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I love him. Plain and simple as that.
His jaw clenches and emotion fills his eyes as they brim with tears. There’s so much love shining through his gaze that remains locked on me as I make my way down the aisle, his dad walking next to me.
He and Dom have been working hard on their relationship since the revelation about how Dom’s mom influenced Kim and his dad getting together. And since we wanted to share this important memory with him before his cancer got worse, we decided not to wait any longer to get married.
I was touched when Mr. Smith offered to escort me down the aisle and give me away. It had always broken my heart to think about walking down the aisle by myself—a feeling of loneliness that only got worse after my mom died—and he took away that burden. He holds me steady as we walk closer to his son, my own tears blurring my vision.
I blink them away so I can clearly see the man I’m walking toward. The man I’ve always walked toward.
He shifts back and forth before taking two steps to meet me and close the gap.
I laugh. “You were supposed to wait for me to get to you.”
“I couldn’t wait anymore.”
He slides a hand around my waist, pulling me closer to him, then smiles at his dad. “Thank you,” he says, his voice teary, but happy.
“Anything for you, son,” he says, his own voice choking up as father and son share a brief silent moment.
We’ve come a long way in the past few months.
Dom gazes down at me, brushing away a stray tear and then holding my cheek like I’m the most precious thing in the world to him. “You look beautiful, Sunshine.”
“I love you,” I whisper. I never thought I’d be so emotional, but I’m struggling to keep it together.
Dom smiles down at me. “Let’s do this. It’s about damn time I became your husband.”
“Hear, hear!”
I laugh and glance over at Tessa, the one whose shout only added to the perfection of this day. When I told her our secret plan to elope, she was on board and helped me get everything coordinated.
We decided to steal a play out of Luke and Emma’s playbook and caught a plane to Hawaii. Only Tessa, Dom’s dad, and his dad’s wife, Kim, are here to support us today. And that’s just the way we wanted it.
No press. No fanfare. Just us and a few witnesses.
We’ll hold a reception later—probably after the season since Dom’s got to get to training camp next week, immediately after our honeymoon.
“Are you two ready?” the officiant asks us.
Dom and I make eye contact, both of us smiling. “Definitely,” we say at the same time, eliciting a laugh from everyone around us. We step closer to the officiant who’s standing under an arch covered in beautiful dark-pink hibiscus flowers. The ocean is at his back, the sun hanging low but not setting yet.
He goes through the usual ceremony pieces, but then he gets to the vows, which we’ve opted to do our own.
“Alayna, you go first.”
I release my hands from Dom’s—who’s been holding me tight like he’s afraid I’ll dash out of here without him—and turn to Tessa who hands me the piece of paper with my vows typed neatly.
I swallow the emotion already building up as I bare my heart and soul to this man.
Grabbing his ring from Tessa, I slide it on his left ring finger as I begin to speak. “Dom, you are my rock. My heart. But I have a confession. I thought you were a dumb jock before we started that group project junior year.” Everyone laughs, and Dom smiles and shakes his head at me. “And then I got to know you. It’s really no surprise I fell in love with you. Your heart is as big as your love for football. You dedicate yourself to those you care about, and when you make your mind up about something, there’s not a single person in the world who could stop you. We’ve had our ups and downs—some higher and lower than others—but at the end of the day, you’re my person. You’re the only man I want by my side for the rest of my life. I love you, Dom.”
He steps forward, cupping my face in his hands, and kisses me fiercely. The officiant clears his throat, but Dom doesn’t pull back until he’s good and ready. When he finally breaks the kiss, he drops his forehead to mine.
“My turn. I was a dumb jock.” He pulls away enough to stare into my eyes, his expression apologetic but determined, and still that love shining endlessly. “Because I didn’t see you for what you always were to me until it was almost too late. I promise to never take you for granted. To love you with everything I am. I promise to stand by your side, chasing any dream you want. To build a life with you that surpasses anything you’ve ever imagined. I can’t promise that I won’t ever mess up, but I can promise to always learn from my mistakes. And I promise that no one will ever love you as much as I do because you are my whole world, Laney. I know you think football is at the top, but it’s not. You are. You always have been. Nothing means anything without you, and I will spend the rest of my life proving my love to you.”
Tears stream down my face—there’s no use stopping them. He pulls my wedding band from his pocket and slides it on my finger to join my engagement ring, which I refused to take off, and then leans forward again, resting his forehead on mine and staring into my eyes. “I promise to always see you for the gift that you are. I’m yours. Always. Forever.”
When there’s nothing but the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, the officiant clears his throat again and we pull apart enough to give him our attention. He smiles wide.
