My brother’s never been much of a crier, but in this moment, as he watches the woman who’s made his world whole make her way to him, tears slip past his lids. He quickly wipes them away with a wet laugh and a smile on his face.
“Dada sa?” Gracie asks him as she pats his cheeks.
“No, Buttercup. Daddy’s not sad, he’s happy.” He kisses her forehead. “Look how beautiful Mommy is.”
My eyes well with tears as I watch Lance pass Emma over to Greyson, thanking him for loving his daughter. Emma takes Gracie from my brother’s arms just as she exclaims,“MAMA!”Em might not have carried that precious little girl in her womb, but she treasures her like she did.
“Hi, my beautiful Little Tulip.” She kisses her cheek lightly. “Today’s a really special day; did you know that? Today, Mommy and Daddy will become a real family. Just like you are now officially my baby girl, forever.”
She passes my niece over to her father, who takes her to their assigned chairs in the first row beside my parents, and the wedding officially begins with the ceremony progressing quickly since they’ve decided to not exchange vows.
Originally, Emma wanted to, but with her pregnancy hormones skyrocketing every second, she wasn’t able to make it through her speech without hysterically crying. So instead, they chose to take out the vows and simply have the officiant make them repeat after him, vowing to love each other forever.
Every few minutes, I find my gaze drifting to Shane, and every time it does, his eyes are already on me. It makes me wonder what his take on marriage is since I know he’s already been married before.Is it something he would do again? Or has his divorce ruined that image for him? Does he still have a relationship with his ex-wife? And why did they get divorced in the first place?
My focus quickly returns to the ceremony when I hear the officiant reaching his final lines. “I now declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Emma steps closer, her cheeks still covered in tears as she leans in to kiss my brother, but to everyone’s surprise, all he does is stand there and smile at her. “Before we do that, I’d like to say something. I know we agreed we wouldn’t share our vows, but—”
“Greyson, what are you doing?!” Her eyes widen. “This isn’t part of the script. Do you not see my face right now? You know I can’t handle any emotions with these two inside of me. Don’t you dare make me ugly cry in front of everyone!” she whispersaggressively, but with the numerous chuckles echoing through the room, it clearly wasn’t said quietly enough for others not to hear.
My brother laughs softly and shakes his head as he rubs soothing circles over her palms where their hands are still joined. “I know, Bunny, but I really need to say this.”
“Ugh! Okay, fine! But do it quickly and don’t get all sappy. I won’t forgive you if you turn me into a blubbering mess.”
“I’ll take full responsibility if that happens.” Grey smirks while Emma narrows her eyes at him. “What I wanted to say was that earlier, when we were sitting in our dressing room waiting for the greenlight, I was going over our story in my head, remembering every moment, every word.”
“Wolf…” Emma pouts, her tears rushing back instantly, yet he’s barely said anything.
He smiles softly at her and releases one of her hands only to cup her cheek instead. “I remember the first time I saw you with our daughter, how you made her laugh before I had even had the chance to hear it myself, how you loved her unconditionally instantly, without a second thought. You know I always tell myself that I fell in love with you over Christmas last year, but the truth is, I started falling for you that very first day.”
Em begins to sob quietly as tears rise in my own eyes. “You’re going to pay for this later,” she whispers, gaining a chuckle from both bridal parties.
“I remember how annoying and crazy I thought you were at first, and that only terrified me more. Because how do you admit that you’ve fallen head over heels, unexpectedly in love with a crazy chick, without sounding crazy yourself?”
Gabriel snorts from his spot with the groomsmen. “Easy, you don’t. Ever.”
Emma giggles. “I really do lose it sometimes, certainly right now.” She smiles and rubs her protruding belly.
“Especiallyright now.” My brother’s eyes go wide and the guests all laugh. “Anyway, turns out it didn’t even matter, because as crazy as it sounds, I fell in love with those parts of you too, and I wouldn’t want you any other way.”
“I wouldn’t want you any other way either,” she cries as Cecilia quickly hands her a tissue.
“But while sitting there, it also got me thinking about how quickly things shifted for me. You know how there are people who will go on walks daily and take the same path every single day? They have multiple options that would lead them to the exact same finish point, yet they never go off route. And if you ask them why they never go a different way or take a shortcut, they’ll tell you they don’t know, but they feel like this is the path they’re meant to take.”
I watch their beautiful exchange as Emma nods her head and dabs at her eyes with the tissue. Despite not being sure if marriage is something I truly want in life, there’s something so magical about them, about two people loving each other so profoundly and knowing this is what they’re meant to do.
The hair along my nape suddenly rises as goosebumps scatter my flesh, and I shiver unwillingly. My heart begins to feel funny in my chest, and without needing a moment to understand why, I peek at the crowd and find Shane’s gaze boring into mine.
My breath hitches with how intensely he’s watching me, lips parting on their own as warmth spreads through my chest and down to places it shouldn’t be. I quickly blink away the thoughts slowly forming in my mind, a deep pink shade filling my cheeks in the process, and squeeze my thighs together while turning my attention back to the bride and groom.
“That was me before you, walking down the same old path every day. I didn’t know why, didn’t really question it either, but I was content with it. Until one day when midway through my daily stroll, you unexpectedly showed up, stood rightthere in the middle of my path, and refused to move. And suddenly, it was like breathing for the first time and I started questioning everything. Suddenly, I wasn’t content with an empty, meaningless path anymore and craved the unexpected, craved you. Suddenly, a path that held no value became my biggest treasure.”
My sister-in-law sniffles. “I probably would have refused to leave knowing it would annoy you,” she admits with a soft giggle.
“Oh, I know.” Greyson laughs. “What I’m trying to say is that you unexpectedly became my favorite path. Before you, I walked a simple line, made decisions without a thought, chased things that didn’t work out. But then you came along, and suddenly everything made sense. You brought meaning into my life, and I consider myself the luckiest man alive to call you my wife and the mother of my children today.”
“Oh God, Wolf…” Emma sobs into her hand, the other still gripping Greyson’s.
