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The chills that one word could create were making my mind spin.
“Don’t cry,” he warned.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I replied.
He smiled.
It slipped out. An accident. One that he probably hardly ever made.
He tucked it back in quickly, but I saw it. He saw that I saw it, and well, I was going to keep that smile plastered in my brain for a while.
“Why are you being nice to me?” I whispered, confused. The Damian I argued with outside of the restaurant was not the same Damian I stood beside that morning who was using words like mesmerizing to describe me and leaving me blueberry scones.
“Because it’s our wedding day,” he replied.
You confuse me so much, Mr. Blackstone.
“All right, here we go.” Grams turned back to face us both, and the ceremony began. It wasn’t a long ceremony, which I was thankful for because I wasn’t looking for it to last. Once it was over, I had it in my mind to hurry to my bedroom and call Jeff and apologize for something that he asked me to do for us.
I felt a bit dirty with it all, truly.
“Are we exchanging vows that you both prepared?” Grams asked us.
My eyes widened, a bit thrown off by her question. “Oh, no. I didn’t think that would be necessary seeing how—”
“I wrote some out,” Damian cut in, leaving me stunned.
“Huh? You did?” I questioned.
He reached into the breast pocket of his suit and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “Yes, but, if you’d rather me not read it—”
“No,” I hurriedly said, placing my hand against his forearm. The second my hand connected with his skin, Damian’s eyes fell to our touch before rising slowly to lock his blues with my browns. I quickly removed my hand and smoothed my sweaty hands against my dress. “I mean, I’d like to hear it.”
He nodded and unfolded the paper. “Stella. I think it’s safe to say today is weird as fuck,” he started, making us all laugh. He didn’t chuckle, though. It was as if he hadn’t even known he was funny as he continued. “And I realized as I was writing this that I don’t know you. I don’t know your middle name, let alone your last. But, I do know that this isn’t easy for either of us. I had a friend remind me of that fact. Even though I don’t know much about you, I do know myself. I know my flaws and where I struggle. I know that I’m blunt. I am cold and hard to approach. I am short-tempered at times and have the ability to think the worst of most people. I know you’ve already seen these sides of me, and I am not proud of this because I’ve seen a few sides of you, too, over the past few days.”
He looked up at me and began to speak the words straight to me. “I’ve seen your kindness. I’ve seen your sensitivities. I’ve seen how you take every word to your heart and feel deeply for everything—even the waves,” he said, gesturing toward the ocean.
I laughed, feeling on the edge of tears as he kept on.
“I’ve seen your expressions and how my words impact you. I’ve seen how my asshole tendencies affect you. So I’ll make a few promises to you today. I promise to watch my words around you so you don’t feel as if you are walking on eggshells. I promise to apologize when I’m wrong and even when I’m right. I promise to be honest with you but try to do so in a gentler way. Even though this is fake, I promise to pretend it’s not. To be your husband when you need me and less of an asshole whenever I can. I promise you blueberry scones on Saturday mornings because I know that’s important. So yeah. That’s it. I promise not to be the worst parts of me, so you can be the best parts of yourself. Today, I promise you that.”
“Well then,” Grams said, wiping at the tears falling from her eyes. “That was unexpected.”
Damian grimaced. “It was too much.”
“No!” everyone shouted at once, tossing their hands in the air.
Connor leaned forward and patted his friend on the shoulder. “It was just the perfect amount of enough.”
Damian’s grumpy look was back with his lowered brows. “Okay. Then continue,” he said to Grams.
“Wait!” I shouted. “I came up with a few promises, too.”
“Oh?” he asked, surprised.
“Yes. Well, clearly, this is being made up as I go, but I promise you quiet mornings. I already noticed you aren’t a morning person, based on your grumbles when you make coffee. And I promise not to go on long random bursts of conversation when you are clearly not in the mood—so never will I do that. Actually, I might, but that’s just because I’m chatty. I don’t do well in quiet places. Even when I’m by myself, I talk out loud. But I’ll try to be more mindful about it. I promise you peace in the world of my emotional chaos. I promise to pull back on my crying because I know it makes you uneasy. And I promise you that even your worst parts aren’t as ugly as you make them out to be, and I promise to make a space where you can be your truest self without judgment. Today, I promise you that.”
“It’s like you both are trying to destroy a pregnant woman’s emotions,” Aaliyah cried out, reaching for a tissue she stored in her bra.
