Jason and Tonya stop a mere foot before me, and it takes everything in me not to reach out to her. Not to pull her into my arms and never let her go. Jason turns to his daughter and lifts the veil over her face until it rests against her hair. After giving her a kiss on the cheek, he turns to me. Holding his hand out, he waits until I take it before shaking. “Be good to my baby girl.” A tear slips down his cheek, and he takes Layla from my arms to sit with them.
“Yes, sir,” I reply. “For as long as I’m breathing, my world will revolve around Tonya and Layla.”
Nodding, he turns and takes his seat next to Lucia. Tonya steps forward until she’s directly in front of me. “Hi,” she whispers.
“You look like a princess,” I say without thinking. Where the hell did that come from? The tips of my ears burn, and I’m pretty sure my face is a bright shade of red. “I mean, hi back.”
She giggles, and opens her mouth to say something else, but our conversation is cut short. The pastor speaks loudly to be heard by those sitting in the back rows. “We’re gathered here today to join Tonya and Reaf in marriage.”
I drown out whatever he is saying, and stare in awe at the woman in front of me. How in the world did I get so lucky? Out of all the guys she could have dated, and fallen for, she chose me. She said yes to my awkward proposal. I will do everything in my power to be the husband she deserves.
“Reaf,” Tonya whispers.
“Huh?”
“You need to repeat the vows.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I couldn’t stop admiring you.”
“I wish I could kiss you right now”
“Who says you can’t?” I smirk and wink at her.
“Can we get on with the ceremony?” The pastor leans in to get our attention. “If the both of you focus, I can do this quickly, and you can continue your conversation.”
The both of us nod emphatically, and the rest of the ceremony goes by without a hitch. The part I’ve been looking forward to all day is finally here. “You may now kiss your bride.”
I pull Tonya toward me without hesitating. A piece of hair has fallen from her braid, and I sweep it back behind her ear. Placing my hands on either side of her face, I lower my head until my forehead is pressed against hers. “Will you kiss me already,” she demands.
Nothing else needs to be said. My mouth meets hers, and there are explosions. I pull her closer to draw out the kiss as she throws her arms around my neck. I spin her into a dip, and let my mouth makes promises of our life together. Our families cheer and clap, but it’s all background noise. My focus is one hundred percent on my wife, and I let that fact swirl around in my head before lifting her back up and pulling back. If I keep kissing her like that, we’ll have to leave the wedding before the party has even started.
“Let me introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Harrington,” the pastor announces over the cheering people in the yard.
“Are you ready to party, Mrs. Harrington?”
“You better believe it, Mr. Harrington.” She throws her arms around me and kisses me one more time, laughter filling our ears.
We don’t bother letting our bridal party walk in front of us, I grab her hand, twirling her once, before running down the aisle. This is a moment I will cherish for the rest of my days, and I can’t wait to get started on our journey together.
Epilogue
The reception isin full swing, and this dress is stupid heavy. I wanted to change after our first dance, but Reaf insisted I keep it on. His exact words were “I want to peel every layer of that dress off of you as soon we close the door behind us.” Who am I to argue with that logic?
One of the kegs my parents bought is already gone, and the food is running low. These are the parties I miss from my childhood. I’m betting most of my family will crash here tonight, wherever they can find space. I’m drinking a glass of punch with a napkin under my chin trying to save my dress from any spills. Amelia steps next to me. She wraps an arm around my shoulder, making me jostle my drink. I hold my hand away from my body, if this is going to spill, it’s going to do happen on the grass andnotmy dress. “Your wedding was beautiful, Cuz. You’ve definitely found yourself a keeper.”
“Thank you.” My arm goes around her waist, pulling her in for a side hug. “When will I get to see you again? I don’t want to go months without speaking to you.”
“Next weekend,” she replies flippantly.
“What do you mean next week? Did you find an apartment in the area?”
She clears her throat and looks everywhere in the room, except at me. “Well… Funny story. Things haven’t been too great back home. Rumors are flying and people are being down right assholes. I can’t deal with their nonsense anymore.” She takes a deep breath. “Since you’re moving in with Reaf, I asked your parents if I can stay with them until I get on my feet.”
“Oh. My. Gosh. I’ll get to see you almost every day.” I’m jumping as much as my dress will let me. Details of what happened to make her run are needed, but not tonight. My heart breaks for her and I don’t know what to do to fix it. “Are you going to go to school?”
“I’m going to take the year off. I need to find myself, my passions, and anything else I can find to help me find myself.” Her arms are wrapped around her stomach, trying to keep me fromseeingher.
“I can help you find a job, if you need any help.”