Luca’s eyes go wide. I crouch down. “That’s not true, buddy. The wedding will count no matter what.”
Stella shrugs. She grabs Luca’s hand and pulls him toward the aisle, giving him more instructions.
Evan appears beside me. “Sorry about her. She’s been going over her ‘wedding expert’ speech all week.”
The music starts, and then the officiant is talking about love and commitment and partnership. I try to pay attention, but mostly I just look at Axel.
The boat sways gently beneath us. The Boston skyline glitters in the distance. And Axel is watching me like I’m the only thing that matters.
He’s in a navy suit and has never looked so calm and sure and confident. I smile at him happily.
“The rings?” the officiant prompts.
Luca walks forward carefully, the pillow balanced on his palms like he’s carrying something sacred. Which I guess he is.
He doesn’t drop them.
Stella gives him a thumbs up from her seat.
Axel takes my ring and slides it onto my finger. His hands are steady. Mine aren’t.
“I, Axel James Knight, take you, Enzo Bellanti, to be my husband,” he says.
His voice cracks onhusband,and I see the tears in his eyes.
“I promise to love you when you’re grumpy and when you’re happy and when you’re doing that thing where you stare at the wall and I can’t tell which one it is.”
A few people laugh. I’m crying.
“I promise to be Luca’s dad with you. To build a family with you. To doLord of the Ringsmarathons even when you fall asleep during the Ent scenes.”
“They’re trees,” I whisper.
“They’reimportant,” he whispers back.
Then he clears his throat. “I promise you’ll always know you’re loved. Each day. Always.”
I can’t speak. I try to say my vows, but my throat is too tight.
Axel just waits patiently, like he’s always been, when it mattered.
Finally, I manage, “I spent ten years loving you in silence. I don’t want to be silent anymore.”
He squeezes my hands.
“I promise to talk to you,” I say. “Even when it’s hard.”
His eyes soften.
“I promise to be Luca’s papa. To be your husband. To be yours.”
“You already are,” he says.
I slide the ring onto his finger. “And now it’s official.”
The officiant pronounces us married, and Axel kisses me like we’re not on a boat surrounded by our entire hockey team.
The cheers are deafening.
