AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Shall we?”
“Absolutely.”
Together we turned and walked across the cobblestones and through the terrace. When we reached the stone entranceway, we both took a deep breath as we exited out into the sunlight again.
A small group of buskers had been paid to service our wedding. I didn’t know who had arranged that, but three violinists, a female guitarist, a man playing an erhu, a saxophonist, and an actualoperasinger were playing the music as I walked down the makeshift aisle toward where our friends and family were assembled.
On my side was my mom, brother, and Carrie as well as my boss, Dr. Varma, his wife, and three daughters. That was all I’d wanted there. On Gavin’s side was his mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and five cousins, plus Locke. His three groomsmen were arranged on one side and my bridesmaids on the other.
And then there was Gavin.
My heart leaped into my throat at the sight of him in a tailored tux that must have been made for him. I was certain that was also Katherine and Camden’s doing. Though he had enough style that it could have been all his. But the beauty of it all was the smile on his handsome face. And how everything lit up at the first glimpse of me.
I stopped with my dad before Gavin, my eyes only for him.
“Who presents Whitley to be wed today?”
My eyes broke for that one second as I realized exactly who was marrying us. And I found Mayor Leslie Kensington in a smart Chanel suit with a wide smile on her face. Of course the mayor had the authority to marry people in her city, but I’dneversuspected that anyone would ask her to. That must have been what Lark had said when she said she’d handle it. Holy shit.
The mayor nodded at me once at my look of astonishment.
“I do,” my dad responded to the question.
Gavin stepped forward and shook my dad’s hand. They shared a sincere smile, and then I was walking forward with Gavin, up to the mayor.
Before I could even hope to stop them, tears came to my eyes. I was holding my fiancé’s hands in the most beautiful dress of my life, prepared to marry the man of my dreams. I’d been certain that this day was never going to come. Only yesterday, the entire thing had been up in the air.
Now, I was speaking my vows to him, declaring my heart, body, and soul to him, and hearing the words in return. But right before the moment of saying ourI dos, I stopped the ceremony.
Gavin looked stricken. “Whitley?”
I laughed, squeezing his hands. “There’s a tradition in Gavin’s family,” I announced to our friends and family. “To sing the song ‘Love Me Tender.’ I sang it at Margaret’s wedding, and I wish to continue that tradition today.”
I glanced at the buskers, who had no idea what I was about to do. “Any of you know the tune?”
After several seconds of chords being struck, a tune became clear in the middle of it. A song that I’d sung under duress months ago, I sang now with all the love in my heart now. A song that was about devotion and a promise of forever.
It might have been the song that his grandmother sang to all the grandchildren, but now, it was as much our song. Tears came to not just his family’s eyes as I sang the song with so much meaning, but my friends’ and family’s too. This sealed us all together more than even the vows could.
At the end, Gavin brought my hands to his lips and kissed them tenderly. “I love you.”
I nodded. “I love you too.”
“After that amazing tribute,” Mayor Kensington said, “I ask, are you both ready to declare yourself to one another?”
“I am,” we said in unison.
We spoke our vows to one another, letting all the world know our desire to be wed. And then Court removed the rings from his pocket, handing them to Gavin with a smile. He slid mine on my hand, and then I gave him his. There was only one thing left.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
Gavin tugged me toward him, dipping me dramatically and kissing me for all the world to see as everyone cheered—friends, family, and gawking tourists alike.
This was everything I’d ever wanted with Gavin.
Everything I’d never thought I’d be worthy of.
Maybe I wasn’t actually a bad girlfriend. Maybe all of that had been in my head. Because for the right person at the right time, Gavin King had proven that we could be perfect for each other in every way.
