“I know. You always make sure I’m taken care of.”
“My favorite thing in the world is to take care of you. In fact, I’m going to be doing it for the rest of our lives,” I say as I drop to one knee. I was going to wait until later, but everyone is here right now. I waited long enough to get my ring on her finger. The kitchen grows quiet.
“Ace.” Her eyes start to fill with tears.
“Give me your finger, Kitten.”
“Right!” She sniffles, a smile pulling at her lips. “Oh gosh,” she whispers when I slip the ring onto her finger. It’s a perfect fit.
“Answer him, honey,” Kennedy whispers loudly.
“He didn’t ask,” Faith whispers loudly right back.
“I’m shocked he didn’t ask,” my little sister Lily says sarcastically.
“He knows I’m going to marry him. I told him that the day he gave me his pink crayon when we were younger.” She did. In fact, she declared it to the whole room.
I stand, lifting her off her feet in the process. I let the rest of the room fade out. The moms are already making wedding plans.
“I love you, Kitten.”
“Love you too, Ace.”
To the rest of the world I might be the perfect gentleman but Faith is the only one who will ever know who I truly am. When it comes to her, I’m her beast.
EPILOGUE
FAITH
“I can’t take it. You’re so beautiful.” Mom sniffles for about the hundredth time today.
“I think I’m going to cry.” Fawn sniffles right along with her.
I’m starting to wonder if this is my wedding or theirs. It doesn't bother me. It’s actually really sweet. I might not have been blessed when it came to a birth mom, but I’m blessed with the two moms life gave me next. These two women have instilled so much in me. I would not be who I am today if it weren’t for them.
I love them both dearly. It’s why I let them go all out when it came to planning Ace and my wedding. All I cared about is at the end of the day that Ace will be my husband. The rest doesn't really matter. But I knew they would want to go overboard, and I let them.
“She’s a princess,” Whitney says, walking over with my veil that is indeed attached to a tiara.
We hadn't gone with a traditional dress. Oh, it’s big and fluffy with a long train in tow, but it’s a soft petal pink instead of the normal white. It matches my wedding ring perfectly.
“Can I see Ace?” I ask.
I’m starting to feel a bit nervous. This isn't some small wedding. I think I heard someone say that there are over two hundred guests. At least that’s how many will be at the reception. The actual vow ceremony is only about fifty. Still, I hate being the center of attention.
“What!? No. You can’t see the groom before the wedding,” Mom says, looking at me like I’m crazy.
While I’m close to both of my moms and Whitney is my best girlfriend, Ace is my real best friend. I’ve known him longer than I’ve known anyone else in my life. He always knows how to calm me.
“I miss him,” I admit. “Which is all of your faults,” I accuse.
They made us sleep apart last night. We’re all staying at the King estate. It’s crazy to think in less than an hour I’ll be a King too. Faith Osborn King. After talking with Ace a few weeks ago, I decided to change my name. I wanted to have my husband's last name, but I also wanted to honor the name Oz and Kennedy gave me when they adopted me. I’m an Osborn too. Soon I’ll be Faith Osborn King, dropping my middle name Anne, which doesn't mean anything to me.
“You’re not fooling us.” Fawn puts her hands on her hips. “I know my son.”
“Okay, maybe he snuck into the room last night.” I duck my head, trying to hide my blush. It’s silly to blush. It’s not like they don’t know we have sex. Still, my shyness always wins out.
We haven't spent but a few nights apart since we officially moved in together a few years ago. There were a couple times he had to travel for work, but that was pretty much it. He’s working full-time now. On those nights I’d often go back home to stay with my parents anyway.
Ace is already done with college. Between all the college classes he took in high school and doing classes in the summer as well, he got done a year early. Not that college really matters for Ace at this point. Blicks Robics has more than taken off with their cutting-edge technology. I still have another year left. I’m taking my time. Whitney and I have been taking on more and more at Healing Homes together.