Page 53 of Collide

“And one day, you’ll pass these to her.” Tommy reaches around and rests a hand on my belly, but only for a second. We’re all convinced the baby will be a girl, but we still don’t know. Tears well in my eyes, and he kisses my temple. “She’d be so happy for you.”

When he pulls back, I want to sob, but I swallow the lump in my throat and take a deep breath to dull the pain of missing my mother on this special day.

“And these are from me.” He pulls a small jewelry box from his trouser pocket and opens the lid. Pearls dangle from delicate silver hoops for my ears. “I bought them a long time ago on a trip to China, thinking one day I’d give them to a special girl on her wedding day. You’re my special girl, Ivy.”

More tears. More swallowing. He removes the simple diamond studs in my ears and replaces them with the simple floating pearls. He smiles at me one more time over my shoulder in the mirror and then squeezes me as a signal that it’s time to go. My nerves spike again as Tommy leads me from the room to the elevator. I haven’t been told where we are holding the wedding, only that we are here at the same condo resort my mother loved. When Tommy presses P on the buttons, I peer up at him with an arched brow.

“He pulled a few strings; mainly, the renters went out for the evening.” Tommy winks at me, and my heart swells. Gage arranged for the penthouse. For me. My nerves jack-knife again as we enter the penthouse. We can’t see the balcony around the privacy wall at the entrance, and Tommy stops me with a hand on my forearm.

“We can turn around. No questions asked.”

“Tommy.” I sigh, shaking my head.

“Yeah, thought I’d check one more time.” He chuckles and raises his arm to escort me to the balcony.

“Ready to give me away?”

“Never giving you away, baby girl. Only adding him to us.” He winks, and I momentarily feel better, but then we take a step forward, and I think I might throw up. I’m a bundle of anxiety. Will Gage think I’m pretty? Will he smile or look stressed? Will he even be out there, or will he have come to his senses?

My heart races in panic as we cross the living room. The drawn blinds strike me as odd because I’ve never closed them in the condo, but I realize this has been done to build anticipation. As we step over the threshold of the open glass door to the balcony, all my fears dissipate. Gage stands by the rooftop balcony railing dressed in a deep blue vest with a white shirt and dark jeans with a sprig of jasmine and roses pinned to his vest. He also wears that sheepish look I’ve seen so often when he’s nervous, but as he watches me cross the balcony, his smile grows from a crook at the corner of his lips to a full-watt smile. He rushes me, and within seconds, his hands are on my cheeks and his lips are on my lips. The kiss is claiming, filled with relief and something more, as if he’s afraid I’ll disappear. He breathes me in like he wants to memorize me and draw in my oxygen to give himself life. I feel how it can all be real. Someday. And I’m breathless when he pulls back.

“I love you,” he says, and I blink in confusion. “I love you so much, Ivy. You look beautiful.” His eyes roam down my dress.

“Gage,” Tommy warns before I can speak, and Gage turns to him, still cupping my face.

“Care,” he softly sneers, drawing out the one syllable word.

Someone clears their throat behind Gage, and he twists to look over his shoulder. “Perhaps we could hold off kissing the bride until after the vows?” The minister chuckles until Gage steps back. I don’t miss the hitch to her breath when she sees my stomach. She swallows and offers a weak smile. Gage slips his hand into mine, and I turn my attention to him instead.

“Only us, Ivy,” he tells me.

“Only us,” I say, my voice struggling. My other hand still clutches Tommy’s arm. He’s tightened it to his side, and I twist to look up at him.

“I love you, baby girl, and your mama is so proud of you.” Tears come again as I tell him I love him too. He kisses my cheek.

“Thank you,” I mouth, and then he loosens his hold, and I slip my hand from his arm. Gage and I walk the remainder of the way to the makeshift altar and stand before the minister.

It’s early evening, and the sun won’t set for hours, but it’s lower in the sky, lending a romantic backdrop to our place by the edge of the balcony. The minister begins. Gage and I decided to go with traditional vows, and I’m relieved as I don’t think I could have recited anything by memory. When we finally slip the rings on each other’s fingers, the moment feels surreal, as if it isn’t my hand or his but someone else’s. Then he looks at me, and I know it’s us. The depth of his eyes and the liquid filling them let me know this is very real.

He loves me.

“I love you,” I say out of order of the wedding vows or the blessing of the rings. Gage’s eyes open wide in surprise for half a second, and then his mouth descends on mine in the middle of the minister covering our hands and joining us together. When Gage pulls back, the minister chuckles.

“I’d say you may kiss the bride, but considering you’ve done it twice already during the ceremony, I sense there’s no point in mentioning now is the time you may kiss your bride.”

“My bride,” Gage mouths to me.

“My husband,” I mouth back, and then his mouth finds mine again. Hands on my face, lips on lips, his tongue slips forward, and I tip to the side. This is how Gage kisses me. All-consuming and all telling. I am his, and he is mine.

+ + +

The celebration continues with champagne (non-alcoholic sparkling cider for me) and a toast. First, Jared welcomes me to the family. He offers me a kiss on the cheek after telling me he’ll do everything to be the best uncle and friend. Petty comes up to me next and moves in for a kiss. Thankfully, I’m quick with the hand and cover my lips, blocking Petty from getting what belongs to Gage. He makes a raspberry sound on the back of my hand before pulling back with a pop.

“You asshole.” Gage laughs good-naturedly, pushing Petty away from me.

Petty shakes out his blond curls and chuckles. “Just making sure it was real for you, Ivy. Welcome to the band.”

I giggle and shake my head. He’s going to be a handful.