“Sam Joseph Stone, I never planned for you. I wasn’t looking for forever. I was just looking to survive.” She smiles, a little crooked, a little teary. “But then you showed up. And suddenly, surviving wasn’t enough. I wanted everything. With you.”
A tear slips down her cheek, and I’m dying not to wipe it.
“You see me. Not the version of me people want, or expect, but me. Messy, moody, madly in love. And you never asked me to be anything else.” Her hand finds my chest. “You let me belong. And more than that. You made me feel safe in it.”
She lets out a breath that sounds like a laugh and a sob at once. “I promise to never take that for granted. I’ll argue with you when it matters. I’ll fight for us when it counts. I’llmake you soup when you’re sick and kiss you like I mean it every single day. Even when we’re old. Even when you snore.”
I grin through the ache in my chest.
“And I promise that no matter how hard life gets, no matter how loud the world gets I will always come back to you. You and me and this tiny wild thing we’ve made,” she rests her hand on her belly, “we’re yours. Always.”
The officiant pauses to let us both breathe but we don’t. We just look at each other, like the whole world shrank down to a pair of promises and two people brave enough to keep them.
The officiant’s voice is steady, but my heart’s hammering so loud I barely hear anything but the final line.
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
A beat. A heartbeat.
“You may kiss your bride.”
I don’t hesitate.
My hands are already on her waist, pulling her close as she laughs through tears. And then my mouth is on hers.
It’s not polite. It’s not practiced. It’s not even remotely appropriate for the guest list we’ve got watching.
But it’sus.
Hot, full of relief and promise and the kind of love that doesn’t need words anymore. Her hands fist in my jacket, pulling me closer as if we weren’t already welded together. She tastes like forever, and I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of her.
The crowd cheers, but it’s background noise. Distant and soft, like the world has been turned down so we can stay here just a second longer, lost in this moment.
When we finally break apart, we’re both breathless, flushed, and grinning like fools.
“Hi, husband,” she whispers.
I brush my thumb along her cheekbone. “Hey there, wife.”
Then I kiss her again because once? Once is never enough.
EPILOGUE 2
LIAM
The reception is in full swing. Loud music. Laughter even louder. But all I can hear is the pounding in my skull and the hollow echo in my chest.
And me? I’m fucking miserable.
Phern plops into the empty chair beside me, cheeks flushed from dancing, a half-eaten cupcake in one hand and curiosity in her eyes. “Look how happy they are.”
I follow her gaze, and yeah, it’s a sight. Sam and Charlie are on the dance floor, lost in each other like the rest of us don’t exist. The way he looks at her, like she hung the stars. And the way she clings to him, face lit up like he’s her whole damn world?
It guts me.
I take a long swig of beer, but it’s not strong enough. I need something darker. Meaner. Something that burns.
Phern nudges me, catching the shift in my expression. “Everything okay?” she asks, more careful now. “I noticed Olive didn’t come tonight.”
