29. All Holy Vows （Hattie） #2
I glance at Mom, who wipes her eyes and nods shakily, beaming back a smile that tells me just how proud she is.
This is what she always wanted, but I found it on my terms, and she accepts it.
She’s learned to accept me just the way I am.
That’s why I clear my throat and pop the next big question.
“Hey, Mom… how would you like to walk me down the aisle?”
We haven’t discussed it.
Until now, with Dad out of the picture, we settled on me strutting down solo.
Her eyes flash and she puts a hand over her mouth.
“Oh, Hattie, you’re—you’re serious?”
“Yep. It’s not really about handing me off like a piece of property,” I say. This is not Jane Austen’s era, no matter how much I love her books. “I just want everyone to know you’re my mom. I love you and I couldn’t be happier to have you with me.”
There are a lot of vows happening today, and this is one more.
A recommitment of family.
I want to show the world that I love Ethan and everybody who stood by my side as I found him.
Mom nods, her eyes glinting, just like the day when she found out Ethan and I were engaged again—but this time for real.
“Only if you’re sure, honey,” she whispers. “There’s nothing I’d love more.”
“Good!” I kiss her on the cheek. “Love ya, Mom.”
“I love you, too, baby girl,” she whispers, holding me delicately. “My beautiful, wonderful girl. You’re going to make him so happy.”
I let her hold me for a few more seconds before breaking away.
Margot taps her watch and nods.
“Go time, guys!” she announces.
Together, we leave the old converted barn.
The place did its job. If the weather sucked, we’d still have a roof over our heads, but today got lucky. Sunlight pours through the slats along the walls.
My dress brushes the floor as we walk to the doors, flinging them open to reveal Maine’s flaming red, vibrant yellows, and jack-o-lantern orange landscape.
Fall is queen and her jewels are brilliant.
For a second, I stop to catch my breath and rub my eyes.
Whatever happens next, I’m thrilled we picked this land. I can already feel myself trying to put this moment into words, eager to live every second.
Be present. Remember every minute.
The sun bathes my skin.
I wouldn’t have chosen a different dress today even if it was midwinter, but it’s a relief to feel the warmth sink in.
Although I think the heat in my chest would chase away any chill.
The wedding takes place by a lake, a giant mirror for the vibrant reflections in the still water.
There’s a flower-woven arch at the end of a makeshift aisle along the grass.
Dew soaks Margot’s shoes as I pause, steeling my nerves.
The harp begins to play.
With a shaky breath, I lift my eyes for the first time to the man standing at the altar, right next to the priest.
Even from this distance, he’s watching me with adoration.
All sharp focus in sky-blue eyes.
All the love and agony and heat that flips my insides upside down.
Holy hell, this man is mine.
Mine!
I’m going to marry him and call him my husband and I’ll be his lawfully wedded wife.
His.
From the intense look on Ethan’s face, he shares my adrenaline high.
A kind of excitement so potent it burns—pleasure so exquisite it’s almost pain.
I just hope my heart doesn’t split in half before our first wedded kiss.
God, I love him .
It’s almost obscene how electric I feel.
Mom has my arm and people turn to look as we pass. The only thing I see is Ethan and the look on his face.
The way his eyes worship me, brighter with every step.
His nostrils flare.
For the briefest second, his bottom lip quivers before he stiffens again.
The gentle music surrounds us like a cloud, and if Mom didn’t have my arm, guiding me forward, I don’t know if I’d have the mind to move.
The grass feels like vines around my feet.
Then his lips move.
I love you , he mouths, and my feet unstick.
My vision blurs until I’m by his side and he’s reaching for my hands, squeezing them, bringing me back to reality.
The world settles, even though it still feels like it’s on the verge of blowing away like a dandelion puff.
“Getting cold feet yet, Pages?” he whispers.
“Never! You?”
“Hell no,” he growls back, the corner of his mouth quirking as we both turn to face the priest.
Let’s do this.
Let’s get married under the sinking red sun, before these gold trees and God, with his calloused fingers sliding a ring on my finger, sealing our eternity.
And once we’re official, once our vows are spoken, once we’re really, truly, inseparably married, he catches me around the waist.
He bends me over.
He kisses me with the rough, yet tender reverence I get to relish forever as Mrs. Ethan Blackthorn.
“You look incredible,” he tells me as he sets me back on my feet. “That dress is a dream. Christ, is any of this real?”
“Marrying me?”
“Yeah. I had to check.” Grinning, he shakes his head. “I’ve been pinching myself all damn morning.”
“It’s real, all right. I’m your wife, silly. No getting out of it now.”
“My wife. Goddamn, that’s glorious.” Smiling, he cups my jaw and swipes his thumb over my bottom lip. His gaze darkens. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that.”
“Please don’t. I don’t ever want to take this for granted.”
I reach up, pressing my lips to his again.
Our hands are linked, so it’s easy to walk down the aisle, past the people we love enough to be at our wedding.
No press, thank God—that was the promise we made.
No media coverage on our wedding and no cameras for the ceremony, aside from the photographer.
Our biggest wedding present might be total privacy.
Today is for us.
The rest of the world can wait.
Before, Ethan was so caught up with expectations. Keeping up appearances for the sake of his company, so intent on making this thing seem legit to everyone around him.
Not anymore.
The only thing that matters to him is my smile.
And I’m freaking grinning as we break away into the cool evening air.
The photographer snaps off rapid-fire shots as we walk the lakeshore, a welcome break from the small crowd, holding hands and talking about the future.
All the things we want.
All the dreams to merge.
We’ve had these conversations before, but it’s different on your wedding day.
After you’ve waded through the ‘until death do you part’ spiel, the future isn’t this far-off murky thing anymore.
It’s waiting in front of us like a red carpet.
After what feels like an hour of photos, a car drives us back to the reception, set up in the same converted barn we started with.
Since the service, it’s been transformed from rustic beauty to modest glamor. Soft orange lights trail the ceiling, framing every door.
It’s a joy to just sit at our special table and bask in the scene.
Lovely, white-clothed tables fill the room. There’s an open bar at the far end of the room. Margot insisted on that.
Every detail looks exquisite.
We wanted simple, but the napkins twisted in heart shapes next to our plates make me want to tear up.
So do the personalized notes we spent hours writing for every guest.
I search the room for Ethan’s parents, watching as they pick up name cards and read the note Ethan wrote on the back.
“What did you say?” I whisper.
Elvira stiffens like she’s trying to hold her emotions in. Scott reaches for his wine, the shock on his face palpable.
Ethan’s hand finds mine under the table. His thumb swipes the back of my hand.
“I told Dad he’ll always be my father in all the ways that matter.”
“And your mom?”
Even if they’ve been cordial, things are strained ever since Ethan found out about his origin.
I get it, though I’ve tried to encourage a little healing.
Not easy when the rift started well before her secret fell out.
I think they’ve misunderstood each other since Ethan was little. Elvira has some seriously complex feelings about her son, but at the end of the day, they’re family to the core.
They still love each other, even if it’s over some distance.
Old wounds like this don’t just scar over effortlessly, no, but I believe they’ll find their way through it.
Love is relentless, right?
She looks up at him now, her face pale and her lips pressed together.
“Well? What was it?” I ask again. I can’t look away from the desolate yet loving expression in her eyes.
He hesitates before he looks at me and smiles.
“I said we both had to deal with Gramps’ meddling growing up, one way or another. And we could either let that define us or we could grow. Our decision.” Ethan glances down at me, his blue eyes softer than I ever imagined. “I told her I loved her and I always will.”
“It’s healthy to say it,” I tell him, pulling affectionately on his sleeve. “I’m proud of you, hubby.”
“It’s the fresh start my wife deserves, and so do I.” He squeezes my hand.
I look out across the small sea of faces again, old friends and distant relatives we’ll be pressing hands with all evening.
Everything has fallen into place, better than I ever could’ve hoped.
Even Cooper Daley got what he deserved.
The land deal falling through drove him off the deep end. His careful, power tripping and underhanded seductions started getting sloppy.
And yes, when Mom told me he’d started sending gross texts to a lady in her classes again, I might have let Mom slip the woman’s number to Margot.
What happened next was sweet justice.
Now, his wife is leaving him, and his finances are—
Yikes.
That’s the only word.
The little real estate empire Cooper Daley built will be in a tailspin for a long time to come.
That means plenty of fresh opportunities for Blackthorn Holdings, but that’s just the icing on the cake.
Daley tried to trick people into giving him what he wanted instead of working for it honestly. He let greed and ego win, and now they’ll cost him everything.
Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered, Ethan reminded me the other day.
I feel a surge of pity for his ex as I look up at Ethan again.
I’m sure she never imagined a betrayal like that on their wedding day.
If Ethan had a traitorous, cheating bone in his body, though, I think I would know.