AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I want to marry you so much that I want to do it in front of everyone we love. Everyone that loves you.” A whimper catches in her throat, making all the emotion she’s trying to hold at bay obvious when it floods her eyes. “Someday isn’t today, but it’s a promise. A possibility.” Rosie nods, her thumb stroking over the scar on my hand. “It’s like an acorn, right? A seed. Something so small that grows into a giant wonder. Strong, lasting…something that weathers storms and withstands time. It’s what we can be together. You and me, Rosie, we can be fucking mighty.”
“You’re not meant to be this mushy and sentimental. What happened to the cocky daredevil?” The smile on her face glitters with the wild flutter of her lashes.
“Guess I’m growing up,” I grin, lightly patting the back of my finger beneath her bottom lashes. “I’m not lost anymore.” While she’s holding my stare with hers, I flick the acorn open. “I found someone to own all my kisses,” I tell her as she looks down at our hands.
Silence echoes in the breeze around us. Everything is so still in the solitary cove that it feels like we really could be frozen in time. Me and my beautiful angel in our very own Neverland.
“Who knew you’d be right so early on?” I snicker, taking the thimble necklace out of the acorn and dangling it between us so that waning sunlight deflecting from the small diamonds dotted around it casts rainbows between us. “Peter Pan is my favorite Disney movie.”
“If only I knew then what I know now,” she whispers, the corners of her mouth tugging from side to side as a tear slips down her cheek.
Shaky hands cup my elbows when I unclasp the necklace and lean forward, weaving my hands through her long hair to clasp it around her neck.
The instant I pull back to see it on her, Rosie crushes her mouth to mine. Pressing her body into me with the lick of her tongue over my lips. There are no words. There is nothing. Just me and her. The heat of our bodies and the grit of our kiss. Endless possibilities and unimaginable promises.
I can hardly catch my breath when we come up for air. I’m dazzled by the affection swimming in her eyes. If I were to drown right now, I’d be the happiest man.
“Have dinner with me?” I ask her, like I did so many times before our first date, except she doesn’t hesitate now.
With a beaming, watery smile Rosie nods, “Yes. Always…yes.”
Always. Every inch of me sighs as I take her hand in mine.
Even though I’m still trying to figure out where I got so lucky or what I did to deserve her, there’s no doubt in my mind that Rosie’s the only woman I could love with every bit of my being—my heart and my soul. She’s the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that you think is nothing but a myth. Except she’s as real as it gets. She’s everything I could’ve ever wished for. My girl. My angel. My soul mate.
One Year Later…
The sound of soft music playing just outside of the backdoor drifts into the beach house, where I’m gingerly descending the stairs. My knee-length, floral embroidered dress is everything I dreamed of. The lace trim around the bodice highlights my freckles which I know Brody loves. As cliché as it sounds, I feel like a princess. And I know this truly is my happily ever after.
My mom is waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, tears in her eyes. Her handkerchief matching her sky blue dress. “You look beautiful, sweetheart.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I whisper, kissing her on the cheek carefully so I don’t ruin either of our makeup.
“Are you ready to marry your champion?” My dad asks, from behind me, looking dashing in his beige linen trousers and crisp white shirt.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I joke, taking his proffered arm and letting my mom lead the way outside to our beach. Our little slice of paradise.
When Brody asked me to marry him, I always knew I’d want it to be here. So many happy memories have been made here, it’s the perfect place to add another.
My mom is ushered to her seat by Summer, before she returns with Blaire and Blakely, my two adorable flower girls. Dressed in lilac dresses and sparkly sandals, they look at me with huge smiles, ready to make their aisle debut.
The aisle has been made up of bouquets of pink and white roses, leading to a floral arch where Brody is waiting for me. Brooks and Easton look dashing as our ring bearers, standing proudly beside Nanny who’s wearing an obnoxious lilac bow that has me smiling.
Our guests are seated on white wooden chairs, and they stand as the music changes and they see me approach.
Familiar faces surround me, but my eyes are on one person, and one person alone.
My champion.
In his linen suit and white shirt, with a pink rose boutonniere pinned to his left lapel, he looks breathtaking. His eyes light up when he sees me, the smile that graces his face has my breath catching. He lights me up inside.
I feel my dad lead me down the aisle, Maggie and Summer as my bridesmaids having followed the flower girls before me. The walk takes no time at all, but feels never-ending, my soul being called to his. When we reach him, my dad kisses my cheek and passes my hand to Brody, who kisses it. His brief touch sending butterflies to my stomach.
“Ready, Angel?”
“You bet. Lights out, Hotshot.”
