Cherished (Wanted 4)

As I opened my eyes, I saw her. It felt like all the air had been sucked from my body as our eyes met. I looked her up and down, and I was pretty sure I felt my knees wobble. I felt like I was about to pass out when she smiled that big beautiful smile of hers. I smiled back, and it was like a million sensations traveled through my body.

I never took my eyes off of her as she made her way closer to me on her father’s arm. She was carrying a huge bouquet of flowers that matched all the flowers on the tables and the flowers that the girls were carrying. Jessie’s bouquet was bigger and wrapped in silver silk with a runner.

Right before she got to me, she stopped and turned toward my mother, who stood up. She was holding Lauren, who was sleeping like the little angel she was. My mother handed something to Jessie and then kissed her on the cheek. Jessie leaned down and kissed Lauren before turning back toward me and walking up.

The pastor took a step forward and smiled. “We are gathered here today in the presence of God and Scott and Jessica’s family and friends, so that they may be united in holy matrimony. Who gives this woman to be married to this man?”

Drake wiped a tear from his eye. “I do.” He placed Jessie’s hand in mine and looked at me as he said, “I’m giving you my life. I’m trusting you to love her, take care of her, and never hurt her.”

I smiled as I reached out and shook Drake’s hand. “I promise you, I’ll spend the rest of my life loving her and taking care of her. She’s my everything.”

He gave me a weak smile and turned to Jessie. He wiped a tear from her cheek and gave her a kiss. My heart was beating a mile a minute, and all I could think of was that I would be doing the same with my Lauren one day.

Jessie and I turned and both took a few steps closer to the pastor.

I looked at Jessie. “I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful in my entire life. You take my breath away.”

She let out a small sob and tried to hold the tears back. “I love you,” she whispered.

I used my thumbs to wipe away her tears. “I love you, too.”

We decided to say our own vows, and I had been panicking the whole night and morning about it. I knew what I wanted to say, but the moment it was my turn to talk, I just stood there, frozen. I couldn’t open my mouth until Lark gave me a nudge from behind.

Jessie smiled, and I knew exactly what I wanted to say. I smiled and shook my head as I gently squeezed her hands in mine.

“The very moment I knew I loved you, I ran away from you. I was nothing but a scared and stupid boy fighting his feelings. The moment you showed up in my world again, I knew I would never run away from you ever. I knew I would fight every day for the rest of my life to show you how much I loved you, how much I needed you.

“Every morning when I wake up and look at you, I realize how much I love you more with each passing day. When you walk into a room, I swear it feels like I can’t breathe from just the sight of you. When you smile at me, I feel your love pouring out, and I thank God that he blessed me with that love.

“The day you said yes to me, I thought that was the happiest day of my life, but I was so wrong. The day our daughter was born, I just knew that was the happiest day of my life. But I was wrong again.

“Today, standing here in front of you, knowing that you’re about to become my wife and that I get to wake up every day to your beautiful smile for the rest of my life…today is the happiest day of my life because I know it’s me and you, forever and always. Without you, I’d be nothing, Jessie. You’re my entire world. My reason for being is to love you, protect you, and make you feel nothing but…cherished,” I vowed, my voice cracking

. I barely got out the word cherished before I felt the tears running down my face.

Jessie was smiling at me as tears rolled down her cheeks in what looked like one endless stream.

She wiped the tears away and gave my hands a quick squeeze. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out before she began talking.

The Wedding

I knew my hands were shaking, and I was still trying to recover from what Scott had just said to me. When his voice had cracked, it had been my breaking point, and I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer.

Now, it was my turn to try and express to him how much he meant to me, how he made me feel every day of our lives.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Scott, since the first day you ever smiled at me, I knew my heart would always belong to you. Then, you kissed me, and I really knew I was yours. The road we traveled to get to where we are today was not an easy one. We both took a few wrong turns and had some pretty big hills to climb, but we did it. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. You are the air that I breathe, the light in my darkness, and the hope of my future. I never in my life imagined that you could make me as happy as you have or make me feel as loved as you do. I love you, and I’ll always love you with every ounce of my being. Thank you for loving me and never giving up on our love.”

I reached up and lightly brushed the tear away that was slowly moving down his cheek.

Everyone let out an, “Aww…”

Scott grabbed my hand and kissed my wrist. “I love you to the moon and back, baby.”

I laughed. “I love you to the moon and back and then to the moon and back again.”

“One-upper,” he whispered.

Everyone laughed.