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I nodded, and we shared a tender smile, recalling the first time we’d slept in the same bed, a wall of pillows between us.
“I guessed you’d be a provider, and you are.” Abbie’s voice grew quiet and croaky as she tried not to let emotion overwhelm her. I had to blink a few extra times myself. “I said you’d be a man your girl could lean on, and I don’t know anyone stronger than you.”
“What else?” I asked, and our guests laughed.
Abbie smiled through tears. “I said you’d be protective. A little possessive—in a good way. I told you that you’d made your girl the centre of your world, but… I was wrong.”
My stomach flipped, and Abbie laughed. “You’ve given me so much more than that. You’ve trusted me to love and raise your son with you, and you’ve made us both the centre of your universe.”
I couldn’t stop the tear that tracked down my face or the warmth that sprung up in my chest.
“Some things are written in the stars,” Abbie went on. “The Universe makes plans whether we like it or not, and our story was etched into the sky long before we knew our own truth. You are my destiny, William. You and that smart, sweet little boy over there. You are my future, and you always were. I love you, and I can’t wait to keep loving you for the rest of forever.”
Abbie leaned in this time, drawing my mouth towards her like a magnet, but the celebrant’s voice recalled us to the moment, and we drew back reluctantly.
Our voices were strong and certain when we saidI do.My hand shook as I slipped the simple wedding band onto Abbie’s finger—the band I’d fantasised about more than a thousand times was now unmissable against her smooth skin. Her grip was sure when she slid the ring onto my hand, and I couldn’thold back a second more. I kissed her before the celebrant told me to do it, and cheers rose up around us as we were announced husband and wife.
I heard the words, and I kissed Abbie harder, folding her against me as I pressed her body against mine. I heard the words, and they sounded so true and so inescapable because there was no other destiny for us. No other way for us to live the kind of life that made us happy. We’d waited a long time to get here and worked hard to make it real.
Abbie was mine, and I was hers, the way we were always supposed to be.
Abbie
We stood at the door to the loft, but after Will swung it open, he slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me back before I could walk through.
“What are you—oh!”
Will swung me up into his arms, and I laughed as I looped my arms around his neck, and he carried me over the threshold.
“I know I’m new at this,” he said, kicking the door closed behind him and continuing up the stairs, “but I think—Ithink—a good husband is supposed to carry his wife straight to the bedroom on their wedding night, then stay up all night doing unspeakable things to her body.”
“Mm.” I brushed my open mouth along his neck, letting my breath caress his skin. “You should have putthatin your vows.”
He chuckled as he stepped onto the landing and set me on my feet. “How would that go? Something like, I promise to love, honour, and make you come every day for the rest of our lives?”
“That’s a start,” I replied as he spun me around to face the room. I gasped and looked around in wonder at the flickeringgolden light of candles everywhere—there had to be a hundred of them—and the pink flower petals strewn across the bed covers. Gentle music drifted from the speaker in the corner, and emotion caught in my throat as I recognised an acoustic version of our wedding song.
It reminded me of the first night we’d been together, and I had to blink back tears.
“It’s beautiful, babe,” I whispered as he led me by one hand over to the bed.
“Well, you wouldn’t let me organise a hotel for tonight,” he said, sweeping his fingertips over my arms so lightly it gave me goosebumps. “And God knows how long it’ll be until we can take a proper honeymoon. I wanted this to be special. You’re my wife.”
A pleased tug pulled at my lips. “And you’re my husband.”
Will ran his eyes over my face and down over my wedding dress again. He’d been doing that all night, cataloguing every bead in the lace and crease in the fabric as if he never wanted to forget the way I looked. I never wanted to forget him like this, either. His hair messy and his shirt unbuttoned, the sleeves rolled up, and his eyes bright from a night of drinking and dancing with our friends and family. Smelling like sugar from our wedding cake and whiskey from the wedding toasts. Dimples popping only for me.
Will’s hands travelled to my back, and his fingers played with the buttons on my strapless corset. He’d never get them undone without my turning around, but I let him fumble with them as I collected myself.
I had something to tell him, and it had been almost impossible to keep it a secret for as long as I had. Three days. Alongthree days. An even longer wedding reception. I’d been knocking back offers of champagne and margaritas all night, all the while hoping everyone else was too intoxicated to notice. I’d wantedour wedding day to be only about us. The wedding night, however, felt like the perfect time to tell the truth.
“Babe?” I said as Will pressed his mouth to the slope of my neck.
“Mm?”
“Do you remember the Valentine’s Day Festival last year?”
He grunted unhappily but didn’t remove his mouth from my skin. “I’d like to forget it.”
