Wedding Bells
Where do I begin? From our awkward first meeting to having bad guys and crazy exes thrown in jail, Lucas and I had been through one hell of a journey.
The longest one I had ever been through my adulthood, I would dare to say.
It was amazing to think how much my life had changed in the months I had known Lucas and the twins.
I had gone from independent and never needing anyone besides my best friend to this woman who could not even do so much as breathe without them.
"Are you okay?" Celine asked, tilting her face to meet mine in the mirror.
"Nervous," I said, going for honesty as I tugged on the hem of the white fitted dress clinging to my body.
"'Oh bess," she cooed, adjusting my veil, "you have every right to be, it's your big day."
I smiled sheepishly at the thought, staring down at the ring on my finger that would be joined by another in a few minutes, "It is my big day.
Oh my God, I'm getting married bess." The words slammed a fresh dose of unrestrained happiness against my heart and I gasped, willing myself to hold back the tears threatening to come up.
Simple as it was, I was not about to go through the long process of reapplying my makeup if I ruined it by crying—again.
And I was sure mascara streaming down my lashes would not make for a very good wedding picture.
"Am I going to get married to Aiden too?
" Abby asked beside me, a wide grin on her face.
Her pale pink dress glittering in the sunlight matched the outlines of mine, with a bow behind.
Her hair was braided with a little flower crown on her head and a basket of the same kind of flowers hooked on her arm.
She looked simply adorable and I could not wait to see Aiden too.
"Oh no sweetie," I choked on a chuckle, "remember what Aunty Celine said, you just have to be in front of me, and scatter these on the floor while I go to daddy."
She nodded and in a brief second her face lit up with a smile that told me she was about to ask another question. "Chris if you and daddy are getting married today, are you now going to be our mommy?'
I chewed on my lip, my eyes darting to Celine briefly.
Lucas and I had gone over this before and I knew he had no problem with his kids seeing me as their mother but the very last thing I wanted was to pressure them into asserting that tile to me.
"You don't have to if you don't want to sweetie. Chris is..."
"But I want a mommy,"' she whined, cutting me off before I could tell her I was fine with either. "All my friends at school have mommies and I thought I would have one now that you and daddy are getting married."
"Oh princess, of course, I can be your mommy. We just have to let your..."
"Really?" her high-pitched squeal rang through the room followed by her excited cries as she bounced off happily through the door. Suddenly I was thankful we had gone for a more run-worthy dress than mine would allow.
"...father know,"
"As your bride's maid, I'll go get her," Celine chuckled, dashing off in the direction Abby had gone.
After C left, I took the time to finish the last touches on my dress, hair, and makeup.
It was a simple wedding—a major contrast to what everyone else wanted—but after waiting three weeks, I could not spare one more day before getting married to Lucas.
At least we had agreed that our vow renewal in a few years would be a much bigger affair, for now, I just needed someone to tell the worlds what we both already knew.
That I was his and he was mine and we planned to keep it that way forever.
Also, keeping the wedding small meant keeping it private, so no leeches trying to sabotage my big day with annoying questions and definitely no one suing me for breaking their camera when they tried to take a picture of me without my permission.
Mia walked into the room Mason following behind her a few minutes later and as my eyes met hers in the full-length mirror I caught what looked like tears in her eyes, before she brushed it off with a high pitched, "Oh my God look at you! You look so beautiful."
I got to my feet, my chest heaving with happiness as I wrapped her in a long hug. "I'm so glad you're here." A part of me that still overthought everything actually thought she was still upset about the whole Sarah crashing her engagement thing.
"Like I would have missed my two favorite people getting married," she quirked a brow, and quickly corrected herself when Mason cleared his throat loudly, "after you of course."
"Congratulations, Christine," Mason said, giving me a brief hug. "and Mia is right, Lucas will not be able to take his eyes off you today."
"Like he is capable of that task on a normal day," she chipped in, giving me a knowing look.
"Would you stop teasing me, it's my wedding day," I chuckled, eyeing the beautiful and large bouquet in her hand, "am I right to assume those are mine?"
"I don't know," she smiled, handing them to me, "does the card say they are?"
Accepting the flowers, I drank in the lovely sight of them and allowed the delicate scent to fill my senses for a full ten seconds before plucking the small card that lay on it. I had hoped it was a gift from Mia and Mason, but it read:
For always.
"For always," I whispered, holding the card to my chest.
"I haven't been gone five minutes and you're crying already," Celine's voice sounded from the doorway and she strutted in, Abby following next to her. And Elmo following behind her.
I meant to ask why he was here in my dressing room, but could only mumble "Happy tears," I carefully wiped my eyes, and added, "I just love him so much."
"Then let's go get you married to that lucky a-hole," Mia giggled, but I could see the tears in her eyes more clearly this time, then she turned to Mason, "our wedding better be as teary as this."
The slow rhythm of the music filtered into the room, the signal that it was time. Mia gave me a quick air kiss before she left with Mason and Celine fawned over a few last-minute touches—especially to my nearly ruined make-up from sobbing— before we headed out.
Just like had been rehearsed, Abby walked down the aisle first, the widest grin on her face as she scattered the flowers leading up to the altar.
Elmo walked beside her for most of the way, drawing amused gasps from everyone and I was grateful when they reached Lucas successfully with no disasters on the way.
C, stood next to me, not only as my maid of honor but as the only family I had on my side.
"Ready?" she asked when it was our turn to come up next.
I sucked in a sharp breath, clutching the flowers Lucas had sent me in a firm grip, and nodded. Everyone rose to their feet as I stepped out and I was glad to see they were people I knew, most of whom I loved.
Lucas waited at the altar and my breath hitched for the briefest second as my eyes met his.
I had forgotten how good Lucas looked in anything and how much better he looked in a tux.
Beside him, Robin stood as his best man, and Aiden, who looked like a younger version of Lucas, stood with a grin matching his sister's.
Amongst the chorus of oohs and ahs as I walked over the rose petals Abby sprinkled, I spotted a few of Lucas' friends.
We had come to an understanding in the last few days.
I had no reason to be afraid of any of his friends despite their very weird line of jobs.
Even now it was harder to see that murderous man I had seen in Adrian as he stood next to his wife—Nicole—if I remembered correctly, both of them urging me on with a bright smile.
The look on Lucas's face was priceless like he could have seen an angel fall out of heaven this morning and still would have looked less awed.
His smoldering gaze made what seemed like an already long walk even longer and my steps even heavier.
Lilian mouthed a "you look beautiful," when our eyes met and that helped to spin my confidence on.
But only when I reached Lucas and felt the warmth of his fingers as he laced them through mine did the nervousness threatening to explode inside me come to a halt.
"Thank you for the flowers." I kept my voice low enough as everyone took their seats again, "also, I might have given Abby the green light to call me mom."
"And here I thought my day could not get any better." his smile deepened.
After a brief introduction recited by the chaplain, the vows began.
Our fingers stayed knitted together as Lucas gave his vows first.
"I, Lucas Maxwell, take you, Christine Channing, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part; according to God's holy law. In the presence of God, I make this vow."
And then came the tears, a full-on sob that made me gasp uncontrollably and I was thankful that most in our small audience understood they were anything but sad tears.
It was not about the words so much as it was about the way he said them.
It was the look in his eyes, utter concentration, and determination, like nothing and no one, could nearly be as important as me, as the words he spoke in that moment.
It was the way his eyes burned with intent as he uttered each syllable with preciseness and slowness and truthfulness.
To Lucas, those were not just words, but a promise, one I knew in my heart he was going to make good on every day of our lives.
I repeated the vows, hoping I sounded nearly as convinced as Lucas as I paused after each to absorb the words. It was such an easy thing to read the simple promise. But It was entirely different to mean them.
A shiver coursed through me as the man pronounced us husband and wife, making me his forever and him, mine too.
Our lips found each other before the words "you may kiss the bride" were fully uttered, and everyone burst into laughter.
Some cheers of excitement rang out too, but none of that mattered.
It all faded into that world where it was just me and him and what we shared.
When we broke apart, Lucas did not pull back. Instead, he let his forehead rest on mine and then whispered the words in his note earlier. "For Always Muffin."
I could not wait for our lives to begin.