“Lizzy, without the influence of Jose Cuervo, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you stand beside me, not just as my wife on paper, but as the woman God intended for me? I don’t want our wedding day to be a blurry mistake. I want us to have a day worth remembering.
Her chest tightened. “You want another wedding ceremony?” she asked softly.
“Yes, I want a day we treasure, a day we look back on with joy—a day where we vow before God and the people who love us that we will walk this life together, hand-in-hand, following His guidance.” He paused, his voice dipping lower. “I don’t want us to do this because we have to, or out of embarrassment. I want it because I want you to know, fully sober, I choose you. Every day. For the rest of my life.”
Beth closed her eyes for a beat.
“Will you walk this life with me?” he asked. “Push me closer to God when I need it? Trust that He has a plan for us—one bigger than either of us imagined?”
She opened her eyes again, meeting his gaze, letting his words settle into the broken parts of her.
“Please say yes, because Lizzy…” He grinned, shaking his head slightly. “I have never wanted a life like that with anyone more than I want it with you.”
The sincerity in his voice wrapped around her, stealing her breath more effectively than any flirtatious act ever could.
She pressed a hand to her chest, trying to steady the chaos of her heartbeat. “A real marriage?”
Bryce nodded, a soft smile curving his lips.
“A real marriage.”
“And a real honeymoon.”
At his words, a startled laugh escaped her mouth, warmth flooding her cheeks.
Bryce grinned, “I’m still waiting for an answer.”
Beth’s lips parted, but the weight of everything made it hard to speak.
Then, finally—
“Yes.”
The word came out breathless, stunned. Then again, more certain: “Yes, of course, I will marry you… again. Sober.”
But even as she said it, a flicker of hesitation remained.
She bit her lip, fingers tightening in his. “Bryce, we’re still getting to know each other,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “I—I’m not at a point yet where I can tell you I love you.”
Saying it felt wrong—too soon, too much.
She hesitated, then added, “I don’t remember giving you my… other first, so saying I love you for the first time feels too special to say just to say it because I think I ‘should’.”
For the first time since she’d met him, Bryce didn’t tease. Didn’t deflect with charm or a wink.
Instead, he lifted her hand again, pressing another slow, lingering kiss to her fingers.
“I don’t want you to say it until you’re ready,” he said softly, his voice steady, patient. “But you should know… I have no problem saying it because I’ve been falling in love with you since the first time we did rounds together. I don’t plan on stopping. I look forward to earning those words and giving you a reason to say them.”
Beth’s nerves settled.
He wasn’t asking her to match his feelings. He wasn’t pushing her into something she wasn’t ready for.
He was just… cherishing her.
Sliding the ring onto her finger, Bryce stood and studied her.
Soft, teasing, but still gentle, he asked for permission to kiss her.
