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“I can. I’ll go introduce myself. Good luck today.”
“I’m already married.” I shrugged. Today was all symbolic. Nothing could go wrong.
The church was standing room only—rather, there wasn’t enough room for the turnout. Apparently, the two of us renewing our vows was the New Year’s Eve event in town. That shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did.
“I just love officiating weddings,” Parker commented as he joined me at the front of the church.
“You do know we’re married already, right?” I whispered.
“Everything I’ve done since I got here has been funerals and memorials. Let me have this, please.” He leaned closer. “Besides, how many people have the kind of love story you two do?”
Few and far between.
The music started, and I rubbed my hands together as the attention in the church turned to the back. Was I nervous? Anxious? Apprehensive? I didn’t have a word for what I was feeling as I watched Roan escort Gabby down the aisle in what looked like the most awkward arrangement ever. If anyone had told me a year ago that I would’ve been standing in front of my entire fucking hometown and then some to renew our vows, I would’ve told them they were fucking crazy.
I hadn’t pictured my year turning out the way it did. And I’d never dared to picture the big dream with Genevieve again. My wife. My kids. My home. I was the luckiest fucking man on the planet, and no one could convince me otherwise.
“I thought she was going to eat me,” Roan muttered when he stepped up behind me. Gabby smirked while I bit back a laugh.
Lucas and Finn closed the back doors while Lizzie took center stage throwing metallic colored flower petals on her walk down the aisle. I smiled. The girl fucking owned it, and Grant was her biggest fan as he filmed it. I was her second—always would be.
While the entire church turned to face the back, I smoothed a hand down the front of my shirt. Roan clapped a hand on my shoulder.
“She looks incredible,” he whispered. “I peeked. Lord help your dick.”
“We’re in a church,” I snapped, but it didn’t help that Parker snorted. I liked this kid.
My brothers opened the door—a little dramatically—with the uptick of music, and Lord help me, I forgot how to breathe.
The woman was sin and temptation draped in gold. Jesus fucking Christ, it was a goddamn good thing I hadn’t seen her before this. We never would’ve made it down the aisle. With long sleeves and a flowy skirt, the dress dipped low between her breasts and wrapped tight around her waist. Every inch of fabric sparkled as she moved. The color made her gorgeous eyes pop and complemented the deep red color she’d picked for her lips.
Oh fuck me, I was a goner.
As she took my hand, I realized even the soft curls in her long hair sparkled. The woman was a walking treasure, and she was mine.
“You look…” I faltered. Fuck, I didn’t have the words for how stunning she looked.
“I know.” Genevieve smiled. Something so simple threatened to take me out by the knees.
“I’ll figure out more words later,” I promised.
“He won’t,” Roan commented.
“Are you my best man or my peanut gallery?” I demanded.
“Obviously both.” He smirked.
Taking my wife’s hands, I drank her in, only vaguely aware of the ceremony starting.
“Well, I don’t think anything can top an entrance like that!” Parker exclaimed. Damn right, it couldn’t. “Susan Elizabeth Phillip once said, ‘anything worth having is worth fighting for’. I think that quote can resonate with all of us, but when I sat down to plan today with Killian and Genevieve, that is the only quote I could think of to encompass these two.
“I had the honor of talking with both of them—together and individually—about their journey that has brought us here today. And I just have to say, I have never met two people who better encompass the meaning of that quote than these two.”
“Don’t start crying, baby girl,” I whispered, watching her blink rapidly.
“Should’ve worn waterproof mascara,” she muttered. She let out a breathy giggle as she pressed one finger under her eye to catch tears. “I wore lip stain but forgot the waterproof mascara.”
“It’s okay. I’ll only make you cry a little,” Parker teased quietly. I had mixed feelings. I liked the kid, but no one made my wife cry. Not even for good things. “What these two have been through is nothing short of empowering. We all go through hardships in this adventure we call life. We all fall, we all struggle, we all stray from our path. We fall in and out of love. We question, we doubt, we fight. Some of us more than others. And that’s okay. It’s normal. It may not feel normal, but it is.”
