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I glance at Aiden and my smile beams. “As I’ll ever be.”
Aiden sings “Marry Me” from Train. His deep, sexy voice reverberates against my beating heart and goose bumps spread across my body. My chest rises and falls as each word he sings wraps around me and pulls me closer to him. I feel like I’m floating. I don’t hear or see anything except Aiden.
When Ted and I stop at the end, the song is almost over, but Aiden stops playing and takes his guitar off. He hands it to Max and looks at the pastor and says, “I’m sorry.”
I feel my forehead crease, wondering why he’s saying sorry. He walks over to me and a salacious grin spreads across his face. He stops in front of me and looks at Ted, who’s standing there as baffled as I am.
“Sorry, this can’t wait,” he says, his voice raspy from singing. He pulls me into him, slamming his lips down on mine. I open, letting his tongue explore my mouth. I feel Ted let my arm go. I’m holding onto my bouquet and my other hand drops to my side. Hoots and hollers spread behind us. He bites my lip as he pulls back. “Marry me?” he sings.
“I’m trying,” I say, gripping his arm while I regain my composure. A smug smile plays on his lips as he runs the back of his finger over my shed tears.
“There are so many firsts for me at this wedding, this shouldn’t surprise me,” the pastor jokes, walking up to us. “Are you ready to start?” We both look at him and nod.
The pastor begins and the ceremony moves quickly. We kept out the does anyone here object to this marriage because it wouldn’t matter and hello, that’s asking for trouble.
We wrote our own vows, so as we get closer, I start to struggle with nerves. Thank God we decided to keep them short. Aiden is so much better at telling me and showing me how he feels than I am. He squeezes my hands and winks at me. I softly smile up at him.
“Aiden and Addison chose to write their own vows,” the pastor announces. “Aiden.” He nods his head for him to proceed.
Aiden clears his throat and looks down for a beat before his eyes find mine. His emerald green eyes shine from the sun’s glow. “Addison, the first time I saw you, your eyes hypnotized me, your independence challenged me, but it was your heart that finally broke me. You shattered the shell that I had crawled into and set me free. You made me feel things that I didn’t even know I was capable of feeling and it scared the hell out of me.” Our eyes lock with one another and tears roll down my face. He lets go of my hand and sweeps his thumb across my cheek, catching some of my tears. “But it was how I felt when you weren’t around that scared me more than anything. You were the North Star to a man without direction, and I know as long as I look to you, I’ll never be lost again.”
“Oh…” I mumble through my tears. I let go of one of his hands to fan myself. I can’t breathe. I look up to the sky to try to catch my breath. My heart drums in my chest. His words were perfect. He reaches for my hand and lifts our joined hands to his lips. “Wow,” my voice shakes. He closes his eyes with his lips pressed to my hand.
“I love you,” I whisper. His lips curl against my fingers.
“Okay,” I say, taking a sharp exhale. He grins, knowing this is hard for me. “Aiden…” I pause as I collect my thoughts. “I’ve always blamed Fate for everything that has gone wrong in my life. But here I am, marrying the only man who can complete me. And it was all because Fate led me to you. Twice.” I laugh softly. Aiden’s smile pulls at the corner of his mouth as he tries to blink away his tears. “You’ve been there at my worst and guided me to my best. Our love story isn’t perfect, but the love we have for each other is. I love you, Aiden, with all my heart.” My voice trembles by the time I’m done. I’m not sure I could continue even if I had more to say.
I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Aiden squeezes my hands and mouths, “I love you.” I nod and bite my inside cheek, trying to control my emotions. I pull out a Kleenex from my bra and blow my nose. Aiden quietly chuckles.
The pastor allows us a couple moments to gather ourselves before we continue. After we exchange rings, we turn to the pastor. I hang onto every word that comes out of his mouth. “…the giving of these rings and the joining of your hands, I now declare you husband and wife.” He looks at Aiden and smiles wide. “Congratulations, you may now kiss your bride.”
He sweeps me into his embrace and his soft lips capture mine. It’s not like the kiss before that was rushed and demanding; it’s slow and passionate. The crowd erupts. Whistles and clapping envelop us. I can’t believe I’m married.
“We did it,” he mumbles against my lips.
“We did.”
He pulls back and looks down at me. “Ready for the next thing?” he asks. My lips curl up to a smile that reaches my eyes.
“Yes.”
He glances at the pastor and nods.
“Would everyone please take a seat,” he says, trying to quiet everyone. He gestures with his hands for everyone to sit down. Confused faces look around, wondering what’s going on. I look over to Syd, and she can barely contain her excitement. Once everyone quiets, the pastor says, “Today we witnessed a man and woman come together as one. But they are not completely whole yet.” He smiles brightly at Aiden and me. “Alexandra Jade Collins, will you please step forward.”
I turn to look at Lexi and her eyes widen. She looks around, unsure. I flash a smile and nod, gesturing for her to walk toward us. She walks slowly to the middle of Aiden and me. I can hear sniffles in the crowd already and it’s not helping to keep mine at bay. I have looked forward to this moment since we received the official paperwork from Jaxon. I want her to know she’s so special to us and we felt this would show her. She places her little hands into our hands and stares up at us with questioning eyes.
Aiden squats down and kisses her on the forehead. “It’s okay, Tater Tot.”
“Alexandra–”
“You can call me Lexi,” she says innocently, interrupting him. Chuckles are heard coming from behind.
“Okay, Lexi. Do you know why you’re here?”
“I’m the flower girl,” she says excitedly.
“Yes, and you did a great job.”
