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Everyone laughs at Carter’s statement. It’s true. I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum.
“As much as public speaking isn’t my forte, I am beyond honored to be the one to marry you. I’ve never met two people who are more deserving of a happily ever after. You both are the kindest, most loyal people on this earth, and I think I can speak for the rest of the family when I say that we are very lucky to have you guys in our lives. Knowing you’ll be bound in matrimony is just the icing on the cake.”
Cheers ring out around us at that. Carter then goes into the formalities of the ceremony until he asks Katie to start with the vows.
She blows out a deep breath before beginning. “This probably isn’t going to be the best I could do, given that I was only told about this wedding yesterday, but here goes.” She makes eye contact with me before pulling a piece of paper from her dress. “Nolan, by far, you are one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. It’s a little unbelievable to me that I could get this lucky twice in one lifetime. I thought having Cody was my miracle. But then you came along, and I was granted a second one. So, here is what I promise to you: I promise to always show up for you, even when things get hard. I promise to take care of you when you’re sick, as long as I don’t have to blow your nose for you.” A bark of laughter comes out of me at that one. “I promise to let you take over when I’m feeling overwhelmed. I promise to love you for all of my days, through thick and thin, laughter and tears, and rainbows and thunderclouds. You’re the light to my shadow, and I promise to stand with you forever and always.”
I wipe under my eyes as tears threaten to fall for the second time. Katie pulls a tissue from her other pocket and hands it to me. “What else do you have in your magic pockets?” I ask with a huff of laughter. Katie just grins at me.
I take a deep breath now that it’s my turn to share. I pull my own paper from the pocket of my slacks. “What I’m about to say may sound insane, but I swear I wrote these four days ago.” I clear my throat. “Katie, to say I fell hard and fast for you would be an understatement. The minute you let me stay home with you and Cody the first time, I knew I’d never want to be anywhere else again. You’re the love of my life, and these promises are the easiest ones I’ll ever make.” A shocked laugh interrupts my vows. “This is crazy. Okay.” I take another deep breath to center myself and focus. “I promise to stand by your side, even when things get hard. I promise to take care of you when you’re sick in exchange for never making you blow my nose for me.”
“You’re kidding.” Katie giggles.
I grin, shaking my head. “I promise to be the steady ground when you’re overwhelmed. I promise to love you and Cody with everything I have inside of me. You are my guiding light, my voice of reason, and the love of my life. I promise to stand by your side, loving you, cherishing you, and worshipping you, until my dying breath.” I finally look back at Katie, her eyes glistening this time instead of mine. “Fuck, I want to kiss you so bad.”
“Nolan!” Mom scolds. It breaks the emotional bubble our vows had cast over us. It wasn’t my intention, but I’m glad it happened.
Carter distracts us by continuing the ceremony. “Based on your vows, I think you’re a match made in heaven.” He has us exchange rings. At first, Katie is a deer in headlights until Carter hands her the silver ring I picked out. Once it’s on my finger, something inside me settles. I’ve gotten everything I’ve ever wanted today. A wife who loves me whole-heartedly and a family to call my own. I couldn’t be happier.
Carter finally tells me I can kiss my bride, and without any thought of the people around us, I sweep Katie up into a kiss filled with every ounce of love and desire I feel for her. She’s my everything. The one I never imagined could actually be mine. Yet she was brave enough to jump off this cliff with me.
Surrounded by my family, I’ve never felt more full.
The rest of my life looks pretty good from here.
Epilogue
NOAH
Ten years later
“I’d like to propose a toast.” Adam clinks a knife against his glass, drawing everyone’s attention to the front of the room.
“Oh, here we go,” Nolan murmurs. Adam frowns at him, his annoyance clear. Even after all this time, Uncle Nolan still drives Adam crazy.
Instead of acknowledging him, Uncle Adam continues. “Here’s to Noah. Valedictorian of his class, a budding firefighter, and a man we are all very proud of. Congratulations, Noah.”
The whole room lifts their glasses in cheers, and I swear, my face couldn’t get any redder. I mouth a “Thank you” to him. He winks at me. His smirk tells me he embarrassed me on purpose—the jerk.
“It’s too bad you decided to go be a hero. We could’ve had a blast together at UNC.” Cody grins at me from the seat next to mine. He just finished his second year at UNC and tried his hardest to convince me to join him there. I’ll never tell him how tempted I was. He’d use that knowledge against me.
“I can’t decide which one worries me more. Don’t think I don’t know what you get up to on that campus, Cody Ellis.” Mom widens her eyes at Cody.
His jaw drops in mock shock. “I am an angel, Aunt Natalie. I can’t believe you’d say something so ridiculous.”
Aunt Katie throws a napkin at her son. “A fallen one, maybe.”
He gasps the same way Uncle Nolan does when he’s being dramatic. “Ouch, Ma.” She winks at Cody and blows him a kiss. He catches it and presses it to his chest.
Mom might be joking around right now, but I know she worries about me following in Dad’s footsteps. I grin at her while Dad squeezes her neck in support.
“I’m gonna be a firefighter, too,” Cody’s little sister, Nora, says. At nine, her interests have varied over a multitude of subjects. Her favorite is anything her big brother does right now. Cursing seems to be her go-to at the moment, much to Aunt Katie’s annoyance.
“I thought you were going to be a ballerina?” Cody asks.
“Nope. I’m done with ballet. Another girl in my class tripped me on purpose, and I don’t wanna have anything to do with that kind of drama.” She crosses her arms over her chest, mean-mugging the rest of the group, daring them to go against her wishes. Uncle Nolan grins down at her. Nora has him wrapped around her little finger, and she is well aware of it. Given how identical she is to her mom, it’s not a surprise.
“You have three more weeks of classes to attend, and then you can be done,” Katie tells her. Nora scrunches her face in annoyance but acquiesces.
