She’s strong—kind.Fierce in a way people don’t always notice right away.
And when she looks at me with those big blue eyes like I’m the answer instead of the problem?
Hell.I’m done for.
I was born to love this woman.
I know that with a certainty that settles deep in my bones.
She is everything good and steady and beautiful in my world now.
And I swear to God, I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure she never doubts it.
“You good, Dad,” Maddox asks from his seat up front, eyebrows disappearing into his hairline.
“Yeah, why?”
“Might try smiling.You look like you’re waiting for your own executioner,” he says with a laugh.
Little shit.
I don’t answer him because the air shifts.
It’s subtle at first.
A ripple through the crowd.
Conversations quieting.
Chairs creaking softly as people turn.
And then—I swear I smell something.Honey.Wildflowers.
I look up.
And there she is.
Standing at the start of the aisle.
My breath leaves my lungs all at once.
Kelly.
She looks like a goddamn vision.
That vintage gown we picked out together drapes over her curves like it was made for her—and hell, maybe it was.The silk is more ivory than white, soft, and glowing in the afternoon light, with delicate lace tracing along the neckline and sleeves.
Those tiny pearl buttons trail down her body, each one making me think about the slow, patient process of undoing them later tonight.
Her honey-colored hair falls in soft waves around her shoulders.
And those eyes—those big baby blue eyes I can’t get enough of—they lock onto mine.
Everything else fades.
The mountains.
The pond.
