AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She looks up to glare at Hayes. “Hear that?No one.”
Thankfully, Mali is the one person he isn’t possessive over me with. I mean, it’s probably because he knows she would knock him over the head so hard he wouldn’t even remember who I am, but still.
Hayes snickers as I release Mali and turn to face him again.
“Laiken,” Pastor Todd says, nodding for me to go ahead.
I take a deep breath.
I’ve got this.
“Hayes. I stand here in front of you and our families, tasked with explaining how much you mean to me, but you were right. It’s not possible, like taking a picture of the moon—the outcome is never anywhere near as good as the real thing.
“Three years ago, I fell in love with the boy who insisted on wearing a backward hat instead of a helmet during hockey. Since then, my feelings for you have only grown, never lessened. You’re the one I want to share my good days with, and the one I want holding me through the bad.
“I promise to spend the rest of my life believing in you and supporting your dreams. I promise to cheer you on at your games, only ever wearing your jersey. And I promise to always put you in your place, the way you love so much.”
He chuckles, and I can’t help but smile at the sound of it.
“The fact that I’m going to spend forever loving you is nothing new to me. I’ve known that for years. But knowing I get to do it while having your last name is a dream that I never thought would come true. It’s always been you for me, H. That won’t ever change.”
The look in his eyes, the way he wipes away a tear the second it escapes, shows me just how important I am to him. That vulnerability he tries to hide from the world in an effort to protect himself—he shows to me. I’m the only one who gets to see the real him, exposed and open, and the fact that he trusts me enough for that means everything.
“Beautifully said,” Pastor Todd tells us both. “You two will have a beautiful life together.”
“That’s the plan,” Hayes jokes.
He laughs along with everyone else then gets back to business. “Hayes. Do you take Laiken Rose Blanchard to be your wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto her for as long as you both shall live?”
Hayes’s brows furrow as he cranes his neck to see into the book Pastor Todd is holding. “You got anything longer than that in there?”
God, I love this man.
The pastor smiles as he snickers. “Afraid not.”
“Fine then.” Hayes looks me in the eyes. “I do, even afterwe both shall live.”
“And Laiken, do you take Hayes Beckett Wilder to be your husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live?”
“I do,” I say confidently.
I don’t think I’ve ever meant two words more in my life. Once again, I’m lost in staring at him—acknowledging just how unfairly gorgeous he is as he tells him to skip the rings because we don’t have them. We had another idea in mind for that, and trust me…
I amallfor it.
Pastor Todd smiles. “Then by the power vested in me by the state of North Carolina, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Hayes smirks, grabbing the back of my neck and pulling me in like he’s been waiting on this forever. His mouth covers my own and with a hand holding me in place, he dips me back. And as we kiss for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Hayes Wilder, it hits me.
I get to spend the rest of my life doing this.
Laiken’s headrests against my chest as we sway to “Take My Name” by Parmalee. The slow sound of the wedding version is perfect, and the lyrics are so accurate, you’d think it was written about us. Our wedding may have essentially been a sprint down the aisle, but this is one thing I wouldn’t skip.
To have her in my arms, dancing to the song that comes the closest to portraying how I feel about her—nothing can beat this. Her vows replay on a loop inside my head, and a part of me considers tattooing every word on my chest. Right over the heart that will never belong to anyone else.
“I love you, Mrs. Wilder,” I tell her softly.
She lifts her head and looks up at me with a smile. “I love you, too.”
