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Marley laughed as she looked up at me. It seemed neither of us could take our eyes off each other.
“I’m going to do an extremely truncated version of this ceremony,” Houston continued, “because these two look like they’re going to melt into a puddle over each other if we don’t.” He paused. “We gather here today for these two lovely people to be joined in marriage…”
We said the traditional vows. To have and to hold, richer or poorer, sickness or health. We also wrote our own vows, but we decided to save them for a private moment between the two of us. We both craved the intimacy of being alone to share those deep thoughts, and we didn’t want to worry about anyone around us joking about them.
I said my vows first. When I finished, I basked in the glow of hearing Marley repeat them back to me.
The words Houston said following that filtered right through me as I just admired my mate. I rubbed my thumbs over her fingers and lost myself in her eyes. Then I watched the subtle shift of her brows, the worried quirk to her mouth.
“Cole?” she murmured.
“Huh?”
“Houston asked for the rings,” she whispered.
“O-oh,” I said, reaching into my jacket pocket and pulling them out.
“He’s so busy ogling his soon-to-be wife that he’s forgotten to marry her first,” Houston stated, eliciting laughter from the crowd.
We made our declarations, promising ourselves to one another. Marley took my band and slipped it onto my finger, then I slipped her ring onto hers. I watched her admire the ring I’d had made for her—white gold with a brilliant diamond in the center. She looked back up at me as Houston spoke again.
“So, normally, this is where I ask if anyone has any objections,” Houston said. “But to be honest, this relationship has been so complicated that I don’t want to tempt fate.”
“Agreed,” Marley said.
“Works for me,” I said.
“Then by the power granted me by the state of South Carolina, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride, my man,” Houston said with a grin.
I reached down and cupped Marley’s perfect face in my hands. I looked at her for one long moment, committing her face to memory, wanting to remember this perfect, peaceful moment forever. Then I leaned down and kissed her.
And just like that, we were married.
Chapter 17
Marley
The night before had been a blissful blur. We drank and ate and—well, we actually did get some painting done in our headquarters. Cole had promised to plan our honeymoon, and as the night wore on, I’d started to worry that we were missing a flight or even that Cole had completely forgotten about it. But in the small hours of the morning, our guests all said their goodbyes, and Cole’s parents—my new in-laws—took Noah with them and went home.
Once we were alone, I looked at Cole with a curious tilt of my head. He smiled at me, told me he had a surprise, and then led me to the top floor of the building.
The surprise had been our room in the headquarters, fully furnished and decorated in minimalist whites and grays. There were rose petals strewn everywhere. Flameless candles flickered throughout the space.
“I left things a bit plain,” he said. “I know you like to decorate, but I couldn’t think of a better place to spend my wedding night with you than the home we’re about to build together.”
We made love until we collapsed in each other’s arms from exhaustion.
I woke to soft kisses on the curve of my bare shoulder and the smell of maple syrup.
“Wake up, sweetheart,” Cole said. “We have a plane to catch in a few hours.”
“Did you make me pancakes?” I slurred as I rolled onto my back to look up at him with bleary eyes.
“I sure did,” he said with a chuckle.
“Oh my god, I love you,” I said in a sleepy stupor, sitting up.
“I would hope so. You’re my wife.”
