Like me, she’s wearing clothes that belonged to someone else. But it fits her perfectly in all the ways that matter.
Her hair is loosely pinned up, threaded with small white flowers. She carries a bundle of greenery and blooms in her hands.
She’s a beautiful bride.
My bride.
I step forward to meet her beneath the arch, and somewhere in the space between us, I forget how to breathe.
I’ve looked at Charlotte Gallagher more times than I can count. Watched her grow up out here. Watched her laugh and cry and survive. None of it prepared me for this.
I stop beneath the arch as she reaches me, closing the last of the distance between us.
“Hi,” she says softly.
“Hi.”
She smiles, and something in my chest loosens.
“Do you want me to go first?”
Charlotte nods once, her flowers clutched loosely in front of her.
I take a breath, trying to remember how weddings are supposed to sound. We only have pieces of it, fragments from ceremonies we sat through when we were kids. Half-remembered words from another life.
“I, uh…” A nervous laugh slips out of me. “I take you, Charlotte, to be my wife.”
Her mouth curves upward at that.
I keep my eyes on hers.
“To love you. Take care of you. Stay with you.” I shake my head a little. “I don’t remember how the rest goes, so I’m just going to say my own.”
A soft laugh escapes her.
“I choose you. Not because there’s no one else. Because there isn’t anyone else I want.”
The wind shifts around us, lifting the loose blond strands around her face and brushing them across her cheeks.
“I’ll always protect you. I’ll stand between you and anything that tries to hurt you.”
My throat tightens, and I pause, making sure I say the next part exactly the way it feels inside.
“And I will never leave your side, no matter where we are. Here on this island or back in the real world. It doesn’t matter. I’ll always stay with you.”
She goes still. “That was beautiful.”
She draws in a steady breath, her flowers trembling slightly in her hands. Her eyes stay locked on mine.
“I take you, Dane, to be my husband. For better or worse.” A small smile touches her mouth. “I think we already got the worse part.”
I nod, a quiet laugh leaving me at the same time.
“To love you. Stay with you. Take care of you.”
Her breath catches slightly before she continues.
“I choose you. Not because you’re my only choice. Because you’re the one I want. Even when I tried not to, I still kept choosing you.”
