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He nods thoughtfully and takes measured, slow steps towards me again.
When he reaches me, I’m panting. A rawness fills my veins that screams, ‘Please love me too’. He uses his fingers to hold my chin and make sure I’m looking at him, but I’m not sure how I could look at anything else when he’s in the room.
“For the record, I loved you first.”
He swoops in, claiming my mouth and my heart, all with one pressing kiss that ends too soon.
“You love me, even if none of this has been conventional?” I ask, my voice full of trepidation.
“Being conventional is overrated.” He kisses my nose. “I know we need to talk this out, but there’s no way I’m letting you go. You and your post-it notes, your madness for eating Magic Stars in a certain way, your love for that shelter and your big heart. Let me keep you, sweetheart because I want to stay your husband for real and forever.”
Joy springs around inside me like a little lamb.
“You’re sure?”
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he claims my mouth again. It’s the kind of kiss that makes me want to stand on my tiptoes and flick a leg up, like in the movies.
And when he breaks away and wraps me in his arms, my head resting on his chest as the steady thumping of his heart immediately syncs with mine, I have this overwhelming feeling like I’m home. As he runs his hand up and down my back, I feel like he’s mine and I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Chapter 46
Harrison – Three months later
“Ophelia,bubs,what’swrong?”My niece buries her little head into my arm as she grips onto my hand. I crouch down to scoop her up into my arms.
“I wanted to walk down the aisle with you, Uncle Harrison,” she sniffles, and my willpower trembles like my heart in my chest.
My sister pats her back and shakes her head. “Oh, Ophelia. The men don’t walk down the aisle, it’s just the women.”
Her head snaps up, the tears and whimpers immediately stopping. “So, I can walk down with Auntie Zoey?”
“You can walk in front of her. How does that sound?” She smiles, her tears forgotten. “Why don’t you go check on her for me?” I suggest setting her on her feet. As soon as her toes touch the ground, she bolts in the direction of my wife’s suite across the hallway.
“Cass, will you go with her? Make sure she gets to the right room?” Katie adds.
Sweat trickles down my spine from the heat and humidity that is typical in Thailand. My linen suit should keep me cool, but I can’t seem to keep it together. I blow out a breath, feeling the buzz of nerves dance in my body.
“You good?” Katie asks.
“I’m nervous.”
She smirks. “The good news? You’re already married, so technically, this is the easy part.” She nudges me with her elbow, and I grunt a laugh.
“You’re right. It just…”
“I get it. This feels real.”
“Yeah, it does.”
She shakes her head, smiling. “I’m still mad at you for lying to me about the first wedding.”
“You can never stay mad at me, little sis.” Katie wasn’t the only one who was mad for a little while. Max had a lot to say about how we lied to him, but we gave him a couple of weeks to calm down and things are better now. He can see that even though it started out in the most nontraditional way, I love his sister with everything I have and not even a grumpy Max could scare me away. Owen, however? The dude is so relaxed he’s horizontal half the time that he shrugged and told us to be happy.
“No, I suppose I can’t.” She seems to consider her next words with a frown. “You certainly make it harder to hold on to a grudge when you fly everyone out here for Christmas break based on a group chat your nieces made.”
I scoff at the fact she thinks I had any other choice with those girls. “You say that like I had a choice. They begged me for months about a ‘wedding do-over’.” I laugh and she joins me.
“True. Still, Thailand on Christmas Eve-eve? Extravagant.”
