Epilogue ~ 1 year later
JACKSON
The venue is small and intimate. A historic mansion on the outskirts of Hartford with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking gardens that Emma spent three months obsessing over. Twelve chairs arranged in two rows, white flowers everywhere, late June sunshine streaming through the glass.
I'm standing at the altar with Chase beside me as my best man, hands shaking worse than they did when I proposed on the ice. Worse than any playoff game, any championship, any moment in my entire life.
"You good?" Chase asks quietly.
"I'm a complete mess."
"Good. You're marrying the love of your life. You're supposed to be."
He's right. I look ahead and notice my mom dabbing at her eyes in the front row. She flew in from Calgary two weeks ago and hasn't stopped crying since. Patricia and Richard sit beside her, Chase's parents, who welcomed Maya into the family with open arms the moment they met her.
Ethan's our ring bearer, taking his job very seriously as he stands next to me, clutching the pillow. Sofia's too young to participate, but she's here, held by Emma, who's Maya’s maid of honor.
The music starts. Not the traditional wedding march but something softer, a piano piece Maya chose. My heart stops.
Emma slips into position at the altar, Sofia in her arms, and we all turn toward the back of the room.
Maya appears in the doorway, and I forget how to breathe.
She's wearing a simple dress, ivory silk that hugs her curves before flowing to the floor, sleeveless with a neckline that shows off her collarbones and the pendant I gave her. But it's her face that destroys me.
Her black curls are piled on top of her head in an elegant bun, a few tendrils escaping to frame her face. The veil covers her, gauzy and delicate, but I can see her through it. Those dark eyes, that smile, the way her brown skin seems to glow in the afternoon light filtering through the windows.
She's not walking down an aisle because there isn't one, just crossing the small space between the door and where I'm standing, yet every step feels like forever.
When she reaches me, she's smiling through tears, and I'm already crying. I can't help it. Hell, I don't even try to hide it.
"Hi," she whispers.
I reach out with shaky hands and lift the veil, pulling it back over her head to see her face clearly. The impact of it hits me so hard I can't speak. Her beauty, her presence, the reality that this is happening.
Her makeup is subtle, highlighting features that don't need enhancement.
Her skin catches the light, actually twinkling like she's dusted with something celestial, and I remember why I started calling her Stardust all those years ago.
She looks like light personified, like something too beautiful for this world, and somehow she's choosing me.
"You're..." My voice cracks. "Maya, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"Don't make me cry yet," she says, but she's already crying, tears sliding down her cheeks. "We haven't even started."
The officiant clears his throat. A friend of Chase's who got ordained online specifically for this.
"We're gathered here today to witness the union of Jackson Anderson and Maya Rivera.
Two people who've loved each other for longer than either wants to admit, who've survived everything life threw at them, and who are finally, finally getting it right. "
Scattered laughter. Mom's full-on sobbing now. Ethan's looking at his ring pillow like he might eat it.
"They've chosen to write their own vows," the officiant continues. "Jackson, whenever you're ready."
I take Maya's hands, feel them trembling in mine, and try to organize thoughts that have been spinning for days.
"Maya," I start, voice rough. "Stardust. I've been in love with you since I was twenty-three and had no right to feel what I felt. I watched you grow up, watched you become this incredible person, and I thought I'd missed my chance. That I'd spend my whole life wanting you from a distance."
She's crying harder now, squeezing my hands.
"Then you came back into my life at your lowest moment, broken and hurting and ready to give up.
And even then, even at your worst, you were still the most beautiful person I'd ever known.
Not just physically, though you're so stunning it hurts to look at you sometimes, but your heart, your strength, your refusal to stay down. "
I have to stop and wipe my eyes. Chase hands me a tissue without being asked.
"You survived hell. You faced your demons and won. You went back to nursing and saved lives. You loved me when I was too scared to admit I loved you back. You made me believe in things I thought I'd lost. Hope, family, forever."
I'm full-on crying now, and I don't care who sees.
"You're my light in every darkness, my home in every storm, the person who makes me want to be better just by existing.
I promise to love you through every nightmare and every victory.
I promise to hold you when you're scared and celebrate when you're thriving.
I promise to give you space when you need it and never to let you forget how extraordinary you are. "
I pause, swallowing hard. "You're my Stardust, the light that guided me home when I was lost. And I promise to spend every day for the rest of my life making sure you know how loved you are, how valued, and how essential to my existence you are.
I love you, Maya. I've always loved you.
And I'm going to love you until the day I die and probably long after that. "
There's not a dry eye in the room. Emma's sobbing into Sofia's blanket. Mom's given up on dabbing and is just letting tears stream. Even Chase is suspiciously wet-eyed.
Maya takes a shaky breath, tries to compose herself, and fails. "Okay, how am I supposed to follow that?"
"You don't have to..."
"Jackson, shut up, it's my turn." But she's smiling through tears, radiant and perfect. "Ice Capades, I need you to know something. When I showed up at Emma's house, I was ready to die. I had nothing left, no hope, no future, no reason to keep breathing. And then you were there."
Her voice breaks, and she has to pause, squeezing my hands harder.
"You were there with your terrible jokes and your patience and your refusal to let me disappear.
You saw me at my absolute worst, broken, traumatized, and empty, and you didn't run.
You stayed. You held me when I cried. You sat with me in silence when I couldn't speak.
You made me laugh when I thought I'd never laugh again. "
"You loved me before I knew how to love myself again. You saw something in me worth saving when I couldn't see anything but darkness. And slowly, so slowly, I barely noticed, you brought me back to life. You reminded me who I was before everything happened."
I'm crying so hard I can barely see her face.
"You're not perfect, Jackson Anderson. You're stubborn and overprotective, and you think you can fix everything.
But you're mine. My safe place, my home, my reason for believing in tomorrow.
You're the man who proposed to me on a damn ice rink even though I can't skate, who wears his heart on his sleeve, who cries at Disney movies and pretends he doesn't."
There’s laughter from everyone.
"I promise to love you through every playoff loss and every victory.
I promise to be there in your corner, cheering the loudest. I promise to tell you when you're being an idiot and to celebrate when you get it right.
I promise to keep choosing you, every single day, in every moment, for as long as we both live. "
She's trembling now, barely holding it together. "You saved my life, Ice Capades. Not just by being there, but by loving me. You're my light, my heart, my everything. And I'm going to spend the rest of my life showing you exactly how much you mean to me."
The officiant's crying now, too, dabbing at his eyes with his notes. "Well, I think..." His voice cracks. "Sorry, give me a second."
Everyone laughs again, the sound breaking the intense emotion just enough to let us breathe.
"Right," the officiant continues, composing himself. "The rings?"
Ethan steps forward importantly and holds up the pillow. I take Maya's ring, a simple band that matches the engagement ring, and slide it onto her finger while repeating words about forever that feel too small for what I actually feel.
Maya takes my ring, her hands steady now, and slides it onto my finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."
The officiant smiles, eyes shining. “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” He grins wider. “Jackson, kiss your bride before we all dehydrate from crying.”
I pull Maya close, cup her face in my hands, and kiss her like I've been waiting my whole life for this moment, because I have. She kisses me back with everything she has, both of us crying and laughing and lost in each other.
Everyone claps; Ethan cheers. Sofia starts crying because everyone else is crying. From under a chair, Max lets out a yowl—obviously, he had to be here, and he’s clearly offended by the whole affair.
We break apart, foreheads pressed together, both grinning like idiots.
"Hi, Mrs. Anderson," I whisper.
"Hi, Mr. Anderson."
"You're stuck with me now."
"Thank god."