Chapter Sixty-One
Liam
Not a cloud mars the sky; the sun is brilliant. Olivia and I opt for a mid-morning ceremony since she and Max are both pregnant and tire easily.
I put on a white tux and run my hand over the tie. My steps feel as unsteady as if I’m walking on clouds.
“I’ve never seen you this happy,” Finn says with a grin.
“I’ve never been this happy.”
“Not even my jam can compete,” Silas sniffs, but his lips twitch.
“Sorry, man. Nothing trumps my wife.”
“I’m glad. The drone proposal was so romantic,” Max says, dabbing at her eyes.
Every time I think about it, my chest feels tight, like it’s about to burst with all the love I have for my wife. I was so lost I forgot to take a picture, but she’d already hired a videographer to record it for all eternity.
“Ever after,” she whispered when she handed me the recording.
Silas’s phone buzzes for the third time. He frowns at the screen.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, it’s fine. Some spam.” He turns off his phone.
“Pest all taken care of!” Angelo announces, a wide grin splitting his face.
Rhys scrunches his face. “You have a pest problem? Here?”
“Those three from the house,” Angelo says cheerfully before I can respond. “They tried to crash the ceremony, probably to steal some free food or make a scene. Whichever, I got rid of them. Turned on the electric fence.”
Xavier gives him a thumbs-up.
“Well done, Angelo,” I say with a grin. “I knew I could count on you.”
He puffs out his chest. “Of course. I couldn’t just decapitate them with a wire hanger or something. I believe in the law.”
My brothers and I laugh while Max shakes her head. We’ve all heard about Rhys and Max’s legendary flying cockroach adventure.
“Jeremiah looks positively gleeful. That’s sort of scary. Who did she fuck over?” Roarke asks.
“She just wants to drink my champagne,” I joke, remembering her whining from the courthouse wedding.
“At least Czarina looks calm. And the parental units are behaving,” Gideon says with relief.
“They only brought Marie and Camilo,” Xavier says, referring to our parents’ “assistants.” “Maybe they’re settling down. They’re about to be grandparents soon.”
I snort and shake my head. Settle down? Not even close.
We head out to the garden, with my brothers as my groomsmen this time.
Frederich stands tall in the back, assessing every detail with sharp eyes.
As Gideon said, Grandmother and Grandfather are seated with all the dignity of royalty, while Mom and Dad are in their white chairs with their arms linked, looking like a devoted couple madly in love.
London waves from the other side, already standing across the aisle in a pink maid of honor’s dress.
I nod in gratitude. I owe her one—something big.
She said Olivia’s going to make her our first child’s godmother, so that’s enough, but she has no idea the kind of favor she’s done for me.
She could ask for a kidney and I’d gladly give it.
Olivia appears at the end of the aisle by herself. This is her choice.
“I wish Hugh wasn’t such an asshole. Then you could have a real traditional wedding with your family and father walking you down the aisle,” I said during the rehearsal.
She shook her head then held my hand. “I’ve found my family, Liam. And I don’t need anyone to give me away. I know who I want, and I’m doing it myself.”
Every time I think about it, warmth courses through my body.
She looks like an angel in a brilliant white dress with small diamantés sewn in. Her platinum and diamond tiara sits on her black hair like a crown.
The queen of my heart.
As the quartet strikes the first note of “Here Comes the Bride,” my pulse jumps. Her eyes meet mine across the distance, and they crinkle as she gifts me with a brilliant smile.
Her back straight and her step steady, she moves toward me. Her mother’s diamonds glint in her ears, and my rings shine on her fingers. She’s always walked alone—by choice, of course, but not anymore. She chose me, and I’ll never let her walk alone again.
When she reaches the end of the aisle and extends a hand, I take it. “Good morning, wife. How do you feel?” I ask, my eyes roaming over her bright face.
“Married and in love. You?”
“Very much married and very much in love.”
Then we turn toward the altar and the officiant ready to remarry us. It’s perfect: a ceremony in our sanctuary, overlooking the endless ocean, surrounded by our friends and family.