I look to Blade, who shrugs.
“Okay, um…I’m not sure how to carry it. I should have asked for pockets.”
“I’ve got you covered,” King says, pulling out what looks to be a small leather harness of some kind. “May I?”
I look at Blade again before I nod. Of course, I never expected the man to disappear under my dress or for his hand to wrap around my thigh while he straps the leather to me and sheaths the blade.
“I’m pretty sure in some cultures they consider this foreplay.” I gulp.
He slips out from under my dress with a grin on his face. “As gorgeous as you are, you’re moonlight, and I’m all about Sunshine.”
“King, the poet, ladies and gentlemen,” Blade mutters.
Another knock on the door has me turning, just as Theo pokes his head in. He takes me in and gulps. “Jesus, you look like a princess.”
“What are you doing here?” I whisper, feeling a tear slip down my cheek.
“I’m your something new.” He smiles, lighting up the whole room as he takes my free arm and kisses my cheek. I smile right back, feeling his love wrap around me.
“I guess that makes me your something old,” Blade grumbles, making me crack up with laughter.
“What does that make King then?” Theo asks.
The man himself looks at us before answering deadpan, “I’m the fucking flower girl.”
And a flower girl he was indeed. I have never seen so many stunned men in my life as I did walking down the aisle with King in front of me, tossing rose petals to the ground.
For Kruger, though, it was like everyone else in the room disappeared. His eyes drank me in, moving over my dress as I walked toward him with Theo on one arm and Blade on the other.
I saw the exact moment he realized that my dress was actually made up of the letters he wrote to me and every worry I had faded away at his look of astonishment.
I watch a tear roll down his cheek as he struggles to hold back his emotions, which in turn has me tearing up again.
Theo and Blade both kiss my cheeks before handing me over to Kruger.
“You wrapped yourself in my words.”
I cup his face as he wraps his arm around my waist and dips me.
“I’ve been wearing them since I read that first letter. They became my armor, and you became my shield.”
He growls, kissing me hard, like I’m every single one of his dreams come true.
“You’re supposed to wait until the priest tells you to kiss her,” Theo tells him, exasperation clear as everyone around us laughs.
“Fuck that, I’ll kiss my girl any damn time I please.”
“Well, if you let the priest do his job,” I tease, “you won’t be kissing your girl, you’ll be kissing your wife. And your wife wants to watch a video with you, one she found on her phone, featuring her soon-to-be husband.”
He smirks as he pulls me up and turns us both to face the amused-looking priest.
“So what are you waiting for?”
Two weeks later, we trade the church for the courthouse, and my nerves are shot to hell once more. The judge, who was thankfully not the same one who sent Theo back to his parents, sits on his throne reviewing the file that will determine all our fates. The silence makes me fidget, so to keep myself distracted, I look around the room. The benches behind us are filled with our Raven Souls family, and the gantry above us is full of friends. I spot Don and Carl, and even John and Marie—who closed the ice cream parlor to be here. I feel so overwhelmed by the love and support everyone has shown us that I’ve done nothing but cry on and off all damn day.
“Theo Hains? Can you approach the bench, please?” The judge asks. Theo looks at me, his face pale.
I cup his jaw and smile. It’s probably a little shaky, but it doesn’t mean it’s any less real. “You’ve got this.”
