Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
EVE
S avi puts the tiny yellow flowers in my hair as I study my reflection.
“You look absolutely beautiful, Eve.” She meets my eyes in the mirror and smiles at me. She has her hair down her back like mine and is wearing a pale yellow sundress that matches Sophia.
“Thank you,” I say softly. “I still can’t believe we pulled this all together in less than two weeks.” I laugh.
“When Mom puts her mind to something, she gets it done,” Savi chuckles. She finishes the last of the flowers and stands back to admire her work. My white dress has two small straps and comes to a vee in the front, leaving my back completely bare. The bodice is fitted while the rest of the dress flows around my legs in a soft, billowy motion. Its sheer layers are shorter in the front, hitting me mid-thigh and then flowing to the floor in the back. As soon as I put it on, I knew it was the one.
Sophia hands me my sunflower bouquet before picking up hers. “I’m surprised Ryder has left you alone long enough to get ready. He hasn’t let you out of his sight since he asked you to marry him,” she laughs.
“I think we both feel it’s too good to be true. We just can’t believe it’s finally happening.” I smile when I think back to last night. Even though Savi tried her hardest, Ryder refused to separate last night like the traditional night before the wedding. Instead, he spent most of the night showing me all the ways he worships me. It’s a night I’ll remember for the rest of my life, so I have no complaints that we didn’t separate until it was time to get ready. We’ve spent too much time apart already and don’t want any more nights alone.
“Travis and I are just so happy for you both,” she says, hugging me. I blink away the tears before they can fall.
“Don’t you dare make her cry again, Sophia. I’ve had to retouch that makeup more times than I can count in the past hour.” I can’t see Savi, but I know she’s giving us her stern look.
We break away laughing and quickly wipe our tears before they fall.
“Okay, let’s do this,” Sophia says, looping my arm through hers as Savi does the same on my other side. “Let’s make this sisterhood official.”
“Let’s do this,” I grin. We walk out of Sophia’s bedroom, where we were getting ready, and make our way through the kitchen and out on the deck. The sun is setting low from behind us, casting a warm glow on the water stretching out before us.
Meaghan and Trevor turn towards us when they hear us coming. They came to see me for the first look, taking on the role of my parents. I touch the pearl earrings that Meaghan and her mother wore on their wedding day. It meant a lot that she wanted me to wear them just like Sophia did, and Savi will one day. Ryland smiles at me from Meaghan’s arms. She’s wearing an adorable yellow sundress with a white flower wreath on her head.
“Mommy pwencess.” She points at my dress, and I laugh.
“Yes, Mommy is a princess today, and so are you.” I run my hand over her ruffled dress and finger the little delicate chain on her chubby ankle. The girls are all barefoot with jewelry chains on our feet for shoes, so we got an ankle bracelet for Ryland to wear.
“Are you ready to throw the flowers, Rybug?” Meaghan asks, holding up the small basket with the yellow petals.
“I do,” she says, causing everyone to grin.
“We will meet you all down there.” Meaghan squeezes my hand before walking across the deck and making her way to the stairs leading to the beach.
“That’s our cue,” Savi says to Sophia. She gives me a wink before following Sophia across the deck.
I hear Miles start playing the guitar as soft music starts to float through the air. Although the drums are his favorite, I don’t think there is an instrument he can’t play. He gave us our wedding gift early when he played the song he composed for us last night. Even without words, it’s the most beautiful melody I’ve ever heard.
“You ready, baby girl?” Trevor beams at me, and his blue eyes sparkle. He holds out his arm, and I wrap my hand around him. He looks handsome in his black slacks and white dress shirt. All the guys wore the same look with the sleeves rolled up and open collars. We wanted a casual beach wedding, and the guys were more than happy to ditch the jackets and bowties in this Florida heat.
“I’m ready,” I whisper. My heart beats loudly in my chest, not from nerves but from excitement. I’ve dreamed about becoming Mrs. Montgomery for so long, and I can’t wait a minute longer.
He leads me down the stairs, and I see his family standing by the wooden arch covered in yellow sunflowers. The sunset reflects off the water in front of us.
My evening sun .
I stop and take it all in before taking a deep breath and meeting the greys that hold my heart. His smile is breathtaking as he looks at me, and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. His dark hair blows slightly in the breeze, and my fingers itch to feel their silky strands. Tattoos peek out from his open collar and rolled-up sleeves. He’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. I walk across the sand, never leaving his eyes until I’m standing in front of him. I give Savi my bouquet before putting my hands in Ryder’s outstretched hands.
“You look beautiful, my evening sun,” he says for my ears only.
“You look beautiful as well,” I say softly. He leans down and kisses me before breaking away with a grin on his face.
“Ready to be my wife?”
“Very ready.” I grin.
Trevor moves to the front of us to say a few words. Ryder asked him to do the ceremony, and he was more than happy to get ordained and marry us. He winks at Ryder before he clears his throat and begins.
“It’s been a difficult ride to get here, but your love is stronger than any of the circumstances that have held you apart. You made your way back to each other and have created a beautiful family together.” Trevor smiles over at Ryland before continuing. “We knew when Ryder came home that day from the beach that he had met someone special. He couldn’t stop grinning and didn’t care that his brothers gave him hell for it.” Miles winks at me and laughs.
“He told us he met the girl he was going to marry, and no one was going to tell him any different. As soon as he brought you home, we knew he was telling the truth. We felt the love you guys had for one another and knew one day we would be standing here.” I hold Ryder’s gaze and see everything I’m feeling mirrored back at me.
“A love like yours doesn’t happen every day. I was lucky enough to find it with Meaghan, and Travis found it in Sophia. Hold onto this love with both hands and cherish it every day as you walk this life together.” I smile as I watch Travis share a look with Sophia. He briefly whispers something in her ear before swiping away one of her tears.
Max looks at me from Sophia’s side and gives me a smile I feel deep in my soul. I glance at Ryland in Meaghan’s arms before meeting Jake and Miles’s smiling eyes. There’s so much love gathered around us right now, filling me with so much peace and a deep knowing that everything that happened to us only made our love stronger. I get lost in Ryder again as his greys give me everything. We are right where we are meant to be and will always choose each other.
“I know you both wrote your own vows, so I’ll let you take it from here,” Trevor smiles at us.
Ryder turns to me, and his eyes capture me with the love I see in them.
“Eve, I think it’s safe to say I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. It was like finding a piece of me that I didn’t know was missing, and on that day, you became my everything.” I blink back the tears and see him do the same. He squeezes my hands before continuing. “When we were apart, I felt unwhole. Half of me was missing, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get it back. I’m now grateful you kept that part of me while you were gone. If it provided you any strength to lean on until you and our daughter found your way back to me, then I’ll gladly give up the other part of my soul for you. It was always yours to have.”
I let the tears fall silently down my cheeks as his eyes hold mine. “You’ve always been my evening sun and always will be. You and our daughter are my everything, and I will love you both and any future kids we have together for as long as my soul is in existence because this lifetime will never be enough.”
I wipe the tears and smile through them when he mouths I love you .
I love you, I mouth back. Taking a deep breath, I try and get my emotions under control so I can speak.
“Ryder, the day we met was the first time I ever felt a love like that, and it absolutely terrified me. I was so scared that it would be taken from me, but through your love, you made me feel safe. You became my everything, too. You showed me every day what it felt like to be loved…what it felt like to be wanted,” I say softly through my tears. He reaches out and swipes one away with his thumb. He gives me an encouraging smile to continue, knowing it still hurts to talk about my childhood.
“While I was gone, your love gave me the strength I needed. Not coming back was never an option. I could no more live without you than I could try to live without air. I need you…we need you.” I glance at our daughter, and he follows my gaze. His eyes glisten with love as he looks at her.
She gives him a toothy grin and points at him. “Daddy.”
“Hi, baby girl,” he says softly before wiping his eyes and focusing on me.
“I will love you forever, Ryder,” I say softly. “As long as my soul exists, I am yours.”
“And I am yours,” he says seconds before his lips meet mine.
“How about we make this official so you can kiss your wife next time.” Trevor chuckles when we finally break apart. Max walks over and hands him the rings.
“Thanks, little man.” Ryder smiles down at Max, and he beams up at him before walking back over to Travis and Sophia. Taking my left hand, he slides the wedding band on that matches my engagement ring.
“Ryder, do you take Eve to be your wife, to love and to cherish forever?”
“I do.” He kisses my ring finger and winks at me.
“Eve, do you take Ryder to be your husband, to love and to cherish forever?”
I slide the black band on his finger. “I do.” I grin as his hands dive into my hair, and his lips meet mine.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now continue to kiss the bride,” Trevor laughs while everyone cheers. I see them walk toward the photographer out of the corner of my eye, giving us a moment alone.
“I love you, Mrs. Montgomery,” he murmurs against my lips.
“I love you, my husband,” I whisper as we break apart.
“God, I love hearing you say that.” He brushes back a piece of my hair before placing another soft kiss on my lips. “My wife…”
“And I love hearing you say that. It does something to me,” I feel my body respond to his words, and his eyes turn a darker shade of grey.
“I have a lot planned for my wife later. With my parents watching Ryland, I plan on taking advantage of every available space in our home.”
“I look forward to what my husband has planned for me.” He softly groans, and I feel him get hard against me.
Bending close to my ear, I feel his breath against my skin. My heart rate accelerates when I feel his tongue come out to taste my neck.
“Alright, you two. Save it for later,” I hear Miles laugh off in the distance. “You are wanted by the photographer now,” Miles shouts over to us.
“Later, my wife….you’re mine,” he whispers in my ear before pulling away and turning toward his brother. I stand there, feeling the electric energy between us, leaving me breathless. “We’re coming!” He yells to Miles. He holds out his hand to me, amusement flashing in his greys as I feel my face get warm. He knows exactly how he affects me and loves every minute of it. I put my hand in his as we walk over to his family, where they have gathered to take pictures.
I’m so swept up in congratulations, and photography poses that I don’t notice the figure standing under the dock, hidden in the shadows.
Their fingers grip the wooden post tightly as anger and jealousy surge through their body. They watch for a few more minutes before turning and walking away. Dark thoughts run through their mind as they get in a car and drive away.