Page 127 of Chris

“So good.”

“That’s what matters. This dress … wow, babe. Banging, huh?”

Valeria grinned. “You think?”

The form-fitted, sleeveless, heavy lace gown wasn’t what she had envisioned when she first thought about her wedding dress. She found the gown hanging on a back rack in a dress shop. It fit almost perfectly although they had needed to take the fabric in at her sides to make it tight to her curves. The ivory lace, decorated with pearls, covered the gown from top to bottom where the skirt flared out. The three-foot train was just enough, but not too much.

Regal.

Beautiful.

Like Valeria wearing it.

“It’s perfect, Val,” Haven said.

“It’s not at all like my first.”

Haven’s smile slipped. “No?”

She hadn’t talked a lot about her first—forced—marriage, but especially not to Haven. Not even when she was on the run and had lived with Haven for years. It was something she didn’t bring up because she figured … then she wasn’t putting Haven in danger unwittingly.

“No, that was some stupid princess … God, it was an ugly thing.”

Haven grinned. “Yeah?”

“Not what I wanted.”

“And this is?”

That’s what she was trying to say.

The emotions made it difficult.

“All of this is exactly what I want,” Valeria whispered. “I’m still trying to convince myself that it’s real, you know?”

“This is so fucking real, Val. That man loves you. His family loves you. Your kid? She’s theirs, now. You did good, okay? You will not wake up tomorrow and find out this was all a lie, I promise. This is real life—your life as long as you want it. Got it?”

Valeria nodded, dragging in a shaky breath to keep the tears lining her eyes at bay, lest she ruin her makeup. What a mess that would be, and they couldn’t fix it when she was a couple minutes away from walking to her future.

“Yeah, I understand,” Valeria whispered.

“Good. Sometimes, we need to hear it, right?”

“Right, Haven.”

Her best friend winked. “You are worthy of this, never forget that. Him? These people? Me? They deserve you. We are lucky to have you, and we are better because we know you.”

“I think it’s the other way around, too.”

“Maybe,” Haven agreed, “but today isn’t their day, either. It’s yours.”

“Yeah.”

“Ready to get married?”

“More than ready.”

“Then, let’s get you married.”