Your Forever Love (The Bennett Family 3)

The first part of the ceremony passes by in a haze. I don’t pay attention to one word being read to us, and neither does Eric. We are both too preoccupied stealing glances at each other and sharing accomplice smiles. It’s only when I hear the words “You can exchange your rings now” that I seem to come back to my senses.

Julie brings us the rings on a pink, silky pillow. I take Eric’s with a trembling hand. I notice there is a slight tremor in his hand too as he reaches for mine. We interlace our fingers briefly, strengthening the other. Then we put the rings on.

“And now, the vows.”

Eric winks at me, his lip curling up to a smile. Writing my vows has been a true adventure, mostly because he was doing everything to find out what I was writing. I hid them well, I hope. I wanted this to be a surprise.

He takes my hands in his, clearing his throat. Waiting for him to speak sends my pulse into overdrive.

“Pippa, I promise to take care of you, love you, and respect you. I promise to anticipate your need for sugar and caffeine, and always have a quick fix at hand.”

I chuckle and blink back tears of joy. Eric isn’t done, though.

“I promise to be there through everything. Cheer with you on the good days, cheer you up on the bad ones. Work through everything and never give up. Love is an honor and a choice, and I will choose to love you every day.”

I tear up, there’s no denying it, but my voice is remarkably steady as I recite my vows. “Eric, I promise to take care of you, love you, and respect you. I vow to only find appropriate nicknames and never give you reasons or opportunities to tickle me, though I do promise to give you reasons to laugh often. I vow to fight for our happiness every day.”

He cups my cheeks in his hands, pulling me in for a kiss. His lips brush mine softly, lingering there too long for the kiss to be considered chaste. My body hums at his nearness, and he drags his fingers down my neck in an almost sinful touch, which is full of promise. Later.

Hand in hand, Eric and I step outside the house, with the rest of the gang on our heels. We’re going to take a group photo.

“Damn,” Max exclaims, squinting as the sun blinds him. “Too much light outside.”

I chuckle, elbowing my brother. “Too much alcohol at the bachelor party. Why did you do it the day before the wedding?”

“Hey.” Blake appears at my other side. “Shotgun wedding, shotgun bachelor party. What did you girls do for your party?”

“None of us got a hangover the next day,” Alice answers from behind the boys. “But I have muscle cramps.”

“Yeah,” Nadine chimes in. “Safe to say we can dub it The Night All Girls Went Wild.”

Blake nods, impressed. “I’d call our party The Night the Party Brothers Behaved, and the Serious Brothers Went Wild.”

Max scoffs. “I’m going to shortcut that to The Night I Can’t Remember.”

“On my count,” the photographer says, and we all turn to him, smiling. He takes a number of shots, some with the group, some with just Eric and me.

After the photo session, we all walk toward the tent, chatting happily.

“Ready for the first dance?” Eric asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

“No funny moves,” I warn him, remembering our wild dance at Sebastian and Ava’s wedding. We rehearsed the first dance, but who knows what ideas my man has.

As Eric walks over to the DJ, Nadine appears by my side, rubbing her palms. “So, who’s next? I’m starting to like this matchmaking game.”

“Logan and I made a bet,” Sebastian says, appearing at my other side with Logan.

“Since when are you making bets on this?” I ask. Logan shrugs, a devilish smile on his lips. Since Alice’s guy is still a world away, and Summer is too young, I will concentrate on my brothers.

Across the dance floor, the two sets of twins are engaged in a heated discussion. I wonder who’s ready for the next step. The party twins, Blake and Daniel, are still a tad too young. But I’m seeing possibilities for the serious twins, Max and Christopher, especially since Max is back from London for good. Nadine follows my gaze, grinning.

“Max,” we say at the same time.

***