“Hi,” she whispers, her eyes shining with love.
It’s just us. Nothing matters now but this moment.
“You look incredible,” I say, not caring at all I sound like I’ve swallowed a flaming knife.
“You clean up darn well yourself, big guy.”
Marshall, clears his throat with barely suppressed amusement. “If you two are done being adorable, we have a wedding to conduct.”
Soft laughter ripples through the room.
“We are gathered here on Christmas Eve,” Marshall begins, his words rising over the crackles of the fire. “To celebrate. You’re surrounded by the people who love you most, the people who conspired to hook you up, who are here to witness your marriage.”
So it’s admitted on the record. Before now, the whole lot of them were evasive.
Sneaky bunch.
Marshall pauses, looking over at me. “I’ve known this man for over a decade now. Served beside him in combat. Seen him at his worst and his best. And I can tell you without hesitation that I have never seen him as alive as he is when he's with Liberty.”
Camille makes a sound and Beast loops his arm around her. Rosalie lost the battle, her tears as streaking down her face, despite her smile.
I’m swallowing every few seconds.
He says, “Liberty came into our lives carrying her own battles, her own scars. But she also brought light. A reminder that strength doesn't always look like muscles and tactical training—sometimes it looks like choosing to let someone in again after trust has been broken. Choosing to love again after love has hurt you.”
I squeeze Liberty's hands. Her fingers are trembling, but she’s steady. Marshall couldn’t have said it any more perfectly.
“Spencer, Liberty wanted to let you speak first.”
I nod, as I try to find words adequate for what I'm feeling. I practiced obsessively, but now everything feels too insignificant. So I come from the heart.
“Liberty, you walked into my life, a ray of sunshine in the darkest of storms. I had lost my way, but you showed up and gave me something I didn’t dare dream I could have.”
Her eyes never leave mine, tears building on her lashes, and I pause when a tremor runs through my chest.
“I should have ignored your brother’s warnings the first time I met you, because that day it felt like I finally wanted to be alive. I owe everyone who conspired for us to be alone. I got the best Christmas present ever.You. And I couldn’t stay away, even with death threats.”
I brush my thumb over her knuckles. “Thank you for trusting me.”
Her tears spill over, and I catch them with my thumbs. Cradling her face. “You are the world to me.”
My voice cracks on the last words, but I push through.
“I swear to you, I will spend the rest of my life making sure you know how precious you are. How loved. How safe you'll always be in my hands, in my heart, in our home.”
Rosalie is openly crying now. Justice has abandoned his post and has her in his arms like the good man he is. Like the husband I vow to be.
“Liberty,” Marshall says gently. “Your turn, let’s see if you can make him cry.”
She takes a shaky breath, her fingers tightening on mine now that I’m holding her hands again. “Spencer Saint McCallister, you terrified me at first.”
This is something she’s never shared before, it stalls my breath to think I scared her.
But she soothes my panic when she says, “Not because I thought you'd hurt me. I knew from the beginning you never would. You terrified me because wanting you felt dangerous. Like stepping off a cliff without knowing if there'd be anything to catch me, but knowing it would be the ride of a lifetime.”
I stroke my thumb over her hand, silently promising I'll always be there to catch her. I will. That’s my vow.
“I'd spent years protecting myself,” she adds quietly. “Building walls so high and thick that nothing could get through to hurt me again. Then you showed up and just... waited. Patient and steady and so careful with me that I wanted to take the risk.”
