Chapter 30
Mac
Mac escorted Sophie to her position at the altar, across from where the groomsmen stood. Jamie shot him a subtle thumbs-up, still no sign of Matthews, and some of the tension left his shoulders.
He returned to his position beside Cole, who was visibly sweating despite the cool church air.
"You okay?" Mac murmured.
"My mouth is completely dry. Is that normal?" Cole barely breathed the words.
"Totally normal. Just breathe."
The music changed, the wedding march.
The entire congregation stood with a collective rustle of fabric and programs.
Cole made a small, strangled sound. "Oh God. This is happening. This is actually hap—"
And then Ellie appeared at the back of the church.
Mac watched his best friend's face completely transform. Every ounce of nervousness evaporated, replaced by pure love and awe.
"She's perfect," Cole whispered, his voice breaking.
"Yeah, man. She is."
Ellie walked down the aisle on her father's arm. Her dress was simple but elegant, white lace with delicate beading that caught the light. Her amber hair was swept up, a few curls framing her face. She was radiant, glowing.
But Mac's eyes drifted to Rachel in the second row.
She was watching the bride with this expression Mac had never seen before, not guarded, not careful, just... open. Like she'd forgotten to protect herself for a moment. And Mac thought: This, I want her to look like this all the time.
The thought should have terrified him. Instead, it felt like coming home.
Ellie reached the altar. Her father, placed Ellie's hand in Cole's, kissed her cheek, and stepped back.
"Hi," Cole whispered to Ellie.
"Hi," she whispered back, smiling through tears. "You okay?"
"Perfect. You're perfect."
Pastor Williams stepped forward, an older man with kind eyes who'd married half the couples in Evergreen Cove over the past thirty years. He had that comfortable, grandfatherly presence that immediately put everyone at ease.
"Dearly beloved," Pastor Williams began, "we are gathered here today to witness the union of Cole Hansen and Ellie Winters in holy matrimony."
Mac tried to focus on the words. Love, commitment, and a sacred bond. The significance of two people choosing each other.
But part of his attention stayed on the church doors; still closed, still quiet.
Maybe they really were safe.
And part of his attention stayed on Rachel, who was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.
Mac wondered if she was thinking about her own engagement party. Wondered if weddings scared her now, if public commitments felt dangerous.
Or if maybe, hopefully, she was imagining something different. Something better.
With me, Mac thought. Please let it be with me.
"Marriage is not to be entered into lightly," Pastor Williams continued, "but reverently, deliberately, and in accordance with the purposes for which it was instituted..."
Cole was still holding Ellie's hands, both of them locked in their own world. Jamie shifted slightly beside Mac, and Mac caught the subtle movement. Jamie checking his phone briefly during the pastoral reading.
Jamie caught Mac's eye and gave a nearly imperceptible shake of his head. Still nothing. Coast clear.
Mac’s shoulders relax another fraction.
"Cole and Ellie have chosen to write their own vows," Pastor Williams said, stepping back slightly. "Cole, whenever you're ready."
Cole took a shaky breath, his hands trembling slightly as he held Ellie's. For a moment, he just looked at her, like he couldn't quite believe she was real.
"I wrote these down," Cole admitted, his voice carrying through the church. "Three pages. Single-spaced. Because I had a lot to say."
Gentle laughter rippled through the congregation. Ellie laughed too, tears streaming down her face.
"But looking at you now—" Cole's voice broke. He cleared his throat, tried again. "Ellie, I never believed in second chances until I met you. I thought my career was over. My shoulder was destroyed. I'd given up."
The church was completely silent now, everyone leaning forward.
"You didn't give up," Cole continued. "Every single day you showed up. You worked with me when I was angry and frustrated and probably the worst patient you'd ever had—"
"You were!" Ellie agreed, laughing through tears.
More laughter from the congregation.
"You saved more than my career," Cole said.
"You saved me. You showed me what it means to be loved without reservation, without conditions.
And I promise you. I will spend every day of my life proving I deserve that love.
I will choose you every single day. When you're happy and when you're sad.
When we agree and when we fight, because we will fight, probably about my recovery protocols—"
"Definitely," Ellie said, smiling.
"I choose you, Noelle Winters. Today and every day after. Forever."
Mac's throat tightened. His eyes found Rachel again in the crowd.
Ellie took a steadying breath, squeezing Cole's hands. "Cole Hansen. You are the most stubborn, infuriating, wonderful man I've ever met."
Cole grinned through his tears.
"You taught me that love doesn't have to be perfect to be real," Ellie continued.
"That the best things come from the hardest struggles. You fought for your career when everyone said it was impossible. You fought for us when I didn’t think we could work.
" Her voice grew stronger. "And now I'm fighting for us too.
I choose you, Cole Hansen. Today and every day after.
In sickness and in health, and knowing you, there will be more injuries because you don't know when to stop—"
"Accurate," Cole admitted.
"In good times and bad. For better or worse. Forever."
"The rings," Pastor Williams prompted gently.
Mac reached into his pocket, and his heart stopped.
Nothing.
He tried the other pocket. Also nothing.
Oh God. Oh no. Where—
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Cole was looking at him expectantly. Sophie was trying not to laugh across from him. The entire congregation was waiting.
Two hundred people. All watching him. All waiting for the rings that he'd somehow lost.
"Inside jacket pocket, genius," Jamie whispered from behind him, barely audible.
Mac's hand flew to his inside pocket and: yes. Thank God. He pulled out the small velvet ring box, trying to look like he'd known where they were the entire time and had just been building dramatic tension.
Cole shot him a look that promised murder. Sophie's shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. Luke didn't even bother hiding his grin.
And despite everything, despite Matthews potentially lurking, despite the threat, Mac smiled. Because this was his family. He found his father in the crowd. The old man nodded once, and Mac had to swallow past the lump in his throat.
He handed the rings to Pastor Williams. "These rings represent eternal love," Pastor Williams said, holding them up. "Cole, as you place this ring on Ellie's finger: With this ring, I thee wed."
"With this ring, I thee wed." Cole's hands shook.
"Ellie: With this ring, I thee wed."
"With this ring, I thee wed." Tears streamed down Ellie's face, but her voice held steady.
"By the power vested in me by the state of Vermont," Pastor Williams said, his voice growing joyful, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. Cole, you may kiss your bride."
Cole didn't wait. He pulled Ellie close and kissed her like she was his entire world, his hands cradling her face, the kind of kiss that made everyone in the church feel like they were witnessing something sacred and private and beautiful all at once.
The church erupted. Applause, cheers, whistles. Someone, probably Jamie, let out a whoop that definitely violated several church rules.
Cole and Ellie broke apart, both laughing and crying.
The recessional music started, something upbeat and joyful that Mac didn't recognize, and Cole and Ellie practically ran down the aisle hand in hand, both grinning so widely they looked like kids on Christmas morning.
Mac offered his arm to Sophie.
"Inside jacket pocket?" she murmured as they walked down the aisle. "Really?"
"I panicked."
"You almost gave Cole a heart attack on his wedding day."
"He'll forgive me."
"Oh, I'm telling everyone by the way. This is comedy gold."
“The whole town is here, they saw it.”
“Fine,” Sophie paused, then her expression softened. "Mac? The way you were looking at Rachel during those vows? That was even better."
Mac didn't deny it. Couldn't deny it.
Because watching Cole and Ellie promise forever had crystallized something for him.
He didn't just love Rachel.
He wanted forever with her.