Ruth and Raffo pulled away from each other after the kiss to tend to Eddie and Jana's guests and intermingle with family. Ruth's cousin, Rose, was the first to tackle an unsuspecting Ruth, followed by her children. Baby Tallie was no longer a baby, and Hallie and Junior lost their chubby face charm.

Ruth chastised them for getting bigger and earned adoring giggles in return. Rose was introduced to Raffo, naturally, and when he turned around to face Ruth again after a brief handshake, Rose mouthed out the word 'hot' behind his back and winked. Her brother, Jack, gave Raffo a stern talking to for his little cousin, but ultimately the conversation came out okay. Practically every single one of Ruth's family members enjoyed Raffo and his manners, which wasn't a surprise, and Ruth had to eye Uncle Rhett's woman of the night when her hand lingered a moment too long in his, her eyes nearly undressing the guy right in front of her. She couldn't blame the woman, but the audacity was annoying.

But Ruth wasn't safe from the stares either. Eddie's cousins weren't afraid to push their luck with the taken bridesmaid, and even went as far as asking if she was doing anything after the reception while rubbing a finger over her hand.

She slid her hand away from his and forced a kind smile. "I'll actually be with my boyfriend after."

Kylan wasn't giving up that easily, much to her annoyance. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you were out for a couple of hours."

Ruth's gaze met Raffo's cool one over Kylan's shoulder, and a sly smirk twitched at the corners of her lips. She flipped her curls over her shoulder and moved towards him as if she were truly interested in what he was suggesting. He moved his face closer, confidence practically oozing out of his pores in waves. It almost made her nauseous.

"You think so?" she teased.

Kylan's starry-eyed gaze lazily traced over her features. "I know so. In fact, we can even leave—"

"Laying it on thick, don't you think, Kylan?" Raffo drawled, moving around Kylan to wrap his arm around Ruth's waist, deliberately drawing her close to his chest.

Ruth smirked at Kylan's defeated sigh, as he grimaced and glanced over at Raffo. "You always get to the pretty ones first, Raff."

"First? It was never a competition," Ruth scoffed, smiling at Raffo's bark of laughter. A few nearby guests chuckled and Johnny came by to clap his hand over Kylan's shoulder, who feigned hurt with a pout.

"Damn," he murmured, shaking his green-eyed head. "As soon as you mess up Raff, I'm swooping in."

"Don't hold your breath, Ky," Raffo chuckled, though the subtle warning was hard to dismiss as he steered Ruth away from Kylan's greedy gaze. He mumbled 'asshole' under his breath.

"Jealous?" Ruth teased, raising a plucked brow.

He shot her an offended look. "Over that guy? Never," he scoffed, but squeezed her to his side anyway and kissed her lips.

After that little hiccup, the rest of the night went smoothly. They were both bombarded with hugs and kisses from Ruth's parents and then tackled in hard embraces from Phoenix and Ava when they finally made their way around to them. They stood by their mom, interacting with some of the guests they knew, and squirmed with excitement at the sight of Raffo and Ruth making their way to them. Phoenix was the first to bombard Ruth with a tight embrace that nearly had her gasping for air as she returned the hug with a light one of her own.

"OhmygoshIloveyourdress!" Phoenix squealed, jumping away from Ruth to get a good look at her bridesmaid dress. Her words rushed together with as much excitement as her little body could handle, and still it spilled over into the warm crevices of Ruth's heart.

She grinned at the young girl. "I love yours too," she confessed, watching a triumphed Phoenix spin around in the cream, flower-designed dress she wore. Ruth looked over at Ava and gave her a quick hug too. "You look beautiful, Ava."

Ava's brown skin flushed, but couldn't stop the shy smile from growing across her cheeks. Raffo's mom was next to embrace her after her son greeted his little sisters. There was a soft familiarity to her eyes now, and she viewed Ruth as more than a stranger who broke her son's heart once. Kiana's hands were warm and calloused as they tenderly wrapped around Ruth's. It wasn't a hug, but something about the greeting was intimate anyway, and it left her heart swelling with emotion.

"You and my son . . . " Kiana started, then blinked. She cleared her throat and offered Ruth's hands a squeeze. "You both looked great together, down the aisle. I don't know everything that's happened, but I'm happy you didn't harden your heart to my son."

Ruth squeezed her hands back. "Me too," she promised honestly. She almost kept it up before, but her guy was an evil mastermind. He knew just how to wiggle himself back into her heart just by being the caring, sweet guy he was.

The wedding toast went by beautifully. Ruth, much to her relief, remembered her lines for Jana, which resulted in her getting choked up, and Raffo had no choice but to soothe her with a back pat. Jana tearfully blew her a kiss and mouthed how much she loved her. Raffo's toast to Eddie wasn't as long as Ruth's, but still heartfelt enough for the room to smile.

Everything about that night was magical. From the food, to the people, to the dance floor, it was Jana's dream come true. Ruth danced with her girls for a while; twirling and laughing with Kat and doing the Cupid Shuffle with Selene and Cheyenne. She stayed with them for one slow song, joining in on a group slow dance that had them all tumbling and laughing like idiots, before moving to the groomsmen and joining in on the second slow dance of the night.

Ruth, her cheeks flushed from dancing for the last hour, wrapped her arms around Raffo's neck, allowing him to pull her closer for the slow dance. Behind them, the DJ they hired played Sam Cooke's "Nothing Can Change This Love" and dimmed the lights to a soft, summery glow.

Raffo's fingers traced up her back, smoothing over the material. "Finally," he murmured, relief coloring his voice.

Ruth tilted her head. "Finally?"

"I've been trying to get you to myself all night," he admitted, drawing her closer.

She rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face was easy and full of love. "You have me to yourself all the time."

"It's still not often enough," he teased, pressing his forehead to hers.

Ruth smoothed a hand over the back of his head. "Well, it's a good thing we're leaving for New York soon. You can have me to yourself for as long as you want."

Raffo's hands drifted low on her waist, squeezing her softly. "Sounds like a plan to me."

She moved her head to his shoulder and allowed him to drift her off to the smooth lull of Sam Cooke's voice.

*****