“Liam,” she whispers, voice shaking, heavy with need. “No more waiting.”
That’s all I need.
I cover her mouth with mine again, one hand curling around the back of her neck, the other sliding up her leg to grip her hip and hold her there, pressed against me. She moans into my mouth, hips lifting, and I swear my restraint snaps like a damn rope. Her back arches as I trail kisses down her jaw, her throat, between the soft swell of her breasts. She’s shaking beneath me. Her hands clutching at my shoulders, fingers digging into my shirt.
I murmur her name like a prayer against her skin and I free myself and brush against her opening.
“I love you,” I breathe. “Every part of you.”
Her eyes meet mine, glossy and blazing, and she pulls me down into her like she’s claiming me right back.
We move together slow and urgent, like a memory remade in fire. Her nails rake down my back, her legs wrap around me, pulling me closer, deeper, until we lose ourselves in the heat and rhythm and heartbeat between us. Her breaths turn to gasps. Her gasps turn to cries. And when she falls apart beneath me I follow her over the edge, breaking open in the best damn way.
Afterward, she lies sprawled across the chaise, hair tangled, dress half-shucked, veil on the floor. And she’s never looked more beautiful.
I tuck a hand behind her neck, leaning in our lips brush.
“I’d marry you a thousand times over,” I whisper.
She smiles, soft and sated. “Good. Because you’re already late to our first one.”
My eyes widen when I look at the clock.
“Shit.”
She grins. “Let’s get married, cowboy.”
I’m standing at the front of the church, heart pounding so loud it drowns out the music, the murmurs, the weight of every eye in the room.
But all I see is her. My bride. The mother of my children. And the love of my life.
She steps into the aisle, her arm tucked through her dad’s, veil floating gently behind her. Light filters through the stained glass and catches on her dress, and for a second, I forget how to breathe.
She’s glowing. Not just because of the soft lace and ivory satin, but because she’s her. Fierce. Forgiving. The best damn thing that’s ever happened to me. And she’s walking toward me.
Tears slip down my cheeks before I can stop them, hot and unapologetic.
Sam claps a hand on my shoulder from behind.
Will mutters, “Told you he’d cry.”
I barely register any of it. Because she’s close now. So close I can see the shimmer in her eyes. The slight quiver in her smile. The way she’s fighting not to cry too. Her dad places her hand in mine, and I curl my fingers around hers like they’ve always belonged there.
She leans in, her voice so soft only I can hear it.
“Hi,” she whispers, eyes shining.
My chest caves in. I smile through the tears and whisper back, “Hi.”
And just like that everything I’ve ever been waiting for… is here.
The ceremony is a blur, but then I take Olive’s hand into mine, my thumb brushing over her skin.
My voice I slow, like I’m holding everything back just enough to speak clearly.
“Olive. I didn’t know how to say it when I should’ve. I didn’t know how to be the man you deserved when you were right in front of me, loving me anyway. It took you leaving to finally open my damn eyes.” I smile. “I had to feel what life was like without you… to understand that it wasn’t a life at all. I love you, Olive. I loved you the moment we met in that bar. I loved you through every second I couldn’t say the words.”
My breath shudders. “And now? Now I wake up knowing I’m the luckiest man alive because you came back. I promise to love you with everything I have. To show up. Tokeepshowing up. I promise to never stop fighting for us. Because you’re my home, Olive. And I’m never going to take that for granted again.”
