Chapter 40 – Chrissy
Chapter
Forty
CHRISSY
The solarium at Ashgrove House felt like stepping into a secret world.
Sunlight poured through the tall glass walls and arched glass ceiling, turning the air golden and warm despite the winter chill outside.
Overgrown plants — ferns spilling from pedestals, jasmine climbing the iron frames, pots of blooming camellias and gardenias — filled every corner with green and soft color.
The scent was heady, alive, like the house itself had been holding its breath for years and finally exhaled.
Henry and Lucia had worked miracles in hours.
A simple white runner led from the French doors to a small antique table draped in ivory linen.
On it sat two candles flickering in crystal holders, a single red rose from the lodge garden in a silver vase, and the marriage license waiting beside a fountain pen.
No flowers arranged, just the wild beauty of the room itself.
Granny Irene sat in a cushioned wicker chair near the table, wrapped in her favorite navy cardigan with a soft blanket over her knees.
Her eyes were clear today, lucid and bright, like the meds and the excitement had aligned perfectly to allow me a miracle.
She smiled when she saw me, reaching out a frail hand.
“There’s my girl. You look like springtime in the middle of winter.”
I knelt in front of her, taking her hands in mine.
“Thank you for being here.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Chrissy-girl,” she whispered, squeezing with surprising strength. “He’s a good one, I can just tell. Rough around the edges, maybe, but he looks at you like you’re his whole world.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“He isn’t perfect, but he’s by far the best man I’ve ever known.”
Lucia stood beside Granny, eyes shining, wearing a soft gray dress that made her look radiant. She pressed a kiss to my cheek.
“Cara, you deserve this happiness. Thank you for seeing past all the bullshit and loving Ben anyway.”
Henry waited at the far end of the runner, beside the officiant, a quiet older man with kind eyes who’d arrived discreetly and asked no questions.
And then there was Ben.
He stood in front of the table in a charcoal suit, simple and tailored, no tie.
The scars on his face and throat caught the light, but his eyes — God, his eyes — those were fixed solely on me.
Steady. Sure. Like everything else in the world had fallen away, and there was only this moment and our choice to love each other despite everything that had worked against us.
Henry offered his arm to Granny Irene, helping her stand slowly.
She leaned on him, but her steps were determined as we walked the short runner together, Henry on one side of her and me on her other arm.
When we reached Ben, she reached up and patted his cheek with her free hand — gentle, unafraid of the scars — and pushed up on her tip-toes to whisper something I couldn’t hear in Ben’s ear. His throat worked, and he nodded once.
Then she placed my hand in his.
His fingers closed around mine, warm and careful, like I was something precious.
“You take care of her,” Granny told him, her voice firm despite its softness.
“With my life,” he promised, his voice low and rough.
She smiled, satisfied, and Henry guided her back to her chair.
The officiant began, keeping the ceremony simple, with no fluff. Then came time for the vows we’d written ourselves.
Ben spoke first, eyes never leaving mine.
“Chrissy, I don’t deserve you.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Off to a great start.”
His mouth twitched. Then the humor died and something stark replaced it.
“I mean it,” he said. “I lied to you. I manipulated you. I set up an entire game to drag you back into my orbit because I didn’t know how to ask for what I wanted like a normal man. I hurt you in ways I’ll spend the rest of my life regretting.”
I swallowed hard, my eyes burning with unshed tears.
“But you saw me anyway,” he said. “You saw past all of that. Past the scars, past the money, past the facade. You treated me like a human being when I was convinced I’d become a monster.
You patched up my hand in a hardware store and told me to sit down like you were the queen of the world.
You stood between my staff and cruelty. You put yourself in harm’s way for people who weren’t even yours to protect. ”
His fingers tightened around mine.
“You are the bravest person I’ve ever met,” he said. “And the most stubborn. And the kindest. And every day that you’re in my life, you make me want to be a man who deserves to stand next to you.”
My vision blurred.
“I can’t promise I’ll never screw up,” he said quietly.
“Hell, I can guarantee I will. I still have nightmares. I still get lost in my own head. I still default to the need for control when I’m scared.
But I can promise you this, Chrissy. I will never lie to you again.
I will never use your love as a weapon. I will never deliberately put you through hell just to soothe my own insecurities. ”
His jaw flexed.
“I will protect you until my last breath,” he finished. “I will provide for you and your grandmother and whatever family we build together. And I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for all the ways I failed you… if you’ll let me.”
I had not planned to cry.
Unfortunately for me and my plans, I was absolutely crying.
Henry handed me a handkerchief without taking his eyes off us, always the consummate professional.
“My turn,” I said, sniffling, dabbing under my eyes carefully so Lucia wouldn’t lose her mind about my makeup getting ruined, and drawing in a shaky breath.
“Okay,” I said. “Um. Hi.”
Ben huffed out a low laugh, his blue eyes shining.
“When I walked into Stonewood Hardware four years ago,” I said, “I was having a really shitty day.”
There were a few quiet chuckles from Henry and Lucia.
“The girls behind the counter were so busy staring at your face that they’d forgotten how to human,” I went on.
“You were bleeding and trying to pretend you weren’t, and they were treating you like you were a horror movie audition, not like a person who needed a first aid kit.
I was pissed on your behalf before I even really looked at you. ”
I met his gaze, steady now.
“And then I did look at you,” I said softly. “And I thought, huh. He’s beautiful.”
His throat worked and his eyes welled with tears.
“I didn’t know you would haunt me after that,” I admitted.
“I didn’t know I’d think about that moment for four solid years, wondering if I’d imagined you.
I didn’t know you’d orchestrate the most fucking insane, ethically questionable, emotionally devastating reality show that never aired just to drag me back into your orbit. ”
Henry muttered, “Language,” under his breath.
I ignored him.
“You made choices that hurt me,” I said, letting my voice sharpen. “You assumed the worst of me. You tested my integrity like it was a party game. You made me fall for two versions of the same man without trusting me with the truth.”
Ben didn’t look away. He took every word like he thought I had a right to throw knives at his heart on our wedding day.
“But,” I went on, and exhaled. “When it mattered… when everything fell apart… you let me go. You gave me my autonomy. You gave me the money, and you gave me the choice. You told me the truth even though you knew it would probably cost you everything. And when those men tried to hurt me, you didn’t hesitate. You bled to protect me, Ben.”
My voice went quiet.
“And I realized something,” I said. “I realized that the man who lied to me and the man who bled for me are the same man. Flawed and traumatized and sometimes infuriating… but capable of choosing better. Of being better.”
My fingers squeezed his.
“So here’s my promise,” I said, heart pounding.
“I will call you out when you’re being an idiot.
I will remind you that control is not the same thing as love.
I will fight for you when you start to spiral.
But I will also stand with you. I’ll take care of your heart as fiercely as you’ve tried to take care of mine.
I’ll be loyal to you. I’ll be honest with you, even when it hurts.
And I will never, ever let you forget that you are more than the worst thing that ever happened to you. ”
Tears slid down his scarred cheek.
“And in return,” I added, a small smile tugging at my mouth, “I expect cake and ice cream every year on Christmas Eve, because you chose to be born that day and it’s not my fault you have to share your birthday with Jesus.”
Lucia let out a soft laugh, and even Granny Irene cackled from her seat.
Ben’s shoulders shook once, silently.
“I love you,” I said simply. “And I’m choosing you. Not because of your money. Not in spite of your scars. But because you’re you. And I want a lifetime of arguing with you about how to properly load a dishwasher.”
Henry let out a breath I didn’t realize he’d been holding.
“Right then,” he said gruffly. “Rings.”
We exchanged rings, a beautiful silver art deco wedding band joining his mother’s favorite ring on my finger, and a simple platinum band for Ben that Henry had produced from somewhere.
The officiant smiled.
“By the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
Ben didn’t hesitate. He cupped my face — gentle and reverent — and kissed me like it was the first and last time all at once.
Soft, deep, full of everything we’d almost lost. His mouth moved over mine with a kind of desperate reverence, like he couldn’t believe he was allowed to touch me in front of everyone.
Lucia sniffled loudly. Granny dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.
When Ben finally pulled back, his forehead rested against mine, breath mingling with mine.
“Welcome home, Mrs. Stonewood,” he murmured.
My chest clenched.