Aarya #2
Giuliana beams as she bumps her fist with hers.
McKinley rubs his palms together and then opens his arms out wide. “We’re gathered here today to bear witness to the union of these two beautiful humans. I was already the witness to their first nuptials, so I think we all know who the favorite friend is here.”
Trenton and Jason roll their eyes while the crowd chuckles.
“But today, we’re witnessing more than just a ceremony.
We’re witnessing the creation of a family.
We’ve all seen Alexander raise his little girl on his own, and what an amazing person she is growing into.
” He reaches down and ruffles Giuliana’s curls.
“But Aarya came in and stepped into their family as if she belonged there—as if there was an empty space waiting for her to fill it.”
To my surprise, McKinley wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me to know that my best friend has someone looking out for him and his daughter the way you have.”
Aarya swallows as she blinks back tears, nodding to McKinley.
He gestures to me, letting me know it’s time for my vows. I clear my throat, and clutch Giuliana’s hand in my left hand while clasping Aarya’s in my right.
“I knew I wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you, but I didn’t think I could have you.
You were a skittish black cat, and I was the overeager dog.
We came from different worlds, with different beliefs.
Yet we fit together so perfectly, finding in each other the very things we were both missing.
Love. Trust. Companionship.” I swallow past the thick ball of emotion in my throat.
“Watching you with my daughter has brought me more joy than I ever thought imaginable. I always dreamed of being in this very spot with Giuliana, in the place I grew up, with a woman who loves us. You’ve made my dream come true.
You settle my soul. And I promise to spend the rest of my days making sure you know how loved you are. ”
I lift her hand to my lips and press a kiss to her knuckles.
Aarya’s eyes brim with unshed tears, and her lips part as she releases a breath.
“It’s no secret to anyone here that I wasn’t looking for you when I found you.
I kept pushing you away, convinced that I didn’t want the things you stood for.
But it turns out, I needed every single thing you offered me, and I was just too fu—” her eyes flick to Giuliana for a moment, “messed up to realize it. You’ve given me a life I never knew I could have, and I’ll be eternally grateful for you for being so patient with me while I figured it out.
” She squeezes my hand. “You taught me the meaning of love. You and your amazing daughter, and I love our little family so much.”
I nudge Giuliana, and right on cue, she pulls out a folded piece of paper from her now-empty basket. “Daddy told me I could say something, so I’ve been practicing.”
She reaches up and hands Aarya the picture she drew while I was in a coma last year, the same one with the word MOMMY under Aarya’s stick figure that I had tattooed on my ribs.
Aarya smiles as she gazes down at it.
“Daddy asked you to be his wife.” Giuliana looks up at her with those big brown eyes of hers. “So, now I’m going to ask you: Will you be my mommy?”
Aarya’s eyes fly to mine before she drops down to her knees in front of my daughter. “You want me to adopt you?”
Giuliana nods and then throws her arms around Aarya’s neck.
The dam breaks and Aarya’s tears overflow.
We’ve discussed it several times, long after Giuliana had fallen asleep, while we snuggled together in bed.
Aarya wanted to adopt Giuliana, but she wanted to make sure it was something Giuliana wanted to make official.
She didn’t want to give her the wrong impression and make her think she needs a mother.
Every family is different, and our blended one has been getting along just fine.
But being able to call Aarya her mother is something Giuliana has wanted for quite a while.
I bend down and wrap my arms around my girls, holding them as we all cry.
Until Aarya pulls away and turns around, looking to Cassidy behind her. Cassidy reaches into her bouquet and pulls out a long white stick, and hands it to Aarya.
Aarya sniffles and her eyes return to me. “I guess this is the perfect time to tell you both.” She holds out the white stick in front of Giuliana, with the word PREGNANT in the middle of the digital screen. “You’re going to be a big sister.”
Giuliana looks from me to Aarya with wide eyes, her little lips forming an O shape.
Then she rips the stick out of Aarya’s hand and holds it over her head as she shouts, “Hell yes!”
And I can’t even find it in myself to glare at McKinley for teaching my daughter that phrase, because I’m too overcome with shock and joy.
I clutch Aarya’s face and pull her in for a kiss. “We’re having a baby?”
She nods, more tears streaming down her cheeks. “That’s the only plausible reason for all these damn tears.”
I chuckle, and pull her in for another kiss as my own tears free-fall from my eyes. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe it. We’re having a baby.”
“I know it’s a little sooner than we’d hoped for, and I know it’s inconvenient because the gallery just got off the ground, but—”
“But nothing. Aarya, I’m so fucking happy.”
A baby. We’re having a baby.
Our friends surround us to congratulate us, and Giuliana starts rattling off baby names, and plans of where the baby will sleep, and all the things she wants to show the baby when he or she comes.
McKinley cups his mouth with his hands. “All right, settle down everyone. We have one more part left, and then we can party.”
Everyone takes their seats, and Aarya and I clasp hands as we face each other.
“By the power vested in me,” McKinley announces, “I now pronounce you husband and wife—and mommy, and big sister. Alexander, you lucky bastard, you may kiss the bride.”
I grip Aarya’s face and kiss her with all the love and devotion in my soul. And then I lift Giuliana in my arms—because she’s never going to be too big for me to carry her, no matter what she says—and we sandwich her between us while we kiss her cheeks.
The familiar tune of Brown Eyed Girl starts playing through the speaker I set up earlier, and I close my eyes as I hold my own brown-eyed girls in my arms.
THE END
Keep reading for book four, Ice Rivals