When we reach the end of the aisle, Xavian steps up. His eyes glitter with excitement. His face is full of love. I tear up again.
“You look beautiful,” my groom whispers for my ears alone.
I smile and sniffle. This really is the happiest day of my life.
Then Xavian meets my brother’s stare. They exchange a glance. Understanding passes between them. Will they ever be close friends again? I doubt it. Parker torched that bridge in a fit of immaturity and self-righteousness. But in that moment, I know they’ll be tolerant and civil. For me. Because each wants what brings me peace and joy, and they both know that’s harmony.
As the music fades, the officiant, a large man with a dark beard and a loud Hawaiian shirt who introduced himself yesterday as Lono, welcomes everyone to the ceremony and thanks them for bearing witness to this affirmation of our love and the joining of our lives. Then he recites some beautiful thoughts about marriage that move me. I’m still clutching my brother’s arm, but I want to touch Xavian so badly, to share this profound moment with him. He turns his gaze to me. The matching emotion on his bold, masculine face seizes my heart.
Finally, Lono smiles Parker’s way. “Do you give your blessing to this couple and support their union?”
My brother clears his throat. “I do.”
Once more, I tear up. I’m barely able to hold back as he faces me and lifts my veil, then kisses my cheek. “Be happy, Ninny.”
I’m so choked up, I can barely speak. “I will.”
“I know.” He puts my hand into Xavian’s, then nods my groom’s way. “Take care of her.”
“Always.”
As my brother retreats to sit in the front row, the man I’m minutes away from calling my husband squeezes my hand. Excitement leaps.
Together, we face Lono, who addresses us about the joys and responsibility of marriage, along with the sanctity of the promises we’re about to make. Our vows fly by in a blur, Xavian reciting his in a strong, sure voice that makes my heart flutter. I eke out the most important words of my life in between tears, which my beloved groom gently thumbs away. Then he’s sliding a band on my finger, beside the giant rock he gave me when he agreed to be my fake fiancé. I settle his ring in place, on his left hand, closest to his heart. Finally, we’re kissing, my heart racing, our lips clinging, our love flowing. In every thought and word, I feel my husband’s passion and devotion. I’m humbled—and blessed.
“For the first time, I give to you Xavian and Corinne Costa, everyone. Congratulations!”
The man I’m now married to turns to me with a blinding smile that sears itself in my brain. I’m overjoyed, my lips curling, my tears flowing. He presses his lips to mine again in both reassurance and promise before we dash back down the aisle, hand in hand, heading toward the small reception on Maxon and Keeley’s lanai.
In a row of chairs about halfway back, I spot Arthur Belmont, the elderly man Xavian and I helped the day I arrived in Hawaii. He’s gripping his wife’s hand and grinning.
I don’t know exactly how Xavian found him or how he persuaded the couple to come, but I pause to press a kiss to his cheek, then take his wife’s hand. “Thank you for coming.”
“Are you kidding? We wouldn’t have missed this for the world. I had a feeling about you two.”
As Xavian laughs beside me, my smile widens. “So did I.”
Admittedly, I was afraid at first. So afraid. My attraction to Xavian was unlike anything I’d ever known. More than once, sanity told me it would be so much easier to run. Something just wouldn’t let me. At the time, I wasn’t sure what. Now I’m pretty sure that something was my heart.
We’ve finally come full circle, and as we race toward our reception, the announcement of our precious forthcoming bundle planned, I’m convinced life is now perfect.
“Happy, Mrs. Costa?” My husband asks once we’re alone.
“Beyond.” I sniffle again. “Even if my makeup is a mess, I don’t care. How can I ever give you back the joy you’ve given me?”
He caresses my face, then drops his hand to my belly. “You already have. Just keep giving me your love—”
“Always.”
“That’s all I’ll ever need, princess.”
I pursued her for a distraction. I’m capturing her so I can make her mine forever.