Maureen gasps, hand flying to her chest. “What?!”
Addison squeals. Ella’s jaw drops. Jesse just grins and shifts Cora to his other arm.
“You serious?” Mason says.
I nod. “Yeah. I proposed Christmas morning, but we didn’t want to take away from Megan being there for the first time and then Jesse and Ella’s announcement.”
Addison’s eyes widen. “You proposed three days ago and didn’t tell anyone?!” she practically shouts, drawing more than a few glances from people trickling out of the church.
Wesley reaches for her, hand settling on her back, laughing. “Addie…lower your voice, babe.”
Karissa cracks up and holds out her hand, flashing the ring. The diamond catches the morning sun, and everyone steps closer to see. A collective gasp echoes from the girls.
“Holy crap, Cody,” Ella says.
I smirk. “I know.”
Dad slaps a hand on my shoulder. “Congrats, Son.”
Mom’s crying now. “This is so exciting. I’m so happy for you guys.”
I take a breath, letting it all sink in, before we drag everyone back inside.
The sanctuary’s quiet now. It’s just us, our family on the front pew, and Pastor Charlie beside us.
Karissa’s hands aren’t shaky. She’s calm, just like me. She looks gorgeous, and I think her new last name is going to suit her incredibly well when we’re done.
I know getting married isn’t gonna fix everything. It’s not some magic switch that makes life easier or keeps the hard days from happening. We’re still gonna argue, still have moments where we don’t see eye to eye, especially as I step into the role of being a stepdad to a little girl who isn’t mine, though I will always love her like she is.
They can trust me to take care of them. To be someone they can lean on no matter what.
I mean the vows when I speak them. And when Karissa repeats hers back, my eyes glaze just slightly. When I look at her, everything settles in my chest. I’ve never felt more stable in my life.
When we kiss, I take my time. I don’t rush it. She was anxious about kissing in front of everyone, but with the sound of people clapping and my mom crying, I’m hoping those nerves of hers washed away the second my lips touched hers.
* * *
It’s strange that there’s no baby noises, no toys, no Elmo playingin the background.
We dropped Emma off with Mom and Dad for the night, and I just got back from taking over a few things she’ll need.
My heart rate quickens as I head into our bedroom and find Karissa standing in front of the dresser, looking at herself in the mirror. She’s still in the same cream-colored dress she wore to church and then our ceremony. Simple. Soft. Her.
She looks beautiful.
It doesn’t take a genius to tell she’s nervous. I am too. But when our eyes meet in the mirror, she gives me this quiet, knowing smile. Her gaze trails down my body quickly before flicking back up, and I catch myself doing the same.
I laugh under my breath and walk in farther, closing the bedroom door behind me slowly, leaving it cracked just an inch or two.
That’s when the thoughts really start, the nerves in my gut hitting hard.
“I wanna say something,” I say.
“Okay.” She faces me.
“Um, so, your expectations—”
“Cody, I don’t have expectations.”
