4 MONTHS LATER — THE REED LAND, NORTH CAROLINA
Now playing: Two Is Better Than One - BOYS LIKE GIRLS, Taylor Swift
The salt air of the North Carolina coast in mid-May carried a scent that didn’t belong to the wrestling business. It smelled of blooming jasmine, tidal marshes, and the clean expanse of the Atlantic.
Following the chaotic success of Wrestle Empire, the Reed land had been completely transformed.
Massive, open-air canvas pavilions stood near the water’s edge, their wooden pillars wrapped in thick ivy and white roses.
Fairy lights tangled through the sweeping live oaks, casting a warm glow over a polished oak dance floor built right over the grass.
The guest list was a beautiful collision of our two worlds. The entire Reed bloodline was present, trading stories with the Donovans. Active top stars, production crew, and UWF veterans were all in attendance, forgetting the politics of the scripts.
Technically, we’d been married for months, but today, it was a real wedding. A public declaration before everyone who had bled with us in the dark.
Rosa had spent months sourcing the attire, and when the bathroom door clicked open in our bedroom, the sight of him stole the breath from my lungs.
Silas looked magnificent. Rosa had designed a cream-white suit. The jacket extended into a dramatic silhouette, and the shirt beneath was unbuttoned low, exposing his tan skin. His hair was freshly cut, making him look every bit the prince he was.
He stopped, his brown eyes widening as he tracked my reflection in the glass.
I was wearing the formal Highland wedding attire of my lineage. The kilt was a heavy wool tartan of forest green, and navy with sharp lines of crimson accompanied by an argyle jacket, formal sporran, and the traditional Sgian-dubh tucked into my boot. I felt anchored.
Silas crossed the room, his hands gently tracing the wool pleats at my hip. “You actually wore a kilt.”
“I told you I would, didn’t I?” I smirked, though my snark was ruined by the thick lump of emotion in my throat. I cupped his jaw, my thumbs tracing his cheekbones. “You look entirely too beautiful for me.”
The ceremony by the marsh was a blur of sun and vows, but the reception was pure life. The live band kept a rich rhythm moving as the night fell, and the crowd devoured the ease of the evening.
I stood near the edge of the floor, my glasses resting on my nose as I watched the family. Si slid his arms around my waist from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder.
“Look at the kid,” I murmured, nodding toward the tents.
Josie was standing with my sisters, laughing in a flowing sage-green dress. She was nearly ready to pop. We had literally planned the entire timeline of the wedding around her due date to ensure she could stand on her feet and be there.
When the family dances started, the emotional damage hit hard.
Silas took the floor first with my mom, Cindy.
Watching my husband gently guide the woman who had pulled me out of the snow at fourteen across the floor was almost too much to carry.
Cindy was openly crying , and Si was whispering things that made her laugh through the tears.
Then it was my turn. I rotated through my sisters, holding onto them tight, before taking a slow, supportive turn with Josie. But our final dance before the solo block belonged to Lena.
“Lena. Come here, kid.”
She ran to us, throwing her body into the space between us. Silas and I closed the perimeter instantly, wrapping her in a tight wall of tartan and cream silk as we began to sway. Lena buried her face in my vest, her shoulders shaking with thick, ragged sobs.
“Hey,” Silas said, his hand gently stroking her hair. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m just so happy,” Lena choked out, looking up at us with wet eyes.
“This is the family I used to dream about when I was a little girl in those foster homes. Praying that someday, someone would look at me and want me. I thought I was too broken for a real home. Thank you for making me a part of this. Thank you for giving me a family.”
My chest ached, a sudden rush of tears welling. Silas stopped moving. “You were never broken. If there was a single way the legal system would let us formally adopt a grown-ass woman, the papers would have been signed months ago. You are ours. Permanently. To the fucking end.”
Lena let out a laugh, burying herself back into us as I wrapped my arms around them both, sealing the promise in the center of the lights.
Eventually, Evan guided an emotional Lena back to the tables, leaving the center of the floor empty.
The lights in the live oaks dimmed until the yard was bathed in a deep indigo shadow, and the opening, atmospheric chords of “Two Is Better Than One” by Boys Like Girls began to drift from the speakers.
Si stepped into my space. His hand slid firmly around the back of my neck, and I gripped his waist, pulling his body against mine until there wasn’t a millimeter of air left between us.
As the music built, the internal montage of everything it had taken to get here flashed behind my eyelids.
I saw the moment we met in the Performance Center ring.
I saw the dark corridor of Ewan’s house, and the night in Miami.
I saw the seven years of agonizing silence, the boardwalk when I knew our lives were about to change, and heard Presley’s venomous voice telling us we were a distraction.
I opened my eyes, looking at my husband.
His lopsided, beautiful smile was the most victorious thing I had ever seen.
“We did it,” he whispered against my lips, his grip tightening around my neck. “We’re home. This is us.”
“I know, baby,” I breathed. A single tear slid past my glasses as I leaned in to kisshim deeply in the dark. “Forever.”