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“Sir?”
He cleared his throat roughly before locking eyes with me once more. “Welcome to our family, Cannon. I see how happy you make Piper, and for that, I’ll always be thankful. I know the fuckups you’ve made in the past, but you shouldn’t beat yourself up more than you say I shouldn’t beat myself up. The past is the past. And as long as you keep making my girl happy, it will stay there.”
“Thank you,” I choked out and wrapped my arms around him when he gave me a back-pounding hug. “I promise I’ll always do everything within my power to make Piper happy. Always.”
After he left, Dad told us it was time. The three of us walked to the Observatory, where Mom and Gabriella were waiting. Since Asher wasn’t there, Jags offered Gabriella his arm, while I took Mom’s. The four of us walked down the aisle, escorting the two moms to their seats before taking our place beside the officiant.
Piper had blown me away when she’d said she wanted our wedding to be at the Observatory. Even if it hadn’t been a possibility, I would have worked something out with Prya to make it happen. This place was my secret sanctuary growing up. The stars had given me a peace that was all my own, something I’d only shared with my mom before bringing Piper here for one of our auctioned dates. That night would always be one of the most amazing moments of my life. Not only had the woman I loved not made light of my secret astronomy passion, but she’d given me a piece of herself that night as well.
Overhead, the stars glowed like diamonds in the sky, while around us, the lights were dimmed, and orchestra music began to play. Hymn was supposed to have been Piper’s maid of honor, but after what happened with Asher, Hymn had backed out, much to Piper’s disappointment. But my girl understood her friend’s reasons. Hymn needed time to get her mind straight after the reality of what Asher was capable of had hit her so hard. She’d gone back to New York earlier in the week, to the apartment she and Piper used to share in the city.
Shaw had stepped up to be Piper’s matron of honor, and soon my sister was walking down the aisle toward us. She looked lovely in her long, shimmery gray dress that had a sheer, cape-like train behind her. The black and white roses she carried were a smaller version of the ones I knew Piper would be carrying.
Next came the little flower girls. Love Bug and Grier made my heart melt at the sight of them in their silver dresses that glittered in the ever-dimming lights. The further lowering of the lighting made me frown, however. Francesca hadn’t told me that would be happening, but I didn’t want to stop the ceremony and demand to know what was going on.
Once the last black and white rose petals hit the floor, Grier ran to my dad, and Love Bug skipped over to her parents. I wasn’t surprised to see that Trinity’s family was beside Violet and Luca. Banks didn’t get very much privacy whenever Love Bug was in the same room. It was kind of cute, maybe a little weird, but I was a bit relieved that Love Bug was so fascinated by Trinity’s stepson. For a moment, I’d thought Lyric’s eldest son, Ian, was going to have the same connection to Love Bug that Luca had with Violet, and that had freaked me out. Watching it firsthand with Luca and Vi was one thing, but I didn’t think I could stand by and watch the same shit play out all over again in the next generation.
The lights were barely bright enough to see Piper and her dad standing at the end of the aisle when the music switched to the Wedding March. The moment my gaze landed on her in that black dress, the air froze in my lungs. “Holy fuck,” I wheezed, grabbing hold of Jagger’s arm when my knees threatened to give out on me at the breathtaking sight before me.
I saw Piper smirk at me, and then the lights began to fade even more. But as it turned to night inside the Observatory, plastic, battery-operated candles were lifted into the air. Piper’s dress was so black that it melted into the darkness around her, but the candles caught the diamonds threaded into the material, and then they actually lit up.
It took me a moment to catch my breath before I realized that the constellation I was seeing was the Messier 50, the Heart-Shaped Cluster, that was located in the Monoceros constellation. With the mixture of blue and yellow stars, I could easily spot the cluster once I knew what I was looking at.
After first bringing Piper to the Observatory, I’d begun teaching her all about astronomy. That she’d included my passion for stars in her wedding dress brought tears to my eyes.
Once she and her dad reached us, Liam placed her hand in mine and bowed his head, whispering a prayer I couldn’t hear before straightening his shoulders and meeting my gaze. “Remember what I said.”
“Always, sir,” I choked out.
He gave a stiff nod and stepped back. Shaw moved forward, and Piper turned her back to me, so she could pass over her bouquet. When she did, I saw the candle lights flicker over the constellation on her veil, and the reins broke on the control I held over my emotions.
Cygnus had been stitched into the sheer material with tiny diamonds. The same constellation I’d shown her the night I’d brought her to this very room and stargazed with her, after telling her I loved her for what was possibly the first time—at least aloud. Before that, I’d told her I loved her at least a thousand times in my head.
When Piper turned back to take my hands, she saw that I was no longer in control, and she gave me a wobbly smile. “I love you, jerkface,” she whispered.
“I love you, sugar,” I rasped.
The officiant cleared his throat, and I tugged Piper closer. There, beneath the stars, with nothing but candles and her dress glowing around us, we promised to love each other forever.
Epilogue
Dallas
“You’re doing great, Piper,” I assured my daughter-in-law as I sat at her feet, keeping my voice calm as she glared at everyone in the room. Thankfully, it was only my son, Gabriella, and the other nurses, who would take over care of the baby once my grandchild was delivered.
It took five years before Piper and Cannon decided to become parents. None of us had pushed them to start having children, and if I was being honest, I hadn’t really cared if Cannon reproduced or not. I had my hands full with Shaw’s girls, and I wasn’t all that sure that Cannon had what it took to be a parent. He’d grown up a lot over the years, even more so once he’d married Piper, which I was eternally grateful, but Axton and I had worried if he would make a good father.
I was sure Piper had her misgivings about her husband and parenthood as well, which was why they had waited so long. But then it was taken out of their hands when Piper’s birth control had failed.
Despite my misgivings, Cannon had become a completely different man during Piper’s pregnancy. He’d matured more with each passing week, until I didn’t even recognize the boy I’d raised—in nothing but good ways. Over the years, I’d grown bored with the kids no longer being at home and Axton more or less retired. I’d focused on my own career again and transitioned from a registered nurse to a nurse practitioner with a specialty in gynecology. Which had worked out great, because as soon as Piper found out she was pregnant, she hadn’t wanted anyone but me to see to her care.
“We are almost there, honey. I promise.”
“You said that an hour ago,” Piper was exhausted and closed her eyes between contractions.
I rubbed her lower leg. “I know, but our girl is being stubborn and taking her sweet time coming out.”
“Big surprise,” she snorted “You fucking Cages.”
