they're joined by the groom, Phil Kaplan

A man appeared from within the ballroom and put his arm around Staci. He was around thirty with a long, full beard and a bald head. He wore a brown blazer over a yellow shirt with a red tie. With a deep voice, he said, "Oh, hey babe." He kissed Staci, and then looked over at Jake and Abbie.

"This is my cousin Jake Lewis and his girlfriend Abbie Andrews," Staci said, presenting them to the man.

Abbie smiled and blushed a bit at the word "girlfriend." She knew it wasn't the right word, but even so, the idea of it gave her a bit of a tingle.

"Pleasure to meet you," the man said. "I'm Phil. The, um ... well, the groom."

]

Phil Kaplan, the groom

Jake extended his hand. "Good to meet you, Phil. Congratulations."

Abbie opened her arms and hugged Phil, much to his surprise. "So nice to meet you. Everything here looks beautiful -- including your stunning wife to be!"

Staci laughed. "Aw, no need to butter me up. I know I'm gorgeous!" She twirled around to show herself off, and all of four of them enjoyed the presentation.

"Where did ..." Phil looked around, and back into the ballroom. "Where did Megan go?"

Abbie shrugged. "Some business in the kitchen. I offered to help out here."

Phil grinned, and looked back into the main room. "I wasn't expecting ... I mean, I guess I didn't think they'd leave the hallway like this."

"Oh, it's no problem," said Abbie.

A bit of a bustle from behind the door caught Staci's attention. She turned to look, and found a slightly out-of-breath Megan jogging up to meet her.