Page 45 of My Girl to Take

“I will,” I murmur anyway.

His expression softens. Then he steps back.

She’s here. I can’t look away. My hand tightens around hers instinctively. My thumb brushes lightly against her skin as if I need to confirm she’s real, that this is actually happening.

“You look…” I start, then stop, because there aren’t enough words for this, “…breathtaking.”

She smiles softly. “I know.”

I huff out a quiet breath, shaking my head slightly. “Yeah,” I admit. “You do.”

The ceremony begins, the officiant speaking words I barely register, because I’m still caught somewhere between disbelief and certainty. Between the memory of where we started and the reality of where we are now.

When it’s time for vows, I don’t hesitate.

“I wasn’t looking for you,” I say, my voice steady but lower than usual, meant only for her even though everyone can hear it. “I wasn’t planning for this. But the moment you walked back into my life, everything changed. I fought it at first. I tried to keep things the way they were. Simple.”

A faint smile touches her lips.

“I failed,” I continue. “Because you’re not one to fit into a plan. You rewrite it completely, and I don’t want a version of my life that doesn’t have you in it.”

Her eyes glisten slightly.

“I choose you,” I finish. “Every time. Every version. Every future.”

Her fingers tighten around mine. And when she speaks, her voice is softer, but no less steady.

“I spent so long wanting something I wasn’t sure I would ever have,” she says. “A family. A place where I belong. I didn’t realize I had found it until you. Until us. Until everything fell apart, and we chose to rebuild it anyway.”

My chest tightens.

“You are my home,” she adds quietly. “And I will choose you too. Every time.”

That’s it. Nothing else matters after that.

When we’re pronounced husband and wife, I don’t wait.

I pull her closer and kiss her, and it’s everything. Every moment we’ve had, every fight, every touch, every promise wrapped into one. The room fades into applause that feels distant compared to what’s happening right here, right now.

She’s mine. And I’m hers.

And it feels exactly right.

⁎⁎⁎

Kiera

The quiet after everything feels almost surreal.

The ceremony. The reception. The laughter. The endless stream of congratulations and warm embraces. All of it fades into something softer, more intimate as the door to the suite closes behind us, sealing us into a space that finally feels like ours.

Our first night as husband and wife.

The thought sends a soft wave of warmth through me, settling deep in my chest as I turn slowly and take in the room. The familiar comfort of Garth’s home now layered with something new, something that belongs to us just as much as it does to him.

I smile faintly, my fingers brushing lightly against the fabric of my dress as I finally let myself breathe. We decided to stay in the huge mansion with Garth. For him. For us. For the family we’ve built.

“You’re quiet,” Logan says behind me, his voice low.