Chapter Four
Ty
There she is—the most beautiful woman in the world—Rachel Rose.
Centered in the doorway at the end of the banquet room aisle with her arm linked in her father’s, my bride-to-be smiles through the thin, pristine fabric of her veil. Her wedding dress hugs the perfect curves of her body, and maybe even better, the corners of her mouth are nearly touching her ears.
She’s happy to be here—ready to marry me. And that makes me, Ty Winslow, the luckiest bastard alive.
The music crescendos with the traditional wedding march, and Nate and Rachel start to walk. Slow, sure steps eat up the space of the aisle between us, and with every passing one, my heart beats a little harder.
I can’t fucking believe I finally get to make her mine.
Rachel bites her lip and winks as soon as they get within five feet of me, and everything comes alive.
This is the woman of my dreams. She’s teasing and fun and playful every chance she gets, and underneath that lives a deep, burning compassion and kindness I can’t describe. She has the biggest heart and the sweetest pussy, and for a guy like me, there is no better combination.
“Who gives this woman today?” the reverend asks from behind us when they stop their long procession.
“Her late mother and I do,” Nathaniel Rose declares, his voice only slightly breaking in the middle.
Nate reaches forward, Rachel’s hand clasped in his other as he takes mine to shake. I look him in the eye, despite the emotion I know is shining there. This is a huge moment—for him and for me.
Letting go of Rachel is like letting go of his last hold on his old life with Nadine, and I do my very best to express how much it means to me in the silent exchange.
Not only is Rachel the light of my life, but Nate is the reason I’m here. He was more of a father to me than the pathetic excuse for my own. He was the man who turned me into one. He was my safe space. And now, I’m going to be lucky enough to call him my father-in-law.
I didn’t plan it, I swear, but I’ll be fucked if life doesn’t work out so perfectly sometimes.
“Take care of my girl, Ty,” Nate states, his voice raspy but firm, nonetheless.
I nod, allowing a tiny smile to curl the corner of my mouth as I glance at my beautiful bride. She is the most stunning person I’ve ever seen, and the subtle curve of her stomach, evidence of our most special girl, Emily, whom we created together, only makes her more so. “I will, sir. There is nothing I’d rather do.”
Nate nods resolutely, just once, and then pulls Rachel forward to put her hand in mine. The feeling of her fingers as they slide between my own is the feeling of coming home.
Nate retreats to the front row, pulling Emily from Lou’s arms and tucking her close to his chest, and Rachel and I step up to the altar and join hands in the middle. It’s only then that I notice at the end of everyone I expect to be standing behind my future wife—Lydia, Winnie, Daisy, Sophie, and Maria—is another face I recognize.
Though, I’d never in a million years expect to see it here, like this, as a bridesmaid at my fucking wedding because she sure as hell didn’t walk down the aisle in the processional with the rest of them. Trust me, I would have noticed.
I lower my voice to a whisper and try to pull my eyes off the green-eyed enchantress to look directly at my soon-to-be wife, but I’ll admit, I’m having a little trouble. “Uh, Rach?”
“Yes?” she asks, her voice a little perkier than I’d like.
“Is that Cleo? The fortune-teller? Standing up at our fucking wedding as a member of the bridal party?”
The reverend behind me clears his throat and the crowd titters at my language, and it’s only then that I realize I’m mic-ed up for the ceremony, and everyone in this whole room just heard me drop the f-bomb.
“Ty!” my mom snaps from the front row, Lexi laughing beside her.
I close my eyes tight at the sound of Cleo’s boisterous laughter, and Rachel starts to giggle. “Sorry, babe. But I had to get you one last time before we said ‘I do.’”
The whole crowd erupts again, having heard Rachel’s explanation and, evidently, supporting her in her prank entirely.
“I’m going get you back for this one day,” I whisper back, and I watch in fascination as Rachel’s smile grows a mile wide.
“I hope you do, Ty Winslow. And if we get this show on the road, you’ll have the rest of our lives to do it.”
I nod. “I can’t fucking wait.”
The crowd laughs again, Wendy drops her head into her hands, and the reverend, the poor guy just sighs.
“Sorry, Rev,” I apologize. “I am what I am.”
He smiles at that. “But do you want to be a husband? That’s the real question here.”
I nod enthusiastically. “More than ready, Rev. More than ready.”
Rachel smiles and squeezes my hands with her own as the reverend starts into his monologue.
“All right, then. Welcome, everyone. We’re gathered here today to join Ty and Rachel in holy matrimony. They’ve asked you here because you’re a significant part of their past, present, and, most importantly, their future. As with all budding love, changes will come along with the bloom, and we ask that you all invest yourselves in the nurturing of those changes alongside Ty and Rachel. For the faith of the family and the love of another are the greatest gifts a human can find on this earth, and from the looks of things, this is a group that has that in abundance.”
I’ll be damned if the reverend isn’t right. It took me a lot of growing up and meeting the right person to realize it, but there’s no greater enrichment in life than doing it with someone you love and cherish.
And now that we have Emily, I understand even more the special power two matched people have together. They can bring life and love to a whole other generation—if they’re just willing to put in the effort.
“Now, Ty and Rachel have chosen to exchange their own vows. I’m going to turn it over to them to share those with all of us.”
I nod to Rachel in encouragement as she turns at the waist to hand Lydia her bouquet and takes a sheet of paper and my ring from her in return. I can just barely see Rachel’s beautiful scrawl through the material, and my heart picks up its pace in anticipation.
“Ty. When I was considering where to start these vows, I did a good deal of thinking back on our relationship and all its milestones. I thought of our special times and heartfelt moments and the times of support I never could have dreamed of. And then, well, I thought of the beginning.” Lydia snickers behind Rachel, knowing exactly what the beginning entailed—panties and promises in the midst of a dark nightclub. “And I decided that wasn’t at all appropriate for a wedding ceremony and cut it out completely.”
The crowd laughs, and I smile, waggling my eyebrows until Rachel shakes her head at me.
“But we’re so much more than the games we had to play…” Rachel’s voice breaks a little, and at her show of emotion, I can’t help but lean forward and put my lips to hers. The whole crowd shrieks at the faux pas, but I don’t care. All I care about is my girl.
“Sorry,” she says through a teary laugh. “Postpartum hormones.”
I shake my head. “You’re perfect.”
She takes a deep breath, nods to assure herself of her confidence, and then starts again.
“But we’re so much more than the games we had to play,” she repeats, backtracking a little to get her momentum back. “And I wouldn’t change a single second of the life we’ve built together since. You’re fun and kind and patient, and for as much as I pretend to hate when your socks don’t make it into the hamper, I’ll pick them up for the rest of my life if it means Emily and I get to call you ours forever.”
I lick my lips against the tears stinging my nose, and Jude claps me on the shoulder from behind, openly bawling as Rachel slides my sleek black wedding band on to the base of my finger.
Rachel nods to the reverend, and he gestures an open hand to me to signal that it’s my turn. I pull my note cards and Rachel’s ring out of my suit jacket pocket—knowing I couldn’t trust Jude with jewelry—and hold them in front of me with one hand, rubbing my thumb against the back of Rachel’s hand with the other.
“Rachel. I’d first like to go off-script, just to tell you that I’ll do better with the socks from now on.”
Our guests laugh, and Rachel shakes her head, but I mean it. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let some resentment build up over time by not pulling my weight. Rachel is it for me—the love of my life. The least I can do is pick up my stupid socks.
“I love you,” I say then, getting back to my note cards. “I fell in love that night at Orchid, and from there, I did everything in my power to keep you around. You’re brilliant and confident, and you challenge me every day to be worthy of you.”
Rachel sucks her lips into her mouth in an effort to hold back tears. I study her closely. She is a hundred and fifty percent the woman I deserve.
“You understand me in ways that no one ever has, and you laugh at my jokes when I really need someone to, even if they’re not funny.”
Rachel smiles, a small laugh breaking free, and I nod. “Yeah. Just like that.”
Our loved ones laugh too, and my mother once again shakes her head in the front row. Howard tucks her close to his side and under his arm, though, and some of her motherly embarrassment disappears.
I look back at Rachel and stay there, working my way to the end of my first note card. “You’re everything I didn’t know I needed when I was younger, and I know in my heart that the main reason for that is because you’re easy.”
Rachel’s eyebrows shoot to her hairline, and the reverend coughs on his own saliva. Jude steps forward and smacks me on the back of the head, and I panic as what I’ve just said hits me.
Easy? NO! Rachel isn’t easy!
I scramble while I shake my head, turning the note card to the back and shouting so loud the microphone squeals. “ Going! Easygoing!”
Rachel chuckles and the audience laughs, but the loudest of everything I hear is the absolute cackle coming from Cleo at the end of the bridesmaid line. She’s bemused, the crazy kook.
“Sorry,” I whisper to Rachel again, pulling her in for yet another quick kiss to the lips. “I’m so sorry.”
She shakes her head and just smiles back at me. “It’s okay. In fact, it’s perfect. I’ll remember this forever.”
With a deep breath and a big-ass grin, I toss the rest of my note cards in the air and let them flutter to the floor around us. “I had a bunch more shit on there, but I’m figuring out now, I don’t need it. I don’t need the crutch of literary quotes or love poems to tell you how I feel. All I need is you standing in front of me and our little Emmy looking on. You’re everything, Rachel. And I’m going to spend every ounce of my energy for the rest of my life proving it to you. I can’t wait to taunt and tease and joke our way through this life. I can’t wait for it all, even the hard. Because if it’s with you, it’s worth it.”
Rachel leans toward me and I lean toward her, but evidently, the reverend is finally fed up. Quickly, like an auctioneer, he reads out the rest of his speech before our lips can meet again. “By the power vested in me by New York State, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride…again!”
Clutching Rachel to me tightly, I sweep my tongue inside her mouth and kiss her with everything I have. I want to immerse myself in her scent and her taste and her embrace forever.
The crowd whoops and hollers, and without warning, we’re enveloped into the largest bear hug ever. Jude and Flynn and Remy and Wes are all piled on my back, and Rachel’s bridesmaids have done the same to her.
It’s the perfect end to the perfect ceremony.
And it’s just the beginning of the rest of our lives.