“Bradley David Parker.” I take a shaky breath and look into his eyes. The bright blue warmth gives me strength to push past the wobble in my voice. “I never thought this moment would come.”
My mouth feels dry, but I’m not afraid. Nervous, yes, with a million pairs of eyes on us for this televised ceremony. But fear hasn’t touched me since that day in Dante’s cabin. I take another breath and keep going.
“My whole life, I thought I was destined for one thing,” I continue. “It wasn’t until we met that I discovered a whole realm of love and wonder and happiness that I never knew existed. I wanted that so badly. I wanted you.”
There’s a soft titter from the audience. Possibly puritanical members of the royal family, or maybe my Bracelyn brothers snickering on the opposite side of the aisle. I don’t care that I’m revealing such raw emotion. That’s sort of the point.
Squeezing Bradley’s hands, I keep going. “Before I met you, I never knew what it was to be the best version of myself. To discover who I want to be, and then turn around to find the man who loves me not just for who I am, but for who I might become. You make me the very best version of myself. Every day, you make me better, braver, kinder. For all of my days, I vow to support, cherish, and love you the same way you’ve loved me.”
I’m blinking hard now, but I got through it. It helps that we’ve done this once before, though our American ceremony was different. These vows, they’re just for the wedding here in my homeland.
Bradley smiles, making sure I’m done before he starts his own vows. “Lady Isabella Maria Francesca Blankenship. You are my world.” His smile broadens, and that’s when I realize he’s just spoken in Dovlanese. His accent isn’t perfect, but the words are clear as day.
A fierce wave of love nearly takes out my knees, but he holds my hands tighter. I love him more in that moment than I ever thought possible. This man, this wonderful man so intent on blending our lives, our cultures together.
“Izzy,” he continues. “You are the love of my life. From the day I met you, there’s never been any question of that. The question was merely how we’d get here, to this place, right now. How we’d find ourselves at the front of a church like this, pledging our lives together.”
He smiles and takes a deep breath. He’s nervous, too, and I grip his hands tighter and offer an encouraging smile.
Bradley grins back and keeps going. “The thing I’ve learned is that it’s a team effort. Sometimes, you’ll be the stronger one, and sometimes I will. Sometimes we’ll both be strong together, and sometimes we’ll both be weak. But the goal, the point, the beauty in all this, is that we’ll be together.” His dimples flash as he threads his fingers through mine. “I vow to always put your needs first, knowing if we both do that, we’ll thrive as a team.”
I hear my mother sniffling in the front row, and I’m fighting back tears of my own. Happy tears, the happiest I’ve ever felt.
Bradley gives me a smile with a hint of mischief and takes a step closer. Leaning in so his lips brush my ear, he lowers his voice and shifts to English. “I love you, Izzy. And I vow to love, honor, and get the hell out of your way anytime you need that.”
I laugh and pull him in for an embrace. I don’t care that the minister hasn’t told us to, or that it’s not the point in the ceremony for kissing. As I wrap my arms around him, it feels right and so utterly perfect.
The crowd erupts into applause, which is also not Dovlanese custom. We’re making our own rules now, and I’ve never felt more alive.
As Bradley’s lips brush mine, he looks into my eyes. “How’d we do?”
“Fantastic,” I breathe. “Outstanding.”
“We’re off to a good start.”
I laugh and press my lips to his, our fingers still threaded together. “I love you,” I tell him when I break the kiss. “So much.”
“My wife.” His hand slips into the small of my back as he draws back and holds my gaze with his. “Let’s grow old disgracefully together.”
I laugh and pull him to me again. “Plan on it.”
***
Thank you, dear reader, for following the Ponderosa Resort series through to its conclusion (for now). As you might have guessed, you’ll be seeing Dante again in a new series launching in 2021 featuring an assortment of hired guns who swap the assassin scene for life the suburbs. Subscribe to my newsletter for an exclusive scoop on release dates and details.
If you’ve already read all 9 stories in the Ponderosa world, how about giving my new Juniper Ridge rom-com series a try? Here’s an exclusive sneak peek at the first chapter in book #1, Show Time…
Your exclusive sneak peek at Show Time
CONFESSIONAL 32.5
Judson, Dean (CEO: Juniper Ridge)
What? No, of course I’m not fucking camera shy. Jesus, Lauren. I grew up with the damn things shoved in my face just like you. Production value? [unintelligible muttering] Can’t I just run the business side of—yeah, I know. All in this together, blah blah. I still don’t see why I have to sit here like a trained parrot and—[heavy sigh] Fine. But only for the business. It’s not because you’re doing the sad little sister face. Or because I love you.
Oh, bite me.
I glance at the clock in my office, trying to decide if I have enough time to grab coffee. In my old life, I had an assistant who’d set a hot mug in front of me before I even thought the word coffee.
But my old life was full of dirty money and blinding lights and the constant stench of desperation, so getting my own coffee is a small price to pay.
Six minutes. That’s how long I have until the candidate for chief financial officer makes her appearance. How long does it take to make coffee, anyway?
“Here are the notes for the police officers’ screen tests.” My sister, Mari, strides in with a folder in her hands and a pencil speared through her lopsided bun. “Lauren emailed you the video files. I think the psych eval on—”
“Doesn’t this seem weird to you?” I fold my hands on my desk as Mari stops moving for once and looks at me. “I mean, we’re hiring professionals based on how well they’ll perform on camera.”
Mari sighs and whacks the folder down in front of me a lot harder than necessary. “We’re making a reality show, not staffing the Oval Office. And we’re hiring them for specific skills they bring to the community.” She gives me the look over the rim of her glasses. “Are we going to keep having this conversation? Because if we are, I’ll ask Lauren to tape my response and you can hit play by yourself.”
“That sounds about right.” Our brother, Gabe, ambles through the door grinning. “I only caught the end of that, but if we’re suggesting Dean spends his days in here buffing the banana, we should rethink letting him have the big office.”
“Get out.” I glance over my brother’s shoulder at the clock. “I’ve got five minutes until my next interview gets here.”
“She’s already here.” Gabe drops into one of my guest chairs, in no hurry to get gone. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. She’s been out in the waiting room for ten minutes.”