42. Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-two
Mia
We did it.
In five days, the girls and I have managed to pull off planning a wedding that should have taken months. Hudson’s house and deck are covered in white blooms. The place looks stunning.
So do my girls.
Each one of them has a black, sleeveless, sweetheart neck jumpsuit on, and a bouquet of white hydrangeas.
My mom has just left the room, and there’re only minutes until I walk down the aisle. She might have been shocked about the wedding, but she’s put up absolutely no complaints, I am after all marrying a Davenport. It’s all her dreams come true.
“I couldn’t have done this without you,” I murmur as I look at my best friends’ smiling faces.
“As if we would have let you.”
“The fabulous four, darlings.”
“And we are looking fabulous,” Ava murmurs.
“That we are. Jumpsuits are the way forward, I frigging love this look.” Bella does a little dance, shimmying her glorious ass for us all to see.
I love these girls so much.
Reed walks into the room. “Okay, it’s time to — fuck, baby girl.” His eyes darken as he takes in his wife.
“We’re not fucking yet,” she teases him.
“But we will be sooner than you thought.” He pulls her into his arms and tries to kiss her, but she ducks away from him, squealing as his fingers dig into her sides.
“Reed, you’ll ruin my make-up,” she laughs.
“It’s not all I’ll be ruining.”
“Behave you two, there’ll be plenty of time for that after I get married.” I can’t wipe the grin from my face at the pair of them. They’re so damn happy together.
Reed turns to look at me and his eyes warm when he sees me in my outfit. I’m also wearing a jumpsuit, but mine is a white trouser and gold bodice set. I’m totally in love with it.
“You look beautiful, Mia.” He pulls me into a hug and carefully places a kiss to my cheek, he’s obviously worried about messing up my make-up after Bella’s comment. “Are you ready to marry a rather impatient groom?”
Reed will be walking me down the aisle, something I thought long and hard about. I debated going down on my own but being given away is something I want to experience, and I’ve come to love Reed over the last year, so it was him my mind went straight to.
“More than ready.”
“Let’s go make you, Mrs. Davenport, then.”
Holy fucking shitballs.
Hudson
The music starts and I turn to see Mia’s friends come toward me. Each one is beautiful in their own way, and each looks absolutely stunning in their outfits.
They’ve done an amazing job of arranging all of this. I helped where I could but all they really needed from me was my card. I wasn’t letting Mia pay a single cent for today, even though she tried on several occasions.
Walking just behind the three girls is a sight that causes a lump to form in my throat.
Fuck me.
She’s otherworldly. I will remember how she looks right now for the rest of my life. Reed whispers something to her as they approach and a smile spreads across her face.
Exquisite.
Tears fill my eyes at the thought of having this woman for the rest of my life, of living a life I’ve only ever wanted with her.
Reed releases her with a kiss on her cheek and a slap to my back. I can’t look at him, though, my gaze is riveted to her. To the woman who in a short amount of time, I’m going to be able to call my wife.
I can’t help it. I kiss her the minute she’s standing in front of me.
I hear my brothers, my best men, cackle beside me. They can both piss off.
“I’m new at this, but I’m quite sure that comes at the end of the wedding.” I release the love of my life and glance at the man ordaining this ceremony. Grayson.
He and Paige flew in yesterday and are staying for a few days. When I asked if he’d be interested in marrying the two of us, I think he went straight online and got the license there and then.
“As if you wouldn’t have done the same.”
“Oh, totally,” he agrees. “Shall we marry you both so you can do it for real?”
We turn to him, both grinning and more than ready to start our forever.
***
“Now you may kiss the bride.”
Bride.
She’s my wife.
I lean down and kiss her like no one is watching. I kiss her like I won’t survive without it. Without her.
I’m not sure I would.
“I love you,” I breathe against her lips.
“Hudson,” she gasps at my confession.
“I haven’t said it before now because I wanted to do it today as we stood up in front of our friends and I promised you forever.
You’re my wife, baby girl, but you’re so much more than that.
You’re the love of my life, you’ll be the woman who bears our children, and the woman I cannot wait to grow old with. You’re my fucking everything.”
I kiss her before she can respond, before she can break my heart by not saying it back. I know she’s not there yet, that all of this has happened sooner than she expected. When she says those words to me, I want her to mean them. I want them to be as real for her as they are for me.