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Okay, Parker was riding a little too close to making me emotional in front of too many people.
“But to witness two people go through so much together—to have their relationship tested so heavily—and to see them grow despite it all is inspiring. It speaks to the kind of love they have for one another. A love that endures. A love that we all can aspire to have in all aspects of life.”
I squeezed Genevieve’s hands tighter as she lost her battle with not crying.
“And I promise that’s all I have to say.” Parker laughed, earning a small chuckle from everyone. “As this is a vow renewal, I’m told both of you have written your own vows. Well, the last we talked, Killian was going to, but he hadn’t yet.”
The kid had jokes. It did make Genevieve laugh, so it was worth it.
“Can I go first?” Genevieve asked quietly. “Because if you make me cry, I’m not coming back from that.”
“Anything your heart desires, baby girl,” I assured her.
“Ian,” she began with a small smile, “I’ll be honest and say that I don’t have the words to tell you how much I love you. You aren’t just my husband. You are my heart, you are my soul, and you are my home. I am who I am today because I love you and have been loved by you. I can’t promise easy days to come, but I can promise you that on the hard days, you won’t be alone. I can’t promise we’ll never have problems, but I can promise you that we will get through them together. I can’t promise…”
Her lower lip trembled, and she drew in an unsteady breath. Oh, my sweet princess.
“I can’t promise there won’t be times when the world is too much for you.” Her voice caught in her throat, and my chest tightened. “I can promise I won’t ever let you drown. I promise to always listen and to remind you of what you have. I can promise when it feels like you can’t fight anymore that I will help you keep going.
“And I promise to always make sure you have Waverly’s donuts when it’s the right time of year,” she finished. That last part earned her a round of laughter. I fucking grinned. I would never deserve this woman. Not in a million years.
“I can’t compete with that. I’m not great with words. Never have been, but I’ll do my best,” I said. “By nature, I’m a fighter. I have always been best at fighting my way through a situation or running away when emotionally it’s too much. Commitment has never been easy for me because it requires a kind of vulnerability I’m not comfortable with.”
“Ian,” Genevieve whispered. Her fingers laced through mine, offering comfort. But I didn’t need it. I was sure of what I wanted to say to her.
“I know the kind of man I am, and I know that being my wife hasn’t always been easy,” I continued. “But I also know I’m committed to change. I’m committed to changing for you, changing for us, and changing for our future. I promise to listen to the words you say and the ones you don’t. I promise to share my thoughts, and I promise to speak my truth. I promise to hold important the things you love, and I promise to share the things that are important to me with you. I promise to stop running when the push is too hard, and I promise to stop always fighting my way through things. I promise to protect your heart, and I promise to give you mine to protect. I promise to rely on you as much as I ask you to rely on me. But most of all, I promise it was always you and me, and it will always be you and me. We’re a team, Genevieve. Where you lead, I’ll always follow. Good days, bad days, and all the wildly crazy fucking days in between.”
She snorted through the tears.
“I only used one,” I mouthed, holding up one finger and making her smile.
“There isn’t a lot of advice I can give two people who have gone through what the two of you have,” Parker announced happily. “But I challenge you to make yourselves vulnerable for one another, even when you’re afraid to. I challenge you to find peace within one another, even when it feels like peace isn’t an option. I challenge you to always make time for one another, even when life gets busy. And I challenge you to talk to each other and to keep talking to one another, even when words are scarce and emotions are high.
“And that’s all I’ve got!” He clapped his hands together. “You may kiss your wife!”
That I didn’t need to be told twice to do. Pulling her to me, I cradled her face in my hands and kissed her. She melted into me as the church filled with cheers. I smiled, happier than I’d been in a long fucking time.
Chapter 138
Genevieve
Flats,” I announced loudly over the noise of our reception, “are single-handedly the best thing to ever be created. To flats!”
“To flats!” Raven echoed and downed her flute of champagne. Grunting, she reached under the table and pushed off her heels. “And fuck the man who created heels. God, my feet hurt!”
“Amen to that.” I slid down in the chair, trying to find a more comfortable position for my stomach. The dress hid my little baby bump well, but it was not comfortable. I wanted leggings and a big sweatshirt.
Our reception was in full swing at the community center. We started with the traditional bride and groom dance followed by Killian’s promised dance with Lizzie. Somehow Lizzie managed to get all five Byrnes along with the Ironwoods on the dance floor in a wild dance-off to ‘Shake It Off’. Walker Stone was right in the middle of the action, dancing alongside her like he was having the night of his life.
There was food, dancing, conversation, shenanigans, and one chicken that somehow managed to cluck her way across the entire building. Only in Cedar Harbor. Watching Killian and Roan try to catch the chicken was unpaid entertainment—one we had Declan to thank for.
At some point, I watched Lane follow Gabby into the bathroom. Killian dragged me away before I had the chance to go break it up. Instead, he led me to a back room where he said surprise number one was waiting for me—apparently, the man had planned a number of them throughout the night.
The first was a small tattoo done by Raven. I’d been talking about it for weeks but had been too nervous to do it. As a way to give me a break from the party, I sat with Raven while she did it for me. Three black birds down the right side of my neck to match the ones in Killian’s tattoo. They were perfection. Everything I could’ve wanted and more.
The second was another wedding band to bracket my engagement ring. I tried to argue with him— to tell him that he didn’t have to—but he insisted the ring belonged on my finger. When he gave me that boyish grin of his, I couldn’t argue. Besides, it was a really pretty ring.
“On those feet, you gorgeous fucking hurricane!” Cade slid across the floor in front of our table. Raven and I broke down in a fit of giggles as he nearly toppled over himself. He exclaimed, “So many beers! Let’s go, you gorgeous thing! I want to dance with you.”
