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I smile at him. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”
We walk down the aisle, step by step. The closer we come to the head of the aisle, the redder Orlie’s eyes become until a few tears tumble down his cheeks.
Dad and I come to a stop. And I feel a little faint. This is it. The end of the unmarried Solace sisters. Of course, it’s just a symbol. We’re all still close as ever, seeing each other as often as possible. But I can’t help but think this is the end of an era.
“I love you,” Dad whispers and kisses my cheek. He touches Owen’s back, smiling. I get an image of him with his own little one someday very soon. I can’t wait to see my dad become one all over again. “Orlie –” He reaches his hand out to Orlie and pulls him into a hug. “Be good to her.”
“Always.”
Trevor also snags a hug before Dad goes to take his seat. Though I’m completely caught up in Orlie and this moment, I have to watch as he settles in beside Victoria. The look of love in their eyes is more potent than ever as she reaches for his arm as he sits. Unable to resist touching him. Wanting him as close as possible as their love manifests in a totally new way inside her.
“Can I?” Orlie says, gesturing to Owen.
“Oh, yeah, please, my arms are killing me,” I say.
Everyone laughs.
Orlie slides Owen out of my arms, whispering in my ear in that brief moment of contact, “You look beautiful.”
I adjust my glasses and flush. Has the same ring as the very first time he ever said it.
Owen does not wake up fully, simply adjusting his hand to grab onto the lapel of Orlie’s jacket.
“You kids ready?” Trevor asks.
Orlie and I exchange smiles. “I think so,” I say.
With a clearing of his throat, Trevor begins the ceremony. It is lighthearted and earnest as he tells the tale of Orlie and Kira and the love that they both resisted for so long. Though we’ve asked him to keep the ceremony short (for the children’s sake), he can’t help but wax poetic. At least he knows how to hold the attention of the crowd.
“Orlie and Kira have written their own vows for the occasion,” Trevor says. “Orlie, you’re up.”
Orlie flushes as he hands Owen over to Trevor. He reaches out and takes my hands. “Kira. I believed for a long time I had a hardened heart. Or no heart at all. Turns out, I was just keeping it buried deep inside. And then you came along and you reached in and grabbed it, no holds barred.”
I hear my sisters laugh.Classic Kira.
“I couldn’t help falling in love with you. You’re the smartest woman I know. The best mother to our son.”
My heart leaps as I glance at Owen who is quietly tugging on a lock of Trevor’s long white hair.
“And all I want for the rest of my life is to love and be loved by you.”
I can practically hear all our guests swoon. “You memorized all of that, huh?”
They laugh as Orlie blushes hard. “I practiced a lot.”
“It was perfect,” I say with a giggle, tipping forward onto the balls of my feet. All I want is to kiss him right now. But we still have a bit to go before that.
“I guess, it’s my turn.”
I start to reach into my pocket for the vows I’d written out, perfected over the past couple of months. But then I stop. I look out at the first row where my sisters sit with their husbands and their children. They’re all smiling at me.
“I got quite an education in love before I fell in love with you, Orlie.” I take his hands tighter. “Each of my sisters taught me a really important lesson. From Harley I learned to throw caution to the wind –”
I see Grant and Harley exchange a look and laugh, Tana looking up at them with confusion.
I then look to Gillian and Axel. Aurora is balanced on Axel’s knee while Stella is leaning into Gillian’s lap.
“Gillian taught me that the best of things take time. And Amy, she showed me that the best of things can happen when you least expect them.” I grin at Hunter and Amy and their two girls, Jessica and Natalie. “In the most unlikely of places, too.”
