The door closes behind us, muting some of the bar noise, and the air outside is cool against my flushed skin. The city stretches out beyond the fence, lights scattered across the skyline like constellations, steady and distant. For a moment, we just stand there together, breathing, letting the quiet settle after everything the night has held.
I lift my hand slowly, turning it so the ring catches the light from the patio fixtures. I study it like I’m trying to memorize every detail—the way it sits perfectly against my finger, the way it feels like it’s always belonged there. My chest tightens with a sudden, unexpected rush of emotion.
I look up at Aiden. “So,” I say, my voice soft but steady, “when do you want to get married?”
He blinks, then breaks into a grin so wide it makes me laugh despite myself. “Bold of you to assume I’m ready for that conversation tonight.”
I nudge his side gently. “I’m serious.”
He slips an arm around my waist and pulls me closer, his thumb brushing slow, reassuring circles at my hip. “How about we start with moving in together officially? Mason’s already picked out his room in my place.”
“Our place,” I correct automatically. “It’s our place now.”
His smile softens at that. “Yeah,” he says quietly. “It is.”
I rise up onto my toes and kiss him, slow and lingering. Then the sky lights up.
For a split second, I think it’s my imagination, my emotions running away with me again. But then there’s a sharp crack, followed by a burst of color above the city, brilliant and sudden. Another follows, and another, fireworks blooming over Columbus in cascading reds and golds.
I pull back, staring. “Are you kidding me?”
Aiden laughs softly, the sound warm against my ear. “Garrett insisted. He said if we were doing this, we were doing it all the way.”
I shake my head, laughing through fresh tears as the sky continues to explode in light above us. I lean into Aiden, his arm firm and steady around me, Mason’s laughter echoing faintly from inside the bar where Carlie is undoubtedly letting him have way too much sugar this late at night.
As the fireworks fade and smoke drifts lazily across the skyline, I rest my forehead against Aiden’s chest and let myself believe, fully and without reservation, that this life—this family, this love, this second chance—is not waiting to be taken away.
It’s here.
And it’s ours.
AIDEN
Six Months Later…
The morning of our wedding arrives quietly, the way the best days always seem to.
I wake before the sun crests the trees, the lake still wrapped in a thin veil of mist that drifts lazily across the water. The cabin is hushed except for the soft creak of wood settling and the distant call of birds just starting to stir. For a moment, I lie there and let it wash over me—the smell of pine through the open window, the cool air against my skin, the strange, steady calm sitting in my chest.
This place has always held weight for me.
Six years ago, I stood on this same ground and made the worst decision of my life. I told myself it was selfless. Responsible. Protective. I convinced myself that walking away from Harper here was the right thing to do, that love was something dangerous I needed to contain before it destroyed us both.
Today, I’m here to undo that lie completely.
We slept here last night, and now, my face is buried in her hair, breathing her in. My arm lays over her waist, and she’s tucked back into me. Doesn’t matter how we start the night; we always end up spooning by morning.
And this morning, my body has only one thought. I blame her exquisite ass for that—I’ve been hard and wedged there since I woke up.
I nuzzle into her hair deeper to find the back of her sugar-sweet neck and take a taste. It doesn’t wake her. I do the same thing to that nook where her neck meets her shoulder. Still nothing.
My hand glides from in front of her to her hip, massaging her there. Finally, a faint moan. But she’s still asleep. So, I gently rock her body, using my cock to stroke her ass cheeks. She sighs. No words, though.
I whisper, “Baby? You awake?”
Nothing.
I have two options. I can wake her up for fun or let her sleep. We were up late last night at the rehearsal dinner. She deserves sleep.
