Rubbing my finger along the space next to the stones, I smiled at her. “That’s what this is for. We hand it into the shop I bought it from, and they’ll add the next stone in until we have our family on it.”
Nemi stared at it a moment, but then she grinned happily at me. “Thanks, Daddy.”
She’d called me it a couple of times before now, and each time hit me in the heart like a bulldozer. But at that moment, hearing her say it had me wanting to cry like a baby.
I left that up to my family, who’d heard it all and were wiping their faces and clearing their throats behind Nemi.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
Hearing someone shout ‘ready’ at the back of the church, Nemi jumped and started pulling me up out of the crouch. “Hurry up, Mom’s coming. If you don’t marry her, she’s gonna be so mad.”
I did as I was told and got in line beside my brothers, with my daughter in front of me, and waited for the love of my life to make her entrance. Before they left us to stand next to my brothers until Heidi’s parents had given her away, both Mom and Dad leaned in and hugged me at the same time.
“We’re so proud of you, Bond,” Mom rasped, then leaned back to look at me through watery eyes. “Now, if you’d just get rid of those awful tattoos. Imagine having such a nice suit on and that ink all over you.” Jarrod chuckled, getting Mom’s attention on him next. “And don’t even get me started on you.”
Fortunately, the bridesmaids—Naomi, Sayla, Jacinda, and Evie—began walking down the aisle at that moment, saving him from whatever she was going to say.
Funny stories of weddings always spread quickly, and I had to admit, one of my fears was that my own was going to join them. Let’s face it, I lived in a town where random shit happened all the time, along with people who didn’t take things seriously.
And that’s not what I wanted for our wedding.
For me, this day was huge. It meant Heidi would be mine forever. She’d be a Klein for the rest of her life, and I finally got to sleep easy at night, knowing she was just mine, all mine. The day Nemi legally became a Klein, too, would mean life was perfect.
This time last year, I was still partying but trying to morph myself into a serious adult. Then when I’d met Heidi, she’d seemed unobtainable, and I didn’t know she came as a package with the most amazing little girl in existence.
Our town might be small, but not everyone knew each other, and she kept her circle small, so our paths hadn’t really ever crossed. I’d thought life was cool, things were going well for me, and that I was happy, and that might have been the case, but I wasn’t complete.
The day Heidi truly came into my life, my path changed toward life finally being complete. And today was a massive part of it.
I just didn’t want anything ruining that.
My brothers had promised me they wouldn’t pull any bullshit, and Reid and Jarrod had even offered to keep an eye on the Townsends to make sure they behaved themselves.
I’d just proudly put my ring on Heidi’s finger, the white gold band set with small diamonds glinting up at me as she put hers on my own. We’d taken Nemi to pick them out, and she’d love the his and hers set, so that’s what we’d gone with. Mine didn’t have as many diamonds around it as Heidi’s, they were spaced farther apart, but knowing she had a matching one made my smile widen.
Once it was securely at the top of my finger, Heidi grinned happily up at me. “You’re all mine.”
I didn’t need to wait for the pastor to tell me to kiss her. I just swooped down and picked her up, lacy white dress and veil and all, and poured all of my happiness, my commitment, my love, and my devotion into the kiss.
“I guess you can kiss your bride now,” the pastor said wryly.
For me, that meant I could kiss her even longer, so I did.
Until Jarrod coughed. “Man, there are people watching you, and you’re in a freaking church. Put her down. Think of the old people.”
That wasn’t enough to stop me, but the little giggle coming from Nemi was.
Heidi blushed as she looked over at where the pastor was leaning against the stand thing he had his book on. I probably should know what it was all called, but my brain was fried from the day and the kiss.
“Congratulations, you’re husband and wife.”
Turning around with our hands linked, Heidi held her bouquet up in the air as people got to their feet and applauded.