“Evan you ready?” Mom asks through the door.
“You can come in,” I yell back.
She slowly pushes open the door, peeking her head around the corner. “They just arrived. To say she is surprised is an understatement.”
“Good.” I gently pat my father’s shoulder. “Let’s do this.” I grin at my parents. Dad doesn’t say any more about our conversation and neither do I. This is just how it has to be.
I follow my parents to the main area of the church where I see Aaron standing. The grin on his face relaxes me.
“Dude, I can’t wait for you to see Lexi. Kinley bought her a little dress. Man, she’s a cute kid.”
I’m excited to see my daughter, but even more so my fiancée. I don’t know what she’ll be wearing, and I don’t care. She could walk down that aisle in jeans and a ratted old t-shirt and she would still be beautiful to me. I would still be having an internal celebration that she was just minutes from being my wife.
Grandma Lexington takes her place behind the piano and begins to play. I suck in a deep breath, my eyes glued to the doors, willing them to open. As if there was someone there to answer my silent plea, they do, and in walks McKinley, my baby girl in one arm, her dad escorting her with the other. She is wearing a white, sleek, sleeveless wedding gown and she’s . . . breathtaking.
“Breathe, man,” Aaron whispers in my ear.
Realizing I’ve been holding my breath, I breathe deep. I hear Aaron chuckle beside me. I want to glare at him, but that would mean taking my eyes off McKinley, and well, that’s just not an option for me.
Taking her in, I commit every single second of this to memory and have to fight back the swell of emotion raring to break free.
She’s going to be my wife.
She stops before me, and her dad leans over, kissing her cheek. I watch as he also kisses Lexi before turning and taking his seat. McKinley steps forward and I reach for Lexi.
“I want her with us,” she whispers, although, with so few in attendance, everyone can hear no matter how soft you keep your voice.
“Absolutely,” I whisper hoarsely. What I really want to do is lean in and kiss the hell out of her for including my daughter. However, I assume it’s frowned upon to kiss the bride before I’m told to do so.
“Uh, guys, you’re kind of stealing my thunder,” Aaron jokes. Our parents laugh. “Now, dearly beloved . . .” Aaron rambles on, but I don’t hear what he’s saying. I’m too busy looking at my bride. Her hair is curled and off to the side, leaving one long, slender side of her neck bare and begging for my lips to kiss every inch of exposed skin. She’s not wearing much make-up, which I love. She doesn’t need it. The neckline of her dress, is low, but not indecent. Just enough to tease me with the temptation of the swell of her breasts.
Her lips are . . . moving. I blink to focus back on the moment. “Evan?” she says.
“Yeah, baby?” The endearment falls from my lips effortlessly. McKinley sucks in a breath and I realize my mistake. Our families can hear me. It takes me about two seconds to determine I don’t care. I don’t care if they know how I feel about her. I want our time together to be real. I will cherish her and every moment I get to have her as my wife. Our families need to get used to that.
McKinley tilts her head toward Aaron, and he’s smirking at me. “I think this is where you say I do, man,” he chuckles.
“I do,” I say, my voice strong, full of promise and conviction.
I always thought I would be nervous on my wedding day, full of jitters for the future. I was wrong. As I stand here, my hand in Evan’s and him holding Lexi, I have not one ounce of nerves. All I feel is . . . complete happiness.
“McKinley, do you take Evan to be your lawfully wedded husband?” Aaron repeats to me.
I tear my gaze from Aaron to look at Evan, his eyes are shining with an emotion I can’t name. Lexi decides it’s time to let out one of her shrieks, causing me to laugh as a lone tear flows down my cheek. Evan brings our combined hands to gently catch it with his thumb. “I do.” The words fall from my lips effortlessly. I have no regrets. I just hope my heart can heal when this is over.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss . . . wait,” Aaron says, causing me to gasp. He grins and reaches for Lexi, taking her from Evan. “Now, you may kiss your bride.”
Evan doesn’t hesitate. He steps into me, slides one hand to the back of my neck and the other lands on my waist. He closes his eyes and we’re kissing. It’s not just a peck. It’s a long, closed mouth kiss, ending with his forehead resting against mine. I close my eyes and take it all in.
We’re married.
I’m not sure how long we stand like that, with our immediate family there to witness, but little Miss Lexington decides she needs some attention too and starts to babble. Evan and I pull away from our embrace, both wearing huge smiles. I reach for Lex and she grins. Tapping the end of her nose, I look at Evan. “Now what?”
He chuckles and places his hand on the small of my back, leaning in close to my ear. “Now, my beautiful wife, we eat.” He guides me down the aisle and into a back room of the church. It’s set for a mini reception. There’s a small wedding cake sitting on one table. On the other is an array of finger sandwiches and picnic type foods. The sight brings tears to my eyes. When Evan and I talked about weddings and the meaning, I made the comment I would want it to be relaxed like a picnic, not some overpriced meal no one even likes. He took my words and created that today
.
I look up to find him watching me. “I hope I got it right,” he says sheepishly. “I wanted today to be special.”