And I kiss him back like I’m never letting him go.
When we finally break apart, just enough to breathe, he’s still got that look in his eyes, like I’ve completely ruined him and he couldn’t be happier about it. His forehead presses to mine, our breaths tangled, our hands still linked like we’ll unravel without them.
The crowd erupts.
Jace whoops and hollers. Mayor Willa throws flower petals she definitely brought herself. Dale yells, “About time!” over the chaos. Jude drops a beat so hard it shakes the wildflowers.
Tuck barks. One of the twins lets out a sleepy wail. And me?
I kiss my husband again, both of us laughing as Eli captures it in a perfect frame.
It’s loud. It’s messy. It’s magic.
It’s mine.
By the time we get home, my feet hurt, my cheeks ache from smiling, and my heart is still somewhere on that overlook, spinning in circles with the fairy lights.
The house smells like vanilla and baby powder. My phone bleeps with a message from Mom.
Twins are sleeping (miracle). Do NOT come get them tonight unless someone is actively on fire. You deserve one night of bliss. Love, Mom.
Knox reads it, then lifts an eyebrow. “You think we should test the ‘actively on fire’ clause?”
I kick off my shoes and groan. “At this point, even if I was on fire, I’d just lie down and let it burn.”
“Sexy.”
He says it with a smirk, but his eyes are soft when he steps behind me, hands finding my waist. “You looked like a dream today.”
“I felt like a dream. Then I tripped over Tuck’s leash and almost face planted into Bea.”
He kisses the back of my neck. “Still the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
I turn in his arms and slide mine around his shoulders. “You’re just saying that because I vowed to love you even when you burn the garlic.”
“That part made me cry.”
“You were crying!”
His hands are warm on my back. “Marrying you was the best decision I’ve ever made. And I’ve made some stupid ones.”
“Like letting Silver Peak become a clown show for a while?”
He leans in, nose brushing mine. “Like not kissing you the second you walked into my kitchen.”
My breath catches, and for one electric second, the entire world tilts on its axis.
Then I grab his shirt and pull him down to me.
The kiss hits hard, hot, and urgent, and full of everything we’ve been holding back all day. The speeches, the dancing, the toasts and cake, and camera flashes, none of it felt real until now.
Until this.
Until him.
Knox groans against my mouth like he’s been waiting hours for this exact moment, and maybe he has. Maybe we both have. Because the second his lips crash into mine, it’s chaos in the best way. Hands everywhere, mouths hungry, breath caught somewhere between laughter and something deeper, wilder.
He backs me into the wall, one hand sliding to my thigh, hitching my leg around his waist like we don’t have anything left to prove, like this is just who we are now. Married. Reckless. Stupidly in love.
