"I know. I can't stop." He laughs, wipes his eyes with his free hand. "I've been crying since I saw you come around the corner."
"Vail warned me."
"Of course she did."
Magnus clears his throat. "If you two are done being adorable, we have a wedding to conduct."
Light laughter from the guests.
I squeeze Gunnar's hands.
He squeezes back.
And we begin.
The ceremony is everything I dreamed it would be.
Magnus walks us through the traditional vows first.
To have and to hold.
For better or worse.
For richer or poorer.
In sickness and in health.
Until death do us part.
Gunnar's voice shakes on every word.
Mine isn't much steadier.
But we get through it.
And then it's time for the personal vows.
The ones we wrote ourselves.
The ones that mean even more.
Gunnar goes first.
He takes a breath and looks at me.
Reallylooks at me.
"Ingrid. I've loved you for as long as I can remember. Before I knew what love was. Before I understood what it meant to want someone, need someone, choose someone. You were always there. In my mind. In my heart. In every dream I had about the future."
His voice cracks.
He pushes through.
"I waited for you. For years. Watching you from a distance. Wanting to be closer but not knowing how. And then—finally—you saw me. You really saw me. Not as a friend. Not as the kid who used to follow you around. But as the man I'd become. The man who would do anything for you."
Tears stream down my face.
I don't try to stop them.
