Hayes
thirty-one
The waterfall is bubbling gently next to me, blending with the sounds of the string quartet set up near the pomegranate tree Paige loves, and I’m shifting from foot to foot like I’m nervous.
Because I fucking am.
Chairs are scattered throughout the garden between paths and plants, each one wreathed in flowers and filled with a family member or friend who made the merciless cuts to the guestlist as someone we absolutely wouldn’t want to miss out on having at this ceremony.
That said, it’s a small crowd. Even Cerberus is here, patiently sitting at my side wearing a bow tie around his massive neck and looking so proud of himself.
The only one missing is my beautiful wife, and I know I’ll be put out of my misery of waiting up here with all eyes on me in mere moments.
The quartet finishes one song and there is a lull in the music before they start on Paige’s ceremony song next.
She picked a Taylor Swift song, making me listen to it on repeat for a few days to make sure I liked it, too.
I pretended indifference, but Taylor’s a true musician and I ended up liking it.
I can hear the words to Wildest Dreams in my head as the quartet plays and have to keep myself from mouthing along.
This is the influence Paige has on me. I’m a fucking bona fide Swiftie now.
Movement on the path from the elevator vestibule draws the crowd’s attention, and everyone rises as Paige appears on the arm of her father. He is whispering to her and she smiles, beaming up at him as they begin their slow procession through the plants and flowers of the garden.
I swallow the thick lump in my throat as I take her in, once again in a white gown, glowing against the greenery and sunset-streaked sky seen through the lightly fogged windows as she comes toward me.
Her dress is fitted, clinging to her shapely body and flaring out at her thighs, made of some soft-looking lace material that trails behind her.
The straps are off the shoulder and as she gets closer, I can see they are made to look like vines and leaves.
The neckline is low, rounding over the tops of her breasts in a way that is so fucking sexy, yet still manages to be modest, and I fall in love with her all over again.
As my eyes trail up her body, I’m struck dumb when I see her face, a soft smile on her red lips and her bright jade eyes fixed on me.
I feel my own mouth raising into a smile as our eyes meet and wipe away the hint of moisture in the corner of my eye.
It must be the damn humidity in this greenhouse or something.
When Paige and William make it to the edge of the waterfall’s pool we’ve deemed our altar, they stop and turn to me as the music slowly ends.
“Who gives this woman to be with this man?” Judge Whitaker asks in his genteel voice that booms through the now silent garden.
“Her mother and I do,” William responds, taking Paige’s hand from his arm and placing it in mine.
He turns and takes a seat next to Caroline, who is barely composed, her cheeks already streaked with tears.
She’s probably regretting ever pushing for this second wedding, or maybe she’s wishing she had never insisted on Paige having a debutante party that ended up being here at The Abyss which allowed us to meet in the first place.
No matter what she wishes, I am grateful for this opportunity to marry my beautiful bride again. I turn my attention back to Paige.
Hi, she mouths at me.
I love you, I mouth back.
The ceremony becomes a blur as we listen to the Judge talk about the covenant of marriage and the seriousness of love.
Soon enough, he’s asking if we will honor and cherish one another, in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth, and to be true to each other in all things until death alone shall part us.
We both take turns repeating after him with little difficulty.
I would promise Paige so much more in this life and into the afterlife as well.
My attention returns when he asks for the rings and it’s time for the vows. Paige and I decided to write our own, since we had already read the traditional vows at our Las Vegas elopement, and if we are getting a second chance to do it, we are going to make it personal to our relationship.
“You’ll be needing these,” Payton says over my shoulder, handing me a black velvet ring box that holds Paige’s delicate diamond wedding band and her engagement ring.
He smiles and shakes my hand, proud to have this important role in our second wedding.
I take the rings and stack them on the end of my pinky for safekeeping before handing the box back to Payton.
I look back and see Paige repeating the actions, taking my thick gold band from Alex and sliding it onto her thumb on her side of our waterfall altar.
“Paige, please place the ring on Hayes’s finger and recite your vows.”
Paige follows his direction, her small hands shaking as she places the ring on my finger and takes my hands in hers.
Her eyes are misty as she looks up at me, her face framed by her dark waves woven with delicate flowers.
“Hayes, you are a force of nature that changed my life forever, and I couldn’t be more grateful that you took a chance on a silly debutante one night not that long ago in this very garden.”
She pauses then, her words growing thick. Her eyes shimmer with unshed tears, and I run my thumbs across her knuckles in reassurance. She grips my hands in hers and steadies her voice before continuing.
“You can be unrelenting in the pursuit of what you want, and you take no prisoners along the way. You are demanding because you know your worth. You hold yourself to the highest standards and ask the same from others,” she begins.
I smile and nod because it’s the truth. But I can’t help but wonder if her vows will highlight all my less-than-admirable qualities.
“I hope I can learn to be more like you in that regard because I admire you so much.” She smiles and I wonder at my luck to be blessed with a woman like her.
“But with me, you have always been kind, compassionate, and generous. Your love is unfathomable, and you make me feel cherished with every action, every just because present, and the simple day-to-day activities that you still manage to put me first in.”
I can’t take my eyes off of her. She is a radiant queen of grace and forgiveness, and listening to her tell our closest friends and family of our love has me enraptured.
I am so fucking grateful she gave me a second chance to prove I could put her first, that I could see past my greed and realize how badly I had treated her, and prove that I will never repeat that bullshit again.
“I promise to ask for what I want, even when it’s hard.
I promise to love you back as fiercely as you love me.
I promise to protect you and our life together from anything the outside world may throw at us.
I promise to watch silly eighties movies with you and refrain from calling them old or calling you old by extension. ”
This gets a chuckle from the crowd. I smile right along with them.
“I promise to give you unlimited second chances and show you grace when you need it. I promise to hear you out and stick around when life gets difficult instead of running away from the hard times. I promise to be open to every new possibility with you.”
She gives me a sly wink at that, and her smile is one of cheekiness I hope others will overlook as bridal happiness.
“But most of all, I promise to fight with you and for you and for us every day of our lives. I love you with all of my heart and I love this life we are building together.”
A tear slides down Paige’s cheek and I reach up and gently brush it away, cupping her face in my hand for a moment longer, just soaking in her heartfelt words and hoping I can do her justice with my own.
“Hayes, please place the rings on Paige’s finger and recite your vows,” the Judge tells me next.
I take Paige’s left hand and slide on her rings, holding her hands in mine and looking deeply into her eyes so I can get through this very public display of my very private thoughts.
“Paige, you are goodness and grace incarnate. You are a benevolent goddess walking this mortal plane, and the fact that you somehow saw me and deemed me worthy of your attention despite being wholly undeserving will be my debt to repay forever. You make me better just by allowing me into your stratosphere, and I will never take that for granted.”
I hear a few sniffles in the crowd and think they must be left over from Paige’s vows because there is no way anyone would have any sort of empathy for the man I was before she entered my life.
“I fell in love with you the moment you walked into this garden, escaping from a society event just like I had.”
This time the crowd chuckles for me, and I feel brave enough to continue.
“You started to change me for the better almost instantly. I knew I couldn’t be the man I was before meeting you any longer because that man was undeserving of your time, attention, or love. I wanted all of that more than anything else I’d coveted in this life.”
I stroke my thumbs across her knuckles again and compose myself for the rest of what I need to say. When I meet her eyes, they are endless wells of love and devotion I do not deserve, but she is giving them to me anyway.
“I promise to put you first and above anything else in this life. I promise to make you ask for what you want until it’s second nature and always give you what you need when you can’t.
I promise to love you with every breath in my body, in this life, and forever after into the next.
I would know you in any lifetime, and in any iteration, because you are a part of me that is walking this world outside of my body. I will love you forever, angel.”
Paige’s shoulders shake with silent sobs, and I take a moment to draw her into my arms and hold her against me, kissing her forehead and ignoring whatever protocol may be needed for a wedding ceremony.
The most important thing at this moment isn’t following a prescribed series of events, it’s ensuring my wife is taken care of.
She clings to my tux jacket and sniffles quietly.
When she lifts her face, I carefully wipe her tear-stained cheeks and hold her face in my hands until she smiles and shows me she’s ready to continue.
Our tender moment affects everyone in the crowd, with many sets of sniffles that can be heard over the bubbling of the waterfall.
I look over at Judge Whitaker, and he’s wiping his own cheeks, a small smile curving up his full mustache.
He nods at me and holds up his leather book once again to continue.
“By the power vested in me by the great state of Georgia, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Hayes, you may now kiss your bride.”
I smile widely as I slide my hand into Paige’s hair to cradle her head, my other arm snaking around her waist as I dip her back and kiss her silly to cheers and clapping.
Her lips press back, her hands coming to my cheeks and keeping my face close.
I raise her back up and she’s a vision of happy perfection, her smile euphoric as she gazes up at me.
The blur of events that follows is eclipsed by the depth of love, desire, and devotion I feel for my wife, who endures every photo, each hug, and every offer of congratulations with grace.
I follow her lead, going where I’m told, posing as instructed, and staying on my absolute best behavior to do her justice.
As long as I have her on my arm, I can endure anything.
I could be chained to a mountain while an eagle tore out my liver, and as long as I have Paige, it would be worth it.
The only time I allow Paige out of my arms is when she slips away to change into a silky dress, with her hair caught up at the nape of her neck elegantly.
It’s an intriguing surprise when she spins in front of me and shows that the dress bares her back, stopping just before the curve of her ass.
I’m struggling to keep my hands to myself as we finish our obligations at The Abyss, my hands straying to the soft skin as we pose and move through the garden.
Thankfully, the planner calls for everyone to begin the trek to The Mansion and finally directs us downstairs and out of the club.
The vintage Rolls Royce that takes us from the club to The Mansion is a nice touch that Caroline arranged, and for once I appreciate her attention to detail.
I cup Paige’s radiant face, running my thumb across her cheek.
“How are you doing, angel?” I ask once we can relax, finally alone with our thoughts and each other after what feels like the longest day of my life.
The nerves and adrenaline are wearing off, and I feel bone tired.
I need to rally for what’s ahead, which, according to Paige, will be a spectacle.
“I’m indescribably happy.”
She turns her face and kisses my palm. When she turns back to me, I let my hand slide down to her neck, feeling her delicate throat muscles work as she speaks through the caress of my fingers against her skin.
“I’m actually really glad we had a chance to do this after all. For as much of a headache my mama has made this week, having that ceremony be exactly what I hoped for and something so personal to us, it almost makes what’s coming next bearable.”
I massage the back of her neck, wanting to ease some of the tension that flashes across her features. “It’s just a few hours, then we have a honeymoon to enjoy.”
She perks up at that, tilting her head at me. “But we haven’t planned a honeymoon. I certainly wasn’t expecting one.”
“You don’t have to expect it, but you deserve it after everything this month has held. It’s about time I took some time off and really relaxed with you. Does a week in Turks and Caicos with white sand beaches and warm, crystal-clear ocean water sound good to you?”
She closes her eyes and shudders in pleasure. “That sounds incredible.”
“We’ll leave tomorrow.”
“Oh, Hayes, you are too good to me.” She pulls my head down and kisses me just as the car pulls up to The Mansion.
“Well, Mrs. Olsen, let’s go start the rest of our lives together.”