Grandma Lexington takes her place behind the piano and begins to play. I suck in a deep breath, my eyes glued to the doors, willing them to open. As if there was someone there to answer my silent plea, they do, and in walks McKinley, my baby girl in one arm, her dad escorting her with the other. She is wearing a white, sleek, sleeveless wedding gown and she’s…breathtaking.
“Breathe, man,” Aaron whispers in my ear.
Realizing I’ve been holding my breath, I breathe deep. I hear Aaron chuckle beside me. I want to glare at him, but that would mean taking my eyes off McKinley, and well, that’s just not an option for me.
Taking her in, I commit every single second of this to memory and have to fight back the swell of emotion raring to break free.
She’s going to be my wife.
She stops before me, and her dad leans over, kissing her cheek. I watch as he also kisses Lexi before turning and taking his seat. McKinley steps forward and I reach for Lexi.
“I want her with us,” she whispers, although, with so few in attendance, everyone can hear no matter how soft you keep your voice.
“Absolutely,” I whisper hoarsely. What I really want to do is lean in and kiss the hell out of her for including my daughter. However, I assume it’s frowned upon to kiss the bride before I’m told to do so.
“Uh, guys, you’re kind of stealing my thunder,” Aaron jokes. Our parents laugh. “Now, dearly beloved…” Aaron rambles on, but I don’t hear what he’s saying. I’m too busy looking at my bride. Her hair is curled and off to the side, leaving one long, slender side of her neck bare and begging for my lips to kiss every inch of exposed skin. She’s not wearing much make-up, which I love. She doesn’t need it. The neckline of her dress, is low, but not indecent. Just enough to tease me with the temptation of the swell of her breasts.
Her lips are…moving. I blink to focus back on the moment. “Evan?” she says.
“Yeah, baby?” The endearment falls from my lips effortlessly. McKinley sucks in a breath and I realize my mistake. Our families can hear me. It takes me about two seconds to determine I don’t care. I don’t care if they know how I feel about her. I want our time together to be real. I will cherish her and every moment I get to have her as my wife. Our families need to get used to that.
McKinley tilts her head toward Aaron, and he’s smirking at me. “I think this is where you say I do, man,” he chuckles.
“I do,” I say, my voice strong, full of promise and conviction.
Chapter 44
McKinley
I always thought I would be nervous on my wedding day, full of jitters for the future. I was wrong. As I stand here, my hand in Evan’s and him holding Lexi, I have not one ounce of nerves. All I feel is…complete happiness.
“McKinley, do you take Evan to be your lawfully wedded husband?” Aaron repeats to me.
I tear my gaze from Aaron to look at Evan, his eyes are shining with an emotion I can’t name. Lexi decides it’s time to let out one of her shrieks, causing me to laugh as a lone tear flows down my cheek. Evan brings our combined hands to gently catch it with his thumb. “I do.” The words fall from my lips effortlessly. I have no regrets. I just hope my heart can heal when this is over.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss…wait,” Aaron says, causing me to gasp. He grins and reaches for Lexi, taking her from Evan. “Now, you may kiss your bride.”
Evan doesn’t hesitate. He steps into me, slides one hand to the back of my neck and the other lands on my waist. He closes his eyes and we’re kissing. It’s not just a peck. It’s a long, closed mouth kiss, ending with his forehead resting against mine. I close my eyes and take it all in.
We’re married.
I’m not sure how long we stand like that, with our immediate family there to witness, but little Miss Lexington decides she needs some attention too and starts to babble. Evan and I pull away from our embrace, both wearing huge smiles. I reach for Lex and she grins. Tapping the end of her nose, I look at Evan. “Now what?”
He chuckles and places his hand on the small of my back, leaning in close to my ear. “Now, my beautiful wife, we eat.” He guides me down the aisle and into a back room of the church. It’s set for a mini reception. There’s a small wedding cake sitting on one table. On the other is an array of finger sandwiches and picnic type foods. The sight brings tears to my eyes. When Evan and I talked about weddings and the meaning, I made the comment I would want it to be relaxed like a picnic, not some overpriced meal no one even likes. He took my words and created that today.
I look up to find him watching me. “I hope I got it right,” he says sheepishly. “I wanted today to be special.”
Standing on my tiptoes, I place a quick soft kiss on his cheek. “Evan, this is special. The entire day’s a huge surprise and it’s perfect. I couldn’t have planned it any better myself.”
“Let me have her. You all will be leaving tomorrow and I don’t know when I will see her again,” Evan’s mom says, taking Lexi from my arms.
“Hungry?” Evan asks.
I nod and follow him to the food. We each make a plate, Evan carrying mine to the table. Everyone is laughing and talking, and Lexi is soaking up the attention she’s getting. As I take it all in, trying to memorize the sound of their chatter and the happy laughter, I slip my hand into Evan’s under the table. He links his fingers through mine while turning to give me a questioning look. “Thank you, Evan. This day is amazing.”
He leans in—to everyone else it looks as though he telling me a secret—and he is, but he also places a wet open-mouthed kiss on my neck. “You’re amazing and so fucking beautiful. Aaron had to remind me to breathe.” He pulls away, his eyes sparkling.
I raise my eyebrows, telling him I’m not buying what he’s selling. Evan places his arm on the back of my chair and leans into me, looking at Aaron who is sitting on my other side. “Aaron, tell your sister what you said to me as she walked down the aisle.”
Aaron grins, swallows a drink of his sweet tea, and wipes his mouth. Taking his sweet-ass time to reply. “He stopped breathing when he saw you. I was afraid he was going to pass out.”
The look on my face must show my surprise. “He’s a goner, that husband of yours.” Aaron winks and stands from the table.
“You two ready to cut the cake?” Mom asks.
“Yes.” Evan stands and offers me his hand. We make our way to the cake and go through the tradition of cutting the first piece together. We feed each other the first bites with no mess. When I thought about us getting married over the past couple of weeks, I never thought about any of this—the traditional wedding events. I just figured we would be in the backyard, say I do, and go on as usual. Clearly, my husband had other plans.
We spend the next hour talking, laughing, and eating. I could not have asked for a more romantic wedding. It’s intimate and personal and everything I could ever want.
“Guys, we got you a gift.” Mom hands me an envelope. I look at Evan and he nods for me to open it. Inside, I find a room key. “We thought, under the circumstances, it would be good for appearance’s sake for the two of you to have a ‘honeymoon,’ even for one night. We are going to stay at the house in Evan’s room and keep Lexi with us.” She motions to Carol. The grandmothers are already staking their claim.