He stopped for a moment as I struggled to hold back the tears. This man who said so little most times was standing there in front of our friends confessing his love in a way only he could. My heart swelled at how tender and sweet his vows truly were. Straight from his heart, they were him.
“I promise to be the one who makes your days brighter. When the rest of the world can’t or won’t see who you are, I will. I can’t promise I won’t make mistakes, but I can promise that you’ll never doubt I love you more than my clumsy words can ever say. I love you, Nina.”
I covered my mouth with my hand, whispering, “Oh, Tristan” as the tears I’d held back finally began rolling down my cheeks. “That was beautiful.”
He silently nodded and gave me a tender smile. I looked at my vows I’d written the night before and suddenly wanted to give him the honesty he’d given me. Stuffing the paper back into my satchel, I held his hand and said what was in my heart.
“Tristan, I love you. You’ve shown me a world more incredible than anything I’d ever dreamed of. And I’d give it all up as long as I had you by my side. If tomorrow all we had were the clothes on our backs and each other, I’d still be the happiest woman on Earth because I’d be with you. I wouldn’t trade a moment we’ve shared for anything in the world. I promise no matter what you’ll always be my knight in shining armor. And someday, when we’re old and gray, I’ll look back on our life together and know the night I met you was the luckiest night of my life.”
With a small smile, Tristan showed me my words touched him like his had mine. We stood there silently, looking at one another like there was no one else in the world at that moment but the two us.
The minister looked at Daryl and Jordan and asked, “The rings?”
We turned and took the rings from them and the minister said, “Repeat after me. I pledge to you my love and my life.”
Tristan and I said those words together and gave each other the rings that symbolized our union . All that remained were the minister’s final words.
“May you keep the vows you made here today. May you comfort each other, share each other’s joys, and support each other in times of trouble. By the power vested in me by the State of New York, I pronounce you Husband and Wife. Tristan, you may kiss your bride.”
Cradling my face in his hands, Tristan pressed his lips to mine in a gentle kiss and whispered in my ear, “I love you, Mrs. Stone.”
“It’s about time. I thought you two would never get here,” Daryl joked.
I leaned around my new husband and shot his best man a dirty look. “I’ll take that as your congratulations.”
Jordan piped up with a comment that put him in his place, and I saw Gage smile at her, probably wishing he had said it. As everyone around us hugged and kissed me and shook Tristan’s hand, I thought for a moment how much I wished my father had been there to share this with us.
Performing her maid of honor duties perfectly, Jordan corralled the guests to the table in the garden where the reception was to be held. When they had all moved away, Tristan still stood there, looking down at me in that special way that told me he had something on his mind.
“What’s wrong? I see that tiny pout you make when something’s wrong.”
“It’s nothing. I was just thinking about my father and how much I wished he could have been here.”
Tristan pulled me close in his arms, and I knew he felt the same. After all that had happened, our love had finally helped us put our families’ pasts behind us.
“Somewhere, our mothers are smiling,” he said with a wink. “You know how mothers are.”
I reached up and gently ran my fingertip over the edge of his eye patch. “I guess I got my pirate after all.”
“I guess you did, at least until the doctors say my eye’s better. What do you say about letting this pirate escort you to the reception and maybe later I’ll make you walk the plank.”
“Was that a joke, Mr. Stone?” I asked with a smile, knowing he was working hard to make me forget my sadness over my father missing the biggest day of my life.
He shrugged and said, “It happens sometimes. I don’t know what kind of pirate that makes me, though.”
Holding his face in my hands, I kissed him long and deep. “It makes you my pirate, and that’s the best kind there is.”
“I have a surprise for you,” he said quietly. “Close your eyes.”
I shut them tight and let him lead me ten steps before we stopped. I heard our guests whispering and Tristan said, “You can open them now.”