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“I’m the lucky one.” Hudson is doing more for me than I ever could have expected from him, but my father doesn’t know that.
“Not many people are lucky enough to find their soulmate once, but you two fought your way back to each other, through the hurt and the pain, and are stronger for it.”
“Wait, what?” My father can’t possibly be saying what I think he is, can he?
“What? You think I didn’t know you were together in college?” His eyes twinkle with delight. “Sweetheart, do you honestly think I didn’t keep an eye on you. Do you think I didn’t know about the break-up and the accident afterward? I’m a judge. Nothing happens without me knowing. Although I will say I didn’t know the details of the breakup until recently.”
“Why did you never say anything?”
He grips my hands, and he feels strong and solid, my dependable father who will always be there. “Because, my sweet girl, it wasn’t my place. My place is to guide you and be there when you fall, to offer my hand when you need it. If you wanted us to know, you would have told us. I trusted you to reach out.”
“Are you mad?”
“Good God, no. You forged your own path on your own terms like I always knew you would. You found a man who loves you like you deserve to be loved. I’m so proud I could burst.”
“Thank you, that means a lot. I only ever wanted to make you and Mom proud.”
“Audrey, you did that the day you were born.”
“Daddy, I don’t want to lose you.” Tears clogged my throat as I looked at the man who would be gone from my life soon.
“And I don’t want to go, but sometimes we have no choice. But now I can go to my grave knowing that you’re happy and settled with a man you love. You do love him, don’t you, Audrey?”
He gave me a look I’d seen so many times before. It was his ‘don’t bullshit me’ look, and I didn’t have to, because I did love Hudson. “I love him so much it scares me.”
“That’s good. Love should be scary. If it’s not, then you aren’t putting your whole heart into it.”
He kissed my cheek, and I inhaled the scent of his aftershave, the same one he’d worn since I was a child.
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too. Now, enough morbid stuff, let’s get you up that aisle before your husband comes looking for you. He was pacing like a caged animal last I saw him.”
I smile, imagining Hudson doing just that, especially as he asked Ryker to be his best man. I hadn’t thought of it before, but he really gave up everything to raise his sister and become the successful man he is today.
“Let’s do this.”
I grip his arms as we descend the stairs in my family home where we decided to have the ceremony. It means my dad can grab a nap and rest when he needs to, and I have so many happy memories here. The formal living room has been cleared, and chairs, decked in silk covers, line either side.
An officiant is standing with his back to the fireplace and beside him is my handsome husband. Ryker taps his shoulder and he turns toward me. His eyes go bright as he rubs at the moisture in them with no care for who sees. Lottie will walk first, followed by Amelia and Norrie, and then Tia and Eden. Tia has taken a shine to Eden, and the feeling is mutual.
The music plays and I grip my father’s arm as the whole world around me falls away. My sole focus is the man who is waiting for me with tears in his eyes. How has something that started off as fake become my entire reason for being?
As we reach the end, my father shakes Hudson’s hand and kisses my cheek. “Be happy, sweetheart. Hudson, take care of my baby girl.”
I don’t tell him I can take care of myself.
“I will, sir.” Hudson lifts his hand to my cheek and cups it as I lean into his touch. “You look absolutely breathtaking.”
“You polish up pretty good yourself.”
He’s wearing a matching tuxedo to the groomsmen, but his buttonhole matches the red of my lips and the roses in my bouquet, which are calla lilies and ruby red roses that smell divine.
My hands shake and Hudson threads our fingers together, his solid presence anchoring me. The ceremony is a blur as we promise to love, to honor, and to be there in good times and bad. I want so badly for this to have been a choice we both made for us and not for anyone else. It feels so real, the emotion feels so real, and I can’t separate fact from fiction anymore and I’m not sure I want to.
“You may kiss your bride.”
Hudson cups both my cheeks in his hands and kisses me deep and long, making more promises between just us two. Shrieks and giggles break through our passionate kiss, and I pull back laughing against his lips as I wipe the smudge of my lipstick from him.
