42
Eight Months Later
“Nervous?” Max asks, slapping a hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently.
“Nope.” The lie falls from my lips far too easily, I’m only glad he’s not holding my hand or he’d notice how sweaty my palms really are.
“Liar,” he replies with a smirk. “Got a nose for that shit. Call it Best Man’s intuition.”
I’m not nervous, I’m fucking terrified. In a few short moments, Sierra will step through the doors of our beach side lodge venue that overlooks the water and meet me at the end of the aisle to make me the luckiest guy on the planet.
I can’t tell if I’m nervous or excited, maybe a little of both because I can’t think of anything better than making her my wife today.
The past eight months have been a whirlwind to say the least. My recovery from the bleed on my brain didn’t take quite as long as I was expecting and not seeing any reason to wait longer than necessary to get married, we set a date as soon as we could without rushing into anything.
Sloane was put in prison, serving a life sentence as he should. Officer Jenkins was removed from the Police Force and has served time in prison for his part. Max managed to track down a number of other men connected to Sloane, some of them were the men that played a role in hurting Sierra and they too, are currently serving a sentence of their own.
After everything that transpired last year, the one lesson the both of us learned above all was to live every single day to the fullest and not put anything off, life after all, is impossibly short. And that’s what we did, we travelled the world together, enjoying just being us. Not as friends, not as me being her bodyguard, just us. And let’s face it, I spent over a year loving Sierra from afar, the woman of my dreams ever so slightly out of my reach, I wasn’t going to go a single day more not being able to call her mine. And here we are.
We chose to get married in Maine, given it was the place we truly fell in love with each other. Beside me, the warm June sun glistens on the ripples of the ocean, the gentle lapping against the rocks doing little to calm the riot of butterflies in my belly.
I toss a quick glance to Ray who’s seated on the front row beside Daniel and Steph. I’ve known this man since I was a child, and not once do I ever remember seeing him wearing a suit. He offers me a warm smile and a well-needed nod of encouragement, glancing across to the two empty seats beside him. The seats where my parents should be sitting.
On the opposite side of the aisle is the same, two open seats where Sierra’s mother and father should be, watching their daughter embark on the happiest day of her life. I suppose, just like my parents they are here, except in spirit, rather than in person.
Just then, soft instrumental music begins to play, and the two dozen or so guests that are seated either side of the aisle move to stand and my spine straightens as I take in a deep lungful of air.
Ivy floats down the aisle in a pastel pink dress, clutching my nephew, Sam’s hand as he waddles beside her, the two of them scattering rose petals on the ground as they walk before jumping up onto two of the chairs on the front row.
Next comes Della and Reese, arms linked together, their dresses closely matching that of Ivy’s in colour. Reese gives me a wink as they take their seats on the other side of the aisle beside the children.
I glance down to my feet, adjusting my dove grey tux and fiddling with my cuffs. I can’t stop the apprehensive tap of my foot on the ground and the involuntary shake of my leg as I await my future wife. My heart is beating outside of my chest, and slow deep breaths are doing nothing to slow my racing pulse.
I don’t dare look up until I see her in my periphery, a flash of white, that catches my eye, and when I do finally decide to look up, my heart stops beating.
With her two brothers on either side of her, she takes slow, careful steps as she descends the aisle and I can’t stop the tremble in my chin and the tears that prickle in my eyes.
She’s an absolute vision.
Her crisp white dress accentuates each and every one of her beautiful curves. The flared skirt fans out at her feet creating a long train that trails behind her. It’s off the shoulder, the lace sleeves drape loosely around her forearms. Her curled raven hair is pinned back, the loose ringlets bouncing around her back and shoulders as she walks.
She’s perfect.
Her eyes twinkle with tears as she comes to stand before me, both Gage and Rafe shaking my hand before placing Sierra’s in mine, her skin soft and delicate to touch.
Her makeup is minimal and natural, her lips a pale pink shade that compliments the light dusting of eye shadow brings out the flecks gold in her eyes.
I lean in, placing a soft kiss to her cheek, inhaling the sweet vanilla scent of her perfume. “You look absolutely beautiful, princess.”
She leans into me ever so slightly. “Thank you,” she whispers before we turn to face the Officiant.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, please be seated. We gather here today to witness the union of Alec McKenna and Sierra Grace Hudson. If anyone has any objections as to why these two should not be married, please speak now or forever hold your peace.” After hearing no words of objection, the ceremony continues.
“Alec and Sierra have prepared their own vows. Alec, over to you.”
I turn to face Sierra, her hands clasped in both of mine as I take one final steadying breath. “Sierra, my princess… Never in a million years would I have ever thought today possible. Never would I have thought myself worthy enough to stand opposite you, proclaiming my love for you as your almost husband, but by some miracle you chose me and I will spend the rest of my life never giving you reason to regret it.”
She smiles teary-eyed up at me, her gaze never once leaving mine as I speak.
“I vow to love you every second of every day so you never have to question it. I vow to protect and honour you with my body and keep you from harm, and to be by your side in times of strength and need. And should you ever fall, I vow to always be there to catch you.”
She swipes a tear from her cheek before placing her hand back in mine. “Alec, never was there ever a doubt in my mind that you were the man for me. You once told me that you couldn’t imagine walking through this life without me beside you… well, ditto, because I couldn’t imagine walking through mine without you either. Your love guides me, it gives me strength and courage in the face of darkness, darkness I’ve encountered more times than I ever should have, and for that, I will be eternally grateful to you. I vow to love you with every part of me until my last breath. I vow to love and honour you with my body and care for you in times of sickness and need. And should you ever fall, I vow to be there to catch you, too.”
Max hands me her ring, it’s a platinum band with a princess cut diamond in the centre, the initials A and S engraved onto the inside of the band.
“I give you this ring,” My hand shakes as I slide the ring onto her finger. “As a symbol of my everlasting love and my undying devotion to you.”
Sierra takes my ring from Max and slides the ring onto my finger. It’s a plain platinum band with the same engraving as hers. “Alec, I give you this ring as a symbol of my everlasting love and my undying devotion to you.”
“Alec and Sierra have both exchanged their vows to one another and declared their love before their family and their friends. Alec, Sierra, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Mr. McKenna, you may now kiss your bride.”
“Finally,” I whisper, dropping Sierra’s hands to cup her cheeks as I fuse my lips to hers.
Her arms go around my neck, her fingers diving into my hair as I band an arm around her waist, reeling her into me as I deepen the kiss.
The cheers and applause of everyone around us fades away into nothing as I lose myself in my wife’s kiss.
My wife…I will never tire of hearing that.
“I love you,” I say against her lips, stealing not one but two more kisses from her mouth, not able to hold back the beaming smile from my lips as I peer down at her.
I’ve never meant those three words more than I do in this very moment. It feels like our lives have been leading up this day forever and that our love was inevitable from the very beginning. Little did I know that beautiful sassy girl who head-butted me in the chest in a hallway that day would be standing in front me as my wife.
“And I love you, Husband.”
“Fuck, never stop calling me that, princess.”
She smiles. “Never.”
“Congratulations!” My two best friends, Della and Reese envelope me in a crushing hug as the wedding reception gets underway.
“I’m so happy for you. God, did you see Alec’s face when you came down that aisle! He looked like he was going to cry you were so beautiful!” Reese gushes.
“Me too! Me too! I wanna hug Auntie Si!” Ivy bounces on her toes, her arms outstretched in front of us as Reese scoops her up, and the four of us embrace.
“You having fun, munchkin?” I ask her.
“Sooo much fun! I loves weddings. I can’t wait til I’m older and I can have a wedding too!”
“That won’t be for a long time, Ives. I won’t let it. Wanna keep you little like you are now for as long as I can,” Rafe comments.
“Oh, Daddy!” She pouts.
I pull away and turn to my brother. “I’m so proud of you, sis,” Gage says, drawing me in for a hug before I’m lifted off the ground by Rafe.
“I’m so fucking happy for you, Si,” he says before placing me safely back down on the ground, linking my fingers with Alec’s, my wedding ring sparkling under the lights.
I can’t believe I’m married. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet. In fact, the whole ceremony was a blur. One blink and a ring was on my finger and the Officiant was announcing us as husband and wife, but from what I do remember of it, I want to relive it over and over again.
One thing I do remember is turning the corner as I stared down at the long aisle, my brothers either side of me and looking up to see the most handsome man I’ve ever seen staring back, and that’s not just me being biased.
“So what time’s the flight to Italy?” Rafe asks.
The thought of my honeymoon has my stomach doing flips. I can’t wait to have my new husband all to myself.
“We leave at six in the morning, flight’s at nine,” Alec answers.
“Well, we can’t have you going off on your honeymoon without giving you your wedding present, can we?” Rafe smirks.
“It’s not lingerie is it?” I ask, because that’s something Rafe would do just for the fun of embarrassing me.
Rafe’s jaw drops. “However did you guess? Did Ree squeal on me?”
She swats him with the back of her hand and he laughs.
“Only kidding, little Hudson. Gage and I didn’t know what to get you both, so we did the one thing we knew you’d love the most, with a little help from Ray.”
My brother’s exchange a look before Gage clears his throat.
“Your parents’ house, there are construction workers on site as we speak, rebuilding the damage from the fire. We have interior designers drawing up plans for your approval of the layout and the decor.”
I gasp. “Are you serious?”
Gage nods.
“You really didn’t have to, it’s too much,” Alec says.
“Nothing is too much for our sister and our new brother. Give it a few months and the house will be ready for you both to start a life there as a family, if you want?”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“Si, for so long I tried to keep this family together all under one roof, but I know now that it’s impossible,” Gage begins. “Rafe and Reese have their own lives, as do you and Alec now. I know how important the house is to you, to you both, and I know how significant it was in your recovery. You were happier there than you ever were back home and I get the feeling Halston hasn’t felt like a home for you in a long time. Sierra, you and Alec deserve all the happiness life has to offer, and if that’s here in Maine, then that’s where you need to be. It’ll fucking gut me to see you go, but I’ll know that you’re hap—”
I’m in my brother’s arms before I allow him to finish his sentence and the tears are falling before I can stop them. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”
He squeezes. “I think I do. The beaming smile on your face is a dead give away.”
I turn to hug Rafe. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“No sweat, sis. You’re worth it. Besides, gives us an excuse to get out of the city more often. You can take us out on that boat of yours, Al.”
“So, Mrs. McKenna—” Della starts.
“McKenna-Hudson,” I correct, linking my arm through Alec’s. “I’m a McKenna now, but first I was a Hudson and I always will be, I don’t want that to change.”
I never took myself to be a double-barrelled surname kind of girl, but it took me months to come to the decision to keep my maiden name. I’m proud of my family and as much as I will grow to love being Mrs. McKenna, I don’t want to let go of being a Hudson, so why not be greedy and have both?
∞∞∞
“Mom and Dad would’ve been so proud of you today, Sierra,” Gage says as we sway to the song on the dancefloor.
“I wish they were here.”
“They are.” He smiles. “They’re probably up there somewhere crying their eyes out at how beautiful their daughter looks today and how crazy happy she is.”
Gage and Rafe both insisted on walking me down the aisle seeing as how Dad wasn’t here to do it and as much as I wished he was here today, I love my brothers more so than ever for giving me that experience.
Two arms band around my middle from behind. “Can I steal back my wife, please?” Alec asks, before dropping a kiss to my temple.
“Be my guest,” Gage replies. “I’ll find you for another dance later, sis.”
Alec takes my hand and tugs me away towards the door, leaving all of our guests behind us.
“You do realise everyone’s going to think we’ve snuck off to have sex?”
He chuckles. “Let them.”
“Where are you taking me?” I giggle as he tugs me down the corridor, every two of my steps matching every one of his, my heels clicking along the floor as I practically jog down the hall. I get my answer as we round the corner.
“The women’s bathroom… How romantic,” I say with a laugh.
He pulls me inside, letting the door swing shut behind us. He takes my face in his hands and crushes his lips to mine, his tongue wasting no time in sliding into my mouth. He tastes like champagne and chocolate.
“Thought I’d take us back to our first kiss,” he mutters against my lips before leaning in, stealing another kiss.
He walks me backwards until I’m pinned between his hard body and the wall at my back, the hardness in his pants digging into my lower belly, sending sparks of desire to my core.
I tug his shirt out from his pants and begin fumbling for the buttons, eager to feel the smooth, hard muscles of his abs against my hands.
He pulls back. “As much as I want your hands on me, right now is all about you.”
“Are you gonna finish what you started that night at my birthday party, husband?” I ask, gripping the waistband on his pants, tugging him closer.
He pulls up the skirt of my dress until it bunches around my waist before lifting me, my legs wrapping around him. “I’ll have you falling over that ledge so fast your pretty little head will spin, princess.”
“So long as you’re there to catch my fall.”