Music hummed through the room, warm and low, laughter rising and falling in soft waves as people moved between tables, glasses catching the light. Candle flames flickered against crystaland gold, turning everything hazy and unreal, like the whole night was wrapped in a gentle glow.
And in the middle of it all, Ethan and I were sitting shoulder to shoulder, still not quite believing this was real. There was a strange, floating feeling under my skin, like the ground hadn’t caught up with us yet.
Married. Officially and irrevocably.
We didn’t need to cling to each other to feel it, but somehow we kept finding small ways to stay connected anyway. Our knees brushing when one of us shifted. Hands resting on thighs. Fingers reaching without really thinking about it.
Every now and then, he glanced at me, eyes soft and a little dazed, like he was still trying to process what had just happened. I felt the same. A year of waiting, wanting, building toward this moment—and now here we were, sitting in a room full of people who knew. Who could see us. Who were celebrating us.
It was overwhelming in the best way.
“You know,” Ethan said, pulling my attention back to him. “I know we agreed on this, but isn’t it weird seeing just us two in white?”
I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling as I leaned in closer. “Why would it be weird?”
Ethan gave me a look, humor dancing behind his eyes. “Come on, Ash. You and I aren’t exactly the paragons of purity, are we?”
A laugh broke out of me before I could stop it, and Ethan followed, folding into me for a second, his forehead brushing my shoulder.
I slid a hand along his jaw, tipping his face back toward mine. “We’re not in a religious ceremony, but no, I wouldn’t say we embody restraint.”
That shy smile spread across his face, lighting him up in a way that hit somewhere deep in my chest.
“The choice wasn’t ever meant to show that,” I said, my thumb gliding just under his cheekbone. “It was meant to make us stand out, because that, my darling, is what we have always done.”
His fingers curled tight in my jacket, pulling me in just enough to close the space between us. “We’remarried, Ash.”
Something in me gave at that—quiet, but final. I leaned into him, resting my forehead against his. “We are.”
“You and me,” he said, his voice edged with wonder.
“You and me, pet.”
He pulled me down to his lips, and the kiss felt bigger than any we’d shared before, like we were trying to ground ourselves in it, to hold on to something that was already ours.
There was the bright, familiar sound of a spoon tapping against a glass.
Once.
Twice.
I lingered there, close enough to feel his breath for a second longer before we turned to the front together, the room slowly quieting around us.
Henry was already standing, a drink in his hand, wearing a grin that meant he was very aware all eyes were on him, and he was enjoying it entirely too much. Oliver was beside him, amused, while Charlotte perched at the edge of her seat, eager, the kids clustered near her—all of them waiting.
Henry cleared his throat, lifting his glass. “Okay, okay,” he said, looking around the room. “If I could have everyone’s attention for just a minute…”
Ethan pressed a little closer to me, anticipation buzzing between us.
“Oh no,” he muttered. “Here we go.”
Everyone sat a little straighter. People angled in their seats to get a better view, and my heart started picking up the pace once more.
“As you all know, this is a very important night,” Henry said. “One most of us thought might never come. Not because these two don’t love each other—but because one of them has a tendency to run, and the other has a dangerous habit of blowing things wildly out of proportion.”
A ripple of laughter rolled through the room.
Ethan groaned beside me, shaking his head. I rested my palm on his neck, chuckling under my breath.
