"Yes," I say. "I'm ready."
The ceremony is simple, beautiful, and over almost before I realize it's begun. Margaret speaks about love and commitment and the promises we make to each other, to the families we create. Sawyer and I repeat vows that are traditional and timeless and feel more true than anything I've ever said.
When Margaret asks if I take Sawyer to be my husband, my voice is steady and sure.
"I do."
When she asks Sawyer the same question, he looks directly into my eyes and says, "I do," like he means it with every fiber of his being.
Like this is the moment he's been waiting for his entire life.
"You may kiss the bride," Margaret says, and suddenly my heart is racing for an entirely different reason.
Sawyer hands Tommy to Finn, who steps up almost on cue, before stepping closer to me. He reaches up to cup my face and runs his thumb across my cheek, gentle and reverent, allowing me to see everything he's feeling in his eyes.
Love. Want. Hope. Fear.
The same emotions that are rioting through my own chest.
"Mrs. McKenna," he says softly, just for me.
And then he's kissing me.
It's supposed to be for show, for the family watching, for the legal requirement of sealing our marriage. But the moment his lips touch mine, everything else disappears. The world narrows to this. Sawyer's mouth moves against mine, his hands are in my hair, and the way he drives me insane.
He kisses me like he's been dreaming about this moment all his life.
When we finally break apart, I'm breathless and shaking and completely undone. The family is cheering, and Tommy is making happy baby sounds like he approves of this development.
But all I can see is Sawyer, looking at me like I'm everything he's ever wanted.
"I have feelings for you too," I whisper, the words spilling out before I can stop them.
His eyes go wide, then impossibly soft.
"Say it again," he demands, his voice rough with emotion.
"I’m falling for you, Sawyer McKenna."
This time, when he kisses me, it's with the complete certainty of a man who's finally gotten everything he's ever wanted.
And I kiss him back like a woman who's just realized she's been in denial her whole life.
5
SAWYER
My wife is in my kitchen, making coffee at eleven PM like she's lived here her entire life.
My wife.
The words still don't feel real, even though I've been repeating them in my head for the past three hours. Even though I watched Lisa say "I do" with the sunset painting her skin gold, felt her kiss me back like she meant it, watched her tell my family I meant the world to her with tears in her eyes.
Even though she's wearing my ring and sleeping under my roof and just told me she loves me back.
Lisa McKenna.
She's changed out of her wedding dress into jeans and one of those soft sweaters that make me want to run my hands over every inch of her. Her hair is down now, falling in waves around her shoulders, and she's barefoot in my kitchen like she belongs here.
