AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had to trust him.
He’d always looked out for me, even if I didn’t like his methods.
The minister began the ceremony, but I didn’t hear a word he was saying. Aidan took my hands, rubbing soothing circles into the backs of my hands and begging me with his eyes to trust him.
By the time the minister asked us to repeat our vows, I’d convinced myself that everything would be alright, and when he slipped the platinum wedding band onto my finger, it didn’t feel like the constrictive shackle I’d feared it would.
And then I was being passed from guest to guest, hugged and congratulated like I’d done something much more worthy of the adulation they were giving me.
Well I guessed I had, given how much it had taken for me to even walk down that aisle.
Bree handed me a glass of champagne as soon as we were done with the affection parade, and I downed it in one gulp, feeling the alcohol warmth begin to spread through my veins.
“Are you alright?” Aidan leaned down and murmured in my ear.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on now?” I asked as he peppered kisses down my neck.
He sighed, stepping in front of me.
“Can we just enjoy this day? I don’t want to get into it now.” I could see the disappointment in his eyes, and a pang of guilt rippled through me.
He was right.
I needed to let this go. He would tell me when he was ready.
“Alright,” I agreed, leaning up to kiss my husband.
Husband.
There’d been a good chunk of time where I’d thought I would never get to call him my husband. I would enjoy it.
He wound his fingers through mine and kissed my knuckles. “Good. Besides, it’s time for cake.”
A few moments later we were approached by Vanessa and Lex, trailed by their two children.
“Congratulations,” Vanessa beamed as they both embraced us.
“Thank you,” I replied, studying Vanessa more closely than I had last night. She was gorgeous with long, golden curls and unnaturally blue eyes, but I’d always thought there was something off about her. Like she was hiding something. Lex shook Aidan’s hand, but there was a hint of tension there that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
“Mom, I’m gonna take Henry to look at the boats,” Sarah, their daughter, announced from Lex’s side, grabbing her younger brother’s hand.
She was a pretty young girl, with blonde hair to her mother. She seemed wary of everyone and flinched when someone moved too close.
“Alright, be careful,” Vanessa said, smiling softly at her children as they strolled down the deck to the water. It was an adorable sight, and I couldn’t help but picture Aidan and I’s future. Would we have kids? I’d always thought I didn’t want them, but watching Ella and Logan with Avery, and now Lex and Vanessa with their children made me think I might reconsider.
We’d have to get going soon… I was already thirty-four.
It had taken us a damn long time to get to this moment!
Vanessa caught my longing stare after her kids, and she smiled.
“They might look cute now, but they’re little terrors,” she chuckled, and I returned her smile.
“I think I’ll wait a little while,” I agreed at the very same moment Henry started to cry. Vanessa swept passed me to where Sarah was trying to comfort him and pulled the little boy into her arms, bouncing on her heels as she soothed him.
“Cait!” Bree’s voice yelled out from the top of the dock. “The car is here.”
This was it.
