My heart rate picks up speed when he pulls her into him and whispers in her ear. A moment later her wide eyes fall onto me, a huge smile gradually taking over her face. She gives me an excited nod, before saying, “Well go on then. What the hell are you waiting for?” I chuckle under my breath, mouthing a quick, “Thank you,” before turning my attention back to Ava. My eyes penetrate hers with determination as I step in front of her, and I can tell by the way her eyes flicker from side to side that she’s nervous. Maybe even a little terrified as her shoulders suddenly begin to rise and fall, her breathing labored.
I take her soft hand in mine and breathe a sigh of relief when she doesn’t pull away. Thank God.
“Come here,” I say pulling her to the front of the altar.
“What are you doing?” she whispers in a panic-stricken voice, her eyes wide.
I take the flowers from her other hand and pass them to my mom on the front row. “What I should have done the moment you said yes to my proposal.” I ignore the questioning stares that I feel burning into my side from the guests and focus on the only person in the world that matters to me, taking her hands into mine.
“Ava, I’m so in love with you, and as I look at how incredibly beautiful you look right now, I know I’m the luckiest man alive … well, one of the luckiest men alive.” I wink at my brother before resuming my stance in Ava’s direction, my fingers clutching tightly against hers. “I spent a lifetime searching for something I didn’t know I was searching for, but it seems the moment you came into my life I knew I’d finally found it. I finally found the missing piece in my life. You are everything to me, and no one will ever compare, no one,” I emphasize, hoping to get it into her head that no one, including Riley, will ever have a piece of my heart. Only Ava will have that piece of me.
“Last night our entire lives were almost ruined because of one stupid moment and this morning, when I didn’t wake up to your beautiful face smiling at me, I could barely function. My life is not complete unless you’re in it. Today has given me a taste of a life without you, and I hated every minute of it because a world without you is a world not worth living in.” Her eyes glisten and a smile pulls against her lips at my familiar words, and I’m pretty certain I can hear a sigh leave the lips of every single woman here.
“I love you, baby, and my life doesn’t exist without you. I want to exist but only with you and Lily.” I pause for a brief second, taking in the beauty of her pretty eyes that sparkle as they soak in my every word. “I know we were going to wait until Lily was a little older, but I can’t wait a moment longer. Ava, will you marry me? Right here, right now?”
Her mouth drops open and her eyes nervously flitter around our surroundings. “Are you serious?”
I pull her closer until her body is flushed against mine. I love the way her heartbeat thrashes in time with mine. “I’ve never been more serious.”
“But … Lily … we can’t get married without her.”
I can’t keep the lazy smile from my lips as I hear the panic stammering from her mouth. I’ve shocked her, and I’m happy she’s finally talking to me.
“I will give you as many weddings as you want, baby, but I can’t spend another day without you being my wife, without making you mine. I want to marry you now, and give you the life that you deserve. I want to protect you, cherish you, love you, look after you until my last dying breath.” My voice trembles as the emotion of this moment slowly begins to ripple through me.
I can hear my mother sobbing from the front row as Ava nervously glances in Tyler and Mia’s direction with a questioning gaze. Tyler gives her an enthusiastic nod while Mia excitedly says, “Marry him! We can be bride BFF’s.”
Mia’s words are followed by someone sitting a few rows back shouting, “Yeah, marry him!”
Ava giggles as she turns to face me, shaking her head with astonishment as a luscious blush glows against her cheeks.
“So what do you say?” I ask, wondering when the hell she’s going to put me out of my goddamn misery, but from the laughter pouring from her pretty little mouth, I’m pretty confident I have my answer. “Will you become Mrs. Ava Bailey?”
The giggles fade away, and I look closely at the way she sucks her bottom lip into her mouth, gazing into my eyes as though she can see deep into my soul. A few moments pass before an all-beaming smile breaks free across her beautiful face. “God, I love you!” she declares before slamming her lips on mine, taking the breath right out of me as she stakes her claim on my mouth.
“Is that a yes?” I manage to whimper out in between Ava’s lips.
“Yes! A million times yes!”
I lean my forehead against hers, smiling down at her. “Do you forgive me?”
She nods eagerly. “There’s nothing to forgive.”
Those words have the smile on my face widening. “You’re amazing, did you know that?”
“Well, I do have my moments.”
“Hell yeah, you do.” I go to press another kiss along Ava’s lips when the sound of my brother coughing halts us in our movements, causing us to turn our heads in his direction.
“Um, do you think we could get married sometime today?” Tyler hollers with a shit-eating grin on his face. “You can kiss the bride when you’ve said I do.”
Laughter erupts all around us as we happily, but reluctantly pull away. I hold my hand out for Ava to take and she does without reservation. “Let’s get married then,” I say to her as we take a few steps forward until we’re standing beside Tyler and Mia.
The minister looks between the four of us with a bemused smile.
“You can marry us both at the same time, right?” I ask, hoping there isn’t a religious restriction against double weddings.
“Yes.” He gently smiles. “Your marriage, however, won’t be legally binding since you haven’t applied for a marriage license, so you won’t technically be husband and wife, but I’d certainly be happy to perform the ceremony.”
I smile down at Ava whose sweet smile is beaming up at me, before I look back to the minister. I shake my head. “I don’t need a sheet of paper to prove my marriage to Ava. Today is about declaring my love and commitment to her, and legally binding or not, she’s going to become my wife today. The marriage license can come later with our second wedding.”
The ceremony starts and Ava and I stand beside my brother and Mia, watching with warm smiles as they exchange their vows and declare their eternal love to one another. I find myself choking up when I see the overwhelming happy tears filling Tyler’s eyes, his gaze never once drifting from Mia. My brother had always played the field; never staying with one girl long enough to make a real commitment, just a bunch of one-night stands and one-week girlfriends that were strewn together since he was seventeen. He’d always tell me he was waiting for the right woman to come along; the one who would take his breath away the instant she entered a room, who would make him furiously sweat and lose the ability to speak coherently whenever she was in close proximity. The one who would love him despite every single mistake he’s ever made, yet who is able to shape him and tame him into the man that she deserves, the one who would become his game changer. Oh, and the one who could make his toes curl with the best goddamn orgasm ever—his words, not mine. And just like me, after years of waiting for the right woman to come along, he found her when he was least expecting it, causing his entire world to tilt on its axis, changing his life forever.