I have to draw in a deep breath, reminding myself not to lock my knees. Passing out in this heat in this suit wouldn’t be ideal. And especially not on my wedding day. Sure, there are a bunch of first responders in attendance, but best not do it anyway.
Blowing out a breath, I reach forward, taking Arlo’s hands in my own. “Baby boy, I have loved you almost as long as I’ve known you.”
Arlo smiles, and his eyes well up. If he starts crying with the first sentence, I’ll never be able to make it through.
“I took one look into those eyes and started falling, and I haven’t stopped since. Every single day, I find something new that I love about you. You brought things to my life that I didn’t even know I was missing, and I can never thank you enough for that. I love you more than life itself, baby boy, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of the years I have left with you.”
A tear slips out of Arlo’s eye, and he sniffles loudly, making Salem snort from our small audience.
“Arlo,” Hunter says. “Are you ready for your vows?”
Arlo sniffles again, then pulls a hand from mine to wipe at his face. “Ready as I’m ever gonna be.”
He wipes at his face again, then catches my hands in his. “I love you. I loved you when I thought I shouldn’t. I loved you when I thought I wasn’t worthy of you. And I love you even more now.”
My eyes fill with tears, and the second I blink, they spill over my lashes and drip onto my cheeks.
A small smile spreads across his face, and he pulls his hand from mine to wipe my tears away. For some reason, that just makes me cry harder, and more tears follow right after.
Arlo inhales a shaky breath, his fingers trembling against my cheek. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. I only know that I’d never want to find out. Thank you for showing me things about myself that I didn’t know existed. Thank you for loving me loudly when I was afraid, and thank you for always fighting for me. You’re the love of my life, and I can’t wait to spend forever by your side.”
I’m basically openly weeping at this point, and Arlo just keeps wiping my tears away.
“Perfect,” Hunter says, a smile in his voice. “Rings, please.”
Luca hands Arlo my ring, and Austin hands me Arlo’s.
My lips feel like they belong to someone else as I repeat the words Hunter tells me to say, and my fingers are shaking when I slide Arlo’s ring onto his finger.
I don’t take my eyes off Arlo as he repeats the same words, and the cool metal of my wedding band presses against my overheated skin when Arlo works it onto my finger.
“Perfect,” Hunter says. “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husbands. You may kiss your groom.”
The magic fucking words. I hook an arm around Arlo’s waist and haul him into me, pressing my lips to his as everyone cheers and screams.
Fucking finally. This man is mine. And I get to have him forever.
Salem—6 months later
I wake up to someone jumping on my bed, and I peek my eye open with a groan. “Why are you so energetic? Aren’t old men supposed to be decrepit?”
Jasper glares down at me. “That’s offensive. Getup.It’s adoption day.”
My stomach does some fucked-up fuzzy thing. It does that all the time. Well, mostly just when I think about how much better my life is now and how much more I love being alive than I used to. “I know it’s adoption day.”
Frowning, Jasper leans in closer. “So then, why are you still in bed?”
“Because I figured you’d come get me when it was time.”
Jasper bounces one more time, which, as Arlo would say, is ‘unbecoming of a man his age,’ and then he jumps to the floor. “Iamcoming to get you. Court’s in an hour. It’s a long drive, kiddo. Time to get ready.”
My stomach flips again, this time not in a good way. “What if…”
“What if?” Jasper echoes, raising an eyebrow.
I cover my face with my hands. “What if they don’t approve it?”
The bed dips as he sits down beside me. “They’ll approve it. It’s basically a formality at this point.”
