AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His face lights up with glee as he claps.
“Curtis, are you sure you don’t work in sales? You've got the persuasive touch there,” I add, making him laugh.
“I love weddings and love love, but if I ever make a career change, I’ll keep it in mind. Now I’ll tell Vaughn he’s good to go ahead and I’ll text Sophia to wait out the front until I’m ready,” he says, as he waltzes off into the house.
“This is quite a good setup for a last-minute wedding,” Niko says beside me. His eyes trailing over the immaculate rose gardens surrounding us. The canopy has twinkly lights attached that could be used at nighttime to set the mood.
“Yeah, for a thrown together wedding, it sure is coming together nicely,” I tell him, wiping my hands on my pants legs.
“Are you nervous?”
“Yeah. Is it obvious?” I joke, which makes us laugh.
“No need to be nervous Renz. She already said yes to your crazy plan. The hard part is over now, enjoy getting married,” he says, making my heart beat faster in my chest.
“Married. Man, who would have thought?” I say, shaking my head in disbelief.
Curtis starts running back around the side of the house, a huge smile on his face.
“They’ve arrived. Vaughn is getting some pictures of her before she makes her entry.”
I nod as I try to think of some vows to say but nothing I say in my head sounds good enough.
A few minutes later, Curtis pulls his phone from his pocket and checks it.
“They’re ready,” he squeals, before playing a sweet melody from his phone that is hooked up to a speaker near the house. Niko pats me on the back as I clasp my hands in front ofme to keep from fidgeting as I wait for Sophia to walk around the corner.
First comes Ally whose wide smile shines our way then a few steps behind her is Sophia. The first full look at her and I blow out a huge breath as my heart thunders under my shirt. I’ve always thought of Sophia as beautiful but, at this moment, she’s captivating. I feel it in my bones. I made the right decision waiting for her to become my wife.
Her timid smile shines at me as she steps closer and when she stops right in front of me, my fingers itch to caress her face. She hands the bouquet Curtis gave to her back to Ally and then holds her hands out for me to take. I grasp both and squeeze as my eyes wander over her face, committing it to memory. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of a guy with a camera which I assume must be Vaughn, and I’m thankful Curtis had the foresight to think of photos. I can’t wait to frame one of her for our house.
“Friends, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of Sophia and Lorenzo in marriage,” Curtis begins. I keep my eyes on Sophia the whole time he talks until he says, “Lorenzo would you like to start with your vows?”
My eyes bug out of my head, but I nod and he offers me an encouraging smile. Squeezing Sophia’s fingers again, I start.
“Sophia, I’m not sure where to begin or if this will be any good, but I’ll give it my best shot. The first day I met you all those years ago when we were sixteen, I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I was captivated by the girl with the wild red hair and the beautiful, freckled skin. You probably couldn’t tell, but when I talked to you that day in the gym, I was so nervous. I went home to tell my gramps about you after school that day and he told me when you found a girl who made you as nervous as you made me, it meant she was worth it. He also told me not to worryabout girls and to focus on my schooling,” I say, which causes our small group to laugh.
“I did what he suggested, and I focused on school, but you were always there. It may not have felt like it, but I had the biggest crush on you since way back then, and now is probably the perfect time to admit it. You asked me if there’s anyone else I would rather marry, and the answer has always been no. I never thought seriously about marriage until the night fate brought us back together, and since then I’ve never thought of anyone else except you when marriage comes to mind. So, Sophia, I may not always get it right but together, I’m sure we can work through anything.
“I promise to always protect you and to keep you safe. I promise if we have bad days, I won’t stop loving you. I promise to put you above all others, and we will work through everything together as a team. And lastly, I promise to give you all of my Sundays. Forever.”
Sophia wipes at the tear that threatens to push over her lash line at my words. Curtis blowing his nose draws our attention.
“Sorry, excuse me. That was so beautiful,” he gushes, as he wipes his own tears away causing us to chuckle. “Alright Sophia, your vows now.”
“Well, it’s a hard act to follow but here goes. L is for Likeable. O is for Obviously gorgeous. R is for Radiance. E is for Extremely smart. N is for Nice. Z is for Zen and O is for One of a kind.”
My eyes widen as I remember the note from the rose on the day my gramps died. I never in a million years thought it was from her.
“It was you?”
Her lips twist to the side before she nods. The shade of pink colouring her skin under her makeup.
“I now know that day was probably the worst day for you, but I promise going forward if you want, we can make happy memories surrounding it instead. I promise to grow in love with you and take care of you in any way you need. I promise to be your partner in everything and build a life with you we can be proud of. I promise after this act, I will be your voice of reason because it’s now clear you get crazy ideas that you run with,” she says, which we all laugh at.
I feel my own emotion bubble up behind my eyes.
She squeezes my fingers before continuing, “I also promise if you want to follow any of these crazy ideas, I will follow you as your wife wherever you want to lead me. Together always.”
