“I hate you,” I mutter as Taylor turns back to me, already pulling a sparkly gem from a sheet full of them.
“Too bad for you, since you’re about to be stuck with me forever,” Damon says, blowing me a kiss.
It’s just the four of us in here right now, and it’s nice to have a break from all the guests. It hasn’t really gotten a whole lot less awkward interacting when my dad and D’s parents are all together, though both sides have tried to place nicely for our sake. Knowing my dad repeatedly fucked Taylor and still has feelings for him is a pretty big elephant in the room.
“Was that supposed to be a threat?” I ask my fiancé. “Because it wasn’t. I’m about to take your last name, and I’m never giving it back, so the joke’s on you.”
Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. I knew we couldn’t live in this peaceful bliss forever. Damon has four siblings after all, plus a brother-in-law, a niece, and his parents. There’s also my dad, and to our delight, Storm and Owen are here, as well as their friend Sawyer.
The wedding is small and intimate, just like we wanted, but of course, everyone wants a private word with one of us at some point.
I assume someone is coming to take Damon away again when the door cracks open an inch, and I hear my father’s voice.
“Um, Li, are you in there?”
“Oh, uh, yeah, Dad.”
He doesn’t peer into the room. Perhaps he knows Taylor and Knox are in here, or maybe he just thinks Damon and I are naked.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asks through the door.
“Sure.” I stand from the chair my ass has been in for the last forty minutes while Tay did my makeup, and I make my way to the door.
When I step into the hallway, my dad startles before breaking out into a smile.
“Taylor?” he asks.
“Taylor,” I confirm.
“Is he in there?” My dad glances at the door. Damon and I have tried to do a decent job of keeping them apart. A year is both a long time and the blink of an eye when you’re talking about matters of the heart. My dad created some pretty significant trauma in Taylor, and he’s also still dealing with the grief of losing him.
“I just want you to know how happy I am for you. I’m so glad to have you back, and I wish you and Damon a lifetime of happiness, son.”
Getting choked up, I crack a joke to diffuse the tension, because that’s what I do.
“Dad, don’t make me cry, my mascara will run.”
He laughs and sniffles at the same time. “Talk about words I never thought I’d hear come out of your mouth.”
“There have been a lot of those recently.” I grin, stepping back from the embrace he pulled me into. “Thanks for coming, Dad. I know this isn’t easy for you.”
“Anything for you, Li. I know your mom would be so proud of you, too.” At the mention of my mom, I take a deep breath, and my dad takes the hint. “Okay, enough emotions. I’ll see you out there.”
Out there.
At mywedding.
ToDamon.
I madeit through the vows…barely, but Damon lost it the second I grabbed his hand and laced our fingers together. He clung to me in front of our families so tightly, unable to control his breathing, it took Taylor coming to where we were standing and whispering, “Pull it together, and marry this man, or we’re never going to get the part where we can drink.”
It was enough to make Damon take his face out of my neck and stutter through his vows.
Now, thankfully, we’ve made it to Meltdown. Our party is so small, there wasn’t a need to rent the whole place, and I like the vibe of the other skiers being here.
My new ring feels heavy and unyielding on my finger. I’m embracing its weight like a comfort blanket, and I love the way the bar lights make the silver shine.
Damon is currently being embraced by his siblings, and I’m sipping on a beer, just taking it all in. I’ve been waiting to freak out, feel like I’m too young for this, have some sense of dread overforever, but I feel nothing except peace. This is exactly where I’m supposed to be and who I’m supposed to be with.
