, was stopped by Kate’s arm through his and turned, as well. “Wait, what?” Remy asked. “No, you don’t have to go.”
But Kate shook her head. “It’s Hawaii. Why wouldn’t I?”
Remy glanced past her at Lane, hoping his lover would read the beseeching look in his eyes. Say something, he tried to project silently. Tell her she doesn’t have to go. Tell her it’s just going to be the two of us. Tell her…
What, exactly? Kate was a stubborn woman, and when she set her mind on something, there was no dissuading her. If she had her sights set on going to Hawaii for his upcoming nuptials, the only way Remy could hope to change her mind would be to call off the wedding or elope. While he wasn’t going to let Lane slip from him so easily, he might consider a quick jaunt out of state to tie the knot if they could get away with it.
From the set of Kate’s jaw, he didn’t think that was an option, either. “Come on,” she said, tugging on Remy’s arm to get him moving again. “I want to hear about how things went in the mountains with Brae, but mostly I want to hear about those rings! And Hawaii! God, there’s so much to do. Have you even set a date yet?”
Lane smirked at Remy behind Kate’s back. “Best matron?” he mouthed.
Shoot me now, Remy thought.
* * * *
When Remy and Kate got married, it had been a hurried affair. She was pregnant at the time, and everything was coordinated by her parents. At the time, Remy had been happy to sit back and let them handle everything. This time around, though, he wanted control. He knew if he didn’t keep a tight rein on things, they could quickly spiral away from him, and he didn’t want their special day turned into a fiasco.
Which was why he hadn’t wanted to tell anyone about the wedding until after it was over. Was it too much to ask for a little alone time with his lover?
But Kate took the idea of a Hawaiian vacation and ran with it. Before they left her home their first evening back in town, Lane and Kate had drawn up a guest list that included more family and friends than Remy even mailed out Christmas cards to. “They aren’t all going to come,” his ex-wife argued, “but they’ll send money and gifts, and that’s what you want. Trust me, I know what I’m doing. I’ve done this before, remember? With you?”
Later, when they finally reached Remy’s apartment, Lane wrapped his arms around his lover as Remy unlocked the door and murmured into his ear, “Love you.”
Leaning back against his lover, Remy sighed. “Love you, too. Let’s run away to Las Vegas and get hitched next weekend, what do you say?”
“Can’t,” Lane told him, kissing his neck. The imprint Lane’s lips left on his skin was damp in the chilly January air. “Nevada’s a no-homo state, same as here.”
“D.C., then,” Remy countered. “We can leave tonight and find someone to marry us tomorrow. Nip Kate’s plans in the bud and honeymoon in Waikiki. How’s that sound?”
He felt Lane’s grin against the back of his neck. “Hmm, tempting. I wonder what the residency requirement is for D.C.?”
Remy unlocked the apartment door and stepped inside the darkened hallway. Turning on the light, he lugged his bags in and moved out of the way to give Lane room to enter, as well. “Residency requirement?” he asked. “What do you mean?”
With a shrug, Lane closed the door behind him and locked it. “Most states have residency requirements for people who want to get divorced. The wait time in Nevada is super short, that’s why you hear all those jokes about people running off to Reno. So if you have to live somewhere a number of weeks or months or years before you undo a marriage, it only stands to reason that you have to live there a certain length of time before you say I do in the first place, right?”
Remy hadn’t thought of that. “Well, shit.”
La
ne laughed. “Some states probably don’t have residency requirements. I’m sure Hawaii doesn’t.”
“How can you say that?” Remy asked, skeptical. “Kate’s practically booked her flight already. That means Braden’s coming, too…”
“A lot of people go to Hawaii to get married.” Closing the distance between them, Lane eased his arms around his lover’s shoulders and pulled Remy near. He rubbed Remy’s nose with his, then touched his lips to his lover’s. His words were mere breath against Remy’s mouth. “It’s a hot destination, and I’m sure they get a lot of money from the wedding industry. So it’s in their best interest not to make it too hard. Speaking of…”
He thrust his hips forward just enough to press his groin against Remy’s crotch. Through the front of his jeans, Remy could feel Lane’s slight erection, the firmness of the cock hidden beneath denim. “Hmm,” he moaned as Lane’s lips closed over his. Remy draped his arms on his lover’s waist, fingers hooking through the belt loops on Lane’s jeans. The two weeks they spent with Braden at the cabin were the longest time the men had ever spent apart, or so it felt to Remy. After it snowed, they managed to spend a glorious afternoon in bed between the sheets while Braden played outside, but for the most part, Remy’s memory of the romantic getaway he’d planned was being cockblocked and blue balled at every turn by his son.
That, though, was about to change.
“Finally get you all to myself,” he said, gripping Lane’s jeans and hugging his lover firmly to him. “You, me, bedroom, now. What do you say?”
Lane’s pale eyes sparkled in the hallway light above. “I like the way you think. Lead the way, future husband of mine.”
Remy grinned as he walked backward towards his bedroom, pulling Lane along with him. “I like the way that sounds.”
* * * *
Later, at work on his lunch break, Remy decided to do a little research into marriage laws in Hawaii. Fortunately Lane was right, there was no residency requirement, and the state didn’t require blood tests or physicals like some places did. But there were other caveats that would prove a bit difficult. Obtaining a marriage license, for instance, had to be done in person, which meant they’d have to wait until they actually got there to get one.