“I would have waited longer,” I admitted. “As long as it took.”
“Now you know how I felt every time you showed up late.” She raised an eyebrow, flashing a grin.
Lifting her hand, I pressed my lips to her knuckles. “I vow to never be late for you again. Ever.”
“Is that an official vow? Because I will hold you to that.” Anica squeezed my hand, and the world returned to normal.
The officiant cleared his throat, clearly trying to make sense of what was happening. “Shall we... proceed?”
Anica glanced at me, a question in her eyes. “Are you sure about this? Because once we start, there’s no backing out. Not ever. Divorce is not an option for me. If you’re mine, you’re mine. Forever.”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” I said, taking her other hand in my free one. “But you should know what you’re getting into. I’m stubborn, a workaholic, and occasionally believe I’m right about everything.”
“Occasionally?” she raised an eyebrow.
“Fine. Frequently.” I ran my thumbs over the backs of her soft hands. “But I’m working on it. On all of it. For you. Because of you.”
“I’m not here to fix you, Cal. I’m here because, against my better judgment and all professional boundaries, I love you. God help me.”
Her words, her confession, stole my breath. She loved me. Despite everything, she loved me.
“I love you, Anica Marcel. You are the woman who proved me wrong. Love does exist. You taught me that. And I love you.” Despite the tears that threatened to fall, I looked her up and down. “God, I love you.”
“Well then,” the officiant said, a smile finally breaking through his confusion, “let’s make this official.”
The ceremony started and a collective sigh of relief and delight came from the assembled guests when they realized they were witnessing a real wedding and not an elaborate mental breakdown.
Then came the moment for vows. I pulled out my carefully prepared notes, took one look at Anica’s face, and promptly tucked them back into my pocket.
“I had something written,” I began, “seventeen versions, actually. But I think they need another revision.”
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to maintain eye contact despite the vulnerability coursing through me.
“Anica Marcel, I’ve spent my entire adult life convinced that love was fiction. A chemical reaction. A convenient myth we tell ourselves to explain basic biological impulses. I built walls, theories, entire philosophies around this belief because I didn’t have the experiences with love that other people had. I didn’t have parents who loved each other. I experienced broken marriages, unfaithful spouses, and too much hurt to everbelieve that love existed. “But,” I said, glancing at Gram, “I was absolutely, categorically wrong.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd, but I ignored it, returning my focus to the woman before me.
“Love was there all along. I just was too stupid to see it. It was there in the way my grandmother cared for me unconditionally despite my weird phases.” In the audience, Gram beamed at me and blew a kiss. “It was there in the way my asshole friends supported me and called me out on my bullshit through the years.” Behind me, Callan clapped me on the shoulder and Kris and Morgan chuckled. “And most of all, it was there from the moment you refused to work with me without a bride present for a wedding based on a bet with the aforementioned assholes.”
Anica looked confused, but I continued. “You demonstrated love for me before you even loved me. You were willing to walk away from a million-dollar contract because you believed I deserved better than a loveless marriage. You showed me that love isn’t just romantic feelings. It’s integrity, it’s boundaries, it’s demanding the best from someone even when they’re determined to settle for less.
“I know this because I love you,” I continued, the words still new but increasingly natural on my tongue. “Not in the theoretical sense. Not as a concept or a hypothesis. But as a fact, as fundamental to my existence as breathing. I love your meticulous organization and your emergency kits. I love how you call me on my bullshit like my friends and you care about me like my grandmother. I love that you refuse to be impressed by my money and you want me despite seeing that godforsaken merman photo. I love that despite your ridiculously busy schedule, you agreed to drop everything to come on an adventure with me. I love that you aren’t afraid to be honest, even when that vulnerability hurts you. You are brave, smart,and beautiful and I know I need to spend the rest of my life trying to deserve you.”
Anica cried quietly as I spoke, and I continued to rub soft circles onto the backs of her hands with my thumbs.
“I spent my whole life convinced love didn’t exist, until I met you. You didn’t just plan my wedding, Anica. You taught me what love actually is. Not a fantasy or a delusion, but a choice. A daily, hourly, minute-by-minute choice to put someone else’s happiness in front of your own. To be vulnerable when every instinct screams for self-protection. To stand at an altar, terrified and hopeful, because the alternative, a life without you, is unthinkable.
“I can’t promise to never be an idiot again,” I admitted. “In fact, I can promise I will absolutely be an idiot on probably a weekly basis.” Both of us chuckled. “And I can’t promise I won’t occasionally revert to old habits or say the wrong thing at the wrong time. But I can promise to choose you, every day, for the rest of my life. Only you. To love you in action, not just in words. To be worthy of the trust you’re placing in me by standing here today.”
I reached up to brush away a tear that had escaped down her cheek.
“So on this day, our wedding day—the one you planned impeccably despite my constant meddling—I promise you this: I will never take for granted the miracle of finding you. I promise to be the kind of partner who deserves your trust and your heart. I promise that on our fiftieth anniversary, I’ll still be looking at you the way I am right now, like you’re the most extraordinary person I’ve ever met. Because you are, darling.” I tilted my head, grinning. “And I solemnly swear to arrive on time to every important event for the rest of our lives; a vow that might be harder for me to keep than ‘till death do us part,’ but one I makewith complete sincerity. Because you are absolutely worth being punctual for.”
I paused, taking a deep breath before I spoke next. “With all that being said, there’s something I didn’t do.” I let go of her hands and dropped to one knee. “I am so sorry for hurting, Anica. I hope you can forgive me.”
She nodded. “I do forgive you, but I thought that was kind of obvious.” Anita gestured first to her dress, then to the rest of the venue. “I’m here, after all.”
“Right. Good. Great. It still needed to be said though. And in that case…” I glanced at Chance, who nodded and pulled out a small blue velvet box. Her face transformed from surprise to more tears to a slightly crazy looking grin. “Anica Marcel, will you marry me? Today. Like, right now?”
