Knox is smiling like he’s never smiled before.
My legs should be shaking, but they’re not. Instead, I float.
When I reach him, he reaches for my hands, thumb brushing over my knuckles like he needs to memorize the moment.
The noise behind me fades. My breath catches. That single warm touch hits harder than any speech or song. Like he’s anchoring me to this exact second, grounding us both in the quiet truth of it all. I feel it in my bones, in the part of me that still can’t believe someone like him loves all of me. And just like that, the nerves are gone.
There’s only this.
Only him.
Only us.
“Hey,” he says. “You look freaking gorgeous.”
I bite my lip. “You look like you somehow made tuxedos illegal levels of hot.”
Mayor Willa claps her hands twice. “People of Silver Peak! We are gathered here to witness the joining of two beloved community members in holy matrimony?—”
“Knox Knightly!” someone yells from the back. “Don’t screw it up!”
“Thanks, Lily!” Knox calls back without missing a beat. Mason shakes his head next to her and mutters, “She’s had three sangrias.”
Willa presses on. “Now, the vows.”
Knox turns to me, breath catching. “Josie Dawson, you walked into my restaurant like a wildfire I didn’t see coming. You’ve burned down every plan I had, and I’ve never been more grateful. I love your laugh, your ambition, your chaos. I promise to love you when we’re out of diapers, when the kitchen’s a mess, when the twins are screaming, when you accidentally use salt instead of sugar again…”
“That was one time,” I mutter as the crowd chuckles.
“… and every moment after. I promise to show up. Every day. Always.”
My eyes blur. My fingers tighten in his.
I clear my throat, voice thick. “Knox Knightly, I thought my dreams were too big, too silly. But you didn’t just believe in them. You built a kitchen and handed me the keys. You gave me space, and love, and twins, and Tuck.” I glance at the dog, who’s currently chewing a stick and ignoring everyone. “I promise to love you when you burn the garlic, when the babies won’t sleep, when your back aches, when the quiet gets too loud. I promise to be your home, always.”
There are tears. Everywhere.
Gracie’s sobbing into Bea’s shawl. Maya’s fanning herself dramatically. Nova has her arm around Dee, who’s pretending not to lean into it. Jude hits a button, and soft instrumental music swells.
“By the power vested in me by a two-day online course and overwhelming community pressure,” Willa says, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Knox, you may kiss your bride!”
He does.
And it’s not a polite, chaste kiss. It’sclaiming.
Knox cups my face with both hands like I’m something rare and breakable, but kisses me like he’s been waiting years, like every second until now has been a buildup, and this is the moment that finally makes sense of all of it. His mouth finds mine, warm and hungry, and I melt into him with a soft, startled sound that’s swallowed between us.
He tastes like champagne and adrenaline, like love so fierce it could burn down the whole damn mountain. His thumbs stroke my cheeks, grounding me, even as his lips part mine and his tongue sweeps in slowly, making my knees tremble beneath layers of tulle and lace.
Someone whoops. Someone gasps.
Someone, probably Lily, yells, “Okay, get it!” but I barely hear them.
All I feel is Knox. His mouth slanting over mine again, deeper now, like he’s imprinting this moment into both of us. His fingers slip into my hair, and mine slide up his chest, gripping the lapels of his tux like they’re the only thing keeping me upright.
The twins are squished between us in their slings, warm and oblivious. Tuck barks once, indignant at being ignored. None of it registers.
He kisses me like I’m his whole world.
