AllFreeNovel
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I wipe my hands on my tuxedo suit even though the temperatures are hovering around freezing. It’s the first suit I’ve worn since that fateful day when I walked into her grooming shop and walked out an engaged man … on the way to the hospital.
Apparently, I’mhighlyallergic, not just allergic. My eyes were almost swollen closed by the time we finished our kiss, cementing the fact that our meeting was no coincidence and sometimes fate knows when people need each other. The golden retriever on the table didn’t seem to mind us rushing out. He climbed down and into his kennel like I was some sort of monster.
I’m taking medication and get shots to build up my immunity now. She showers right when she gets home to help manage it. We take precautions so I don’t end up looking like something that actually faced a bear and probably lost the fight.
But it was worth it.
My love is everything I never knew I needed. And she’s everything I ever wanted.
Peri has always understood me. I just didn’t understand me. I didn’t understand that my happiness wasn’t in proving something, it was in loving someone. And we’ve gotten into loving.
She’s a fast learner, eager and honestly a little minx. And I love it.
And now it’s six months later. The mountain is covered in snow, and she insisted on having an outdoor ceremony. The mountain doesn’t scare us. It’s home and it will be for a long time.
I built Peri a gazebo on the Welsh property to protect us, and everyone is bundled up. Just waiting.
And the wait is painful.
I want this woman to be mine forever.And ever.
All twenty guests stand when the music starts up. Peri and Mr. Welsh round the corner at the end of the aisle. Every hair on my body stands on end and my chest warms.
She’s a snow angel.
They make the walk to me and Mr. Welsh kisses her cheek, whispering something in her ear, making her smile wide.
He reaches for my hand and we shake a solid and understanding shake that this woman is now mine to take care of. Learning of her parents’ deaths fifteen years ago on an icy bridge on the way in to Denver has explained a lot to me. I never thought to ask why she was so afraid. I just knew I didn’t want her to be and instinctively knew I could help her through her pain. But some pain never leaves.
Mr. Welsh leans in, still grasping my hand tightly. “Take care of my angel, Orion. She’s special.”
She is that.
“I promise.” A promise I’ll never break. It’s my mission to make her undeniably, ridiculously, and incandescently happy.
He gives me a wink before letting go. He’s in on a secret and soon my wife will be, too.
The ceremony takes all of ten minutes and both of us chatter teeth as the officiant finally pronounces us partners in life. We run down the aisle, getting cheers and farewells.
There’s no party. We just want to be alone. Start our lives with each other.
We drive higher into the mountains. She thinks we’re going to a lodge that’s on the Long Ride Ridge, but I have a surprise.
I turn off the main highway and she turns to look at me, giving my hand a squeeze.
“What’s going on? Aren’t we going to the Long Ride Lodge?”
“We will.”If you still want to.“I just have something to show you.”
“Okay…”
We’ve promised no more secrets, but this one I think she’ll forgive me for.
I push a button on the built-in remotes in my truck and a gate to a long driveway opens.
“Orion?” Her voice is not only excited but curious. “Where are we?”
I pull in front of a four-bedroom log cabin only about ten minutes from ours… and no bridges to get here. “Our new home?”
