“I vow to love you and support you, to be the person you can tell anything to without fear of judgment and to always be in your corner. I too will put us first, and I promise to always remember the feeling that brought us here today and work to preserve it.”
A single tear slips down her cheek, and I brush it away with my thumb.
“Do you have rings to exchange?” the officiant asks.
I reach into the inside pocket of my suit jacket and pull out both rings, handing the wedding band meant for me to Ashley.
We recite the more traditional vows as we each slide a ring on each other’s finger.
“With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
I waste no time, pulling Ashley into me and kissing her thoroughly. It’s only when the officiant clears his throat that we separate.
“I just need you two to sign, then I’m out of here.” He leads us to the small table that Steph and Doug were supposed to sign at, and once we’ve both signed on the dotted line, he looks at us with a big smile. “I wish you both a lifetime of happiness together. Congratulations.”
We say thank you, and once he’s gone, it’s just the two of us. Ashley and I look at each other and burst out laughing.
“I can’t believe we’re married.” She covers her mouth and laughs again.
“We’re officially husband and wife.” My smile will never fade knowing she’s my wife. “Care to have our first dance now?” I place my hands on her hips and pull her toward me.
“Absolutely.”
I pull my phone from my pocket that’s hooked up to the Bluetooth speaker and play the song I picked out for our first dance—mostly because I know Ash loves it, but also because we can slow dance to it.
Frank Sinatra’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” plays, and I increase the volume before dropping my phone on the table and pulling my wife close. She rests her cheek on my chest, and I secure her in my arms.
“You know my wish was about you too?” I admit a minute or so later.
She lifts her head and looks up at me. “It was?”
I nod. “When I was trying to figure out what to wish for, I tried to clear my mind so that whatever was most important would pop to the surface. The vision that arose was of you wearing a wedding dress. I wished for my vision to come true.”
Ash frowns and looks down between us. “But I’m not wearing a wedding dress.”
“Ah, but you were. The day I barged in on you at the seamstress’s, you were. And it was exactly what I saw in my mind that night. I knew then that we’d eventually make it here.”
“I don’t care what anyone says when they find out we’re married, I know we’re meant to be.”
I bend my head and kiss her, slow and thorough. The tension between us builds until we’re both breathing hard when we pull away from each other.
“Speaking of our friends and family finding out, I have something to ask you,” I say.
“I already agreed to marry you today. You’re pushing your luck.” She giggles.
“Will you come with me to Oregon for the holidays? You don’t have any guests, and I want you to meet my family. But if you don’t want to or can’t for whatever reason, then I’ll stay here with you. No matter what, we’re spending Christmas together.”
Her fingers run through the hair at the back of my head. “I would love to join you. I can’t wait to meet the family I’ve just married into.”
I kiss her again, but this time when I pull away, I don’t say anything. I lead her upstairs by the hand to the bedroom to make love to my wife.
Dinner can wait.
Chapter Twenty-Five
CARTER
“Wait.” Ashley reaches for my wrist and stops me before I open the car door of our rental. “I’m nervous. What if they don’t like me?”
