“Traitor!” Dom grumbled as he took a deep breath. “Yes, Diesel is here. All of Alpha Squad, your captain, and your sheriff are here.”
“Fuck a duck!” Raso and Pratt mumbled at the same time.
Soon as the words were out,“Love Like This”by Lauren Daigle started playing. Jake looked down at his daughter and patted her hand.
“This is our cue sweetheart.”
“Yep, I’m going to kill his ass.” Raso mumbled as she walked out of the house and down towards the aisle, staring at her husband the whole time, fighting the tears threatening to fall from her eyes at the sweetness her husband was showing her.
Raso looked down the aisle as she walked, seeing Marcus standing tall in his yellow/black/red plaid MacLeod tartan kilt, socks up to his knees, yellow tassels on the sides of the socks, his dress shoes, a white shirt with a black vest and a black tuxedo jacket. Around his waist was a pouch called a sporran in black leather, a silver design over the top of it, displaying the MacLeod crest, which matched the cufflinks on his jacket. The sporran had three strings hanging in the middle of the pouch, each one with a silver bead matching the shade of the cufflinks.
Once she reached Marcus, her father winked at the both of them and then stood to the side to take his seat. Marcus grasped her hand as he smiled at Raso. When the music“Glasgow Love Theme”by Simen Eidhammer Rognan started playing, both looked down the aisle as Ryleigh started walking and throwing flowers onto the ground.
Red flower petals mixed in with the yellow already on the ground from when Isla walked down the aisle earlier. Everyone ‘oh’ and ‘ah’ as the little girl walked down the aisle. Raso’s eyes went wide as she recognized the song that was playing. Yep, these two were so going to die sometime tonight.
“She’s going to kill him.” Raso murmured to Marcus. “He’s actually using a song fromLove Actuallyfor Red.”
“Oh, lass, we have already figured we are going to die a few times tonight.” Marcus chuckled, watching his sisters come down the aisle.
When it was time for the bride to come down the aisle, the music changed to“Beautiful Crazy”by Luke Combs. Highlander stood tall, dressed like Marcus, only his kilt was the hunting colors that matched Pratt’s dress in the blue/yellow/green plaid. Highlander couldn’t take his eyes off of Pratt as she walked down the aisle beside her brother. Neither Pratt nor Highlander had eyes for anyone but each other.
When Pratt arrived, standing in front of Highlander, her eyes were misty. He knew she was fighting back the urge to cry. He was letting his family and their friends know exactly what she meant to him, just like Marcus was for Raso. Neither man cared who knew how much they loved their wives.
The audience had to chuckle when the Catholic priest coughed after saying their names a couple of times. Both couples too lost into each other and not hearing a word.
“Sorry, Father, I know we are already married by American laws, but I still can’t take my eyes off my lass, as if it’s the first time I’ve seen her. Her beauty strikes me dumb.” Marcus chuckled, still not taking his eyes off Raso.
“I understand lad. The quicker we get this done, the quicker ye can keep her to yeself. Now, let’s carry on. Thank ye ladies and gentlemen for joining us today. Today is a special occasion as we, again, join in holy matrimony both Marcus Patrick MacLeod to Lindsey Ellen Raso and Joseph William MacLeod to Laura Renee Pratt. Today is proof that these two couples were created by God for each other. Before today came about, I managed to speak with both Joseph and Marcus. The love these two men have for their chosen women, their croie, as they call them, was clear in their voices, their eyes, their hearts. These two couples have faced many trials, tribulations, many evils, and yet still came out stronger, closer than ever before.”
Both couples looked at each other, oblivious to everyone around them. Hands clasped in the other, holding tightly. Highlander and Marcus both rubbing the wedding bands that were moved from the original ring finger to the other hand, as requested once they knew what was up. Neither woman had realized that this was a year long plan in the making. Both men had special wedding rings made for their wives.
“Instead of me having to read them their vows to say, each man has decided that both couples will say their own vows.” The priest announced to the group.
Both men chuckled when their wives quirked an eyebrow at the ‘saying their own vows’ when it was clear the men had time to write theirs while they didn’t have knowledge to do their own.
“Marcus, ye can go first.” The priest informed the couple.
Marcus coughed, looking into Raso’s eyes. “Lass, while my brother had his eyes on Laura, the moment I saw ye, everything else around me cease to exist, there was only ye. Ye were the air I breathed, the sky I fell under, my everything. I only existed to see ye, to hear ye voice, to smell ye scent, anything I could just for a few moments. Ye snark was the highlights of my day when I could speak with ye. I knew, lass, that one day ye would stop running and give me a chance. One chance was all I needed to show ye that I could love ye like no other could. Loving ye and Ty, that’s all I’ve ever wanted to be able to do. Being blessed with our Isabella, that was a bonus to the love and joy I have with ye two already. Ty is my son in every sense of the word. I may not have created him, but he helped create me to be a better husband to ye and a better father to both him and to our Bella. Ye make loving ye an easy feat. Ye snark is still the highlight of my day, no matter what. I get to feel ye kisses, ye touches, feel ye curled up next to me. I know our lives aren’t going to be easy, but what would the fun in that be. Aye, we will argue, we will disagree on many things, but at the end of the day, our love will get us through everything that is thrown at us. Growing old with ye, watching our children grow up, get married and have children of their own, being able to do all that with ye, loving ye through thick and thin, I can honestly say God has answered my prayers when he made ye and put ye in my life. I love ye lass, to the moon and back!”
Raso had tears streaming down her face while Marcus said his vows. She knew she looked a site, but she didn’t care. Even when Marcus used his thumbs to wipe her tears, she still only had eyes for him.
“Marcus, I didn’t know about this, but what I have to say comes from my heart. The first time I met you, I couldn’t believe that you were real. I thought God had played a cruel joke on my eyes because seeing you made me wish for thing’s I never thought were possible to have. When I first met you, I was terrified of what could be. I had already lost one man who I thought was the love of my life. When you came into my life, I realized what I had wasn’t anything close to what we have now. You scared me so much I did everything I could to push you away. I was so petrified of the what if’s that it was easier to push you away, believe that you were a manwhore instead of believing in the good. But you kept fighting for what your heart wanted. You never gave up. You fought for me, for us. Now I know what true love really it. You show me every day how much I mean to you. You stand up to me when I’m being a bitch, yet you show me that no matter what, you love me. You show me what unconditional love really is. You freed my heart, my soul, my love. For that, I will always love you to the moon and back.”
When Raso finished her vows, Marcus leaned in, kissing her, causing everyone to laugh and clap. Breaking the kiss, the two touched foreheads for a few moments before leaning back and smiling at each other.
“Now we will hear Joseph and Laura’s vows.” The priest announced to the party.
“Laura, the day I met you, I felt my world shift off its axis. Lord knows I was a ladies’ man, but lass, I can say without a shadow of doubt, ye were the one who swept me off my feet. Ye made my heart skip a beat. The minute I walked into that conference room, it took all I had to be professional and pay attention to everyone else in the room. Ye were the first thing I noticed, walking in. Ye eyes, ye smile, ye voice, that sexy arse if yours.” Highlander stopped for several seconds while everyone had a chuckle at what he had just said.
“The days I’m without ye are long and endless. I can’t wait to get home to ye. Ye make me laugh with your movie one liners. I love watching ye with Cody, who I claim as my son, even if he’s not mine biologically. I love watching ye with our other children, hearing ye laughter, ye talks with them, especially when they are testing ye last nerve. Ye always make sure I’m fed, I have clean clothes, I have time alone or with my men if I need it. Ye always seem to know what I need before I do. Ye keep me from falling into the darkness when a mission goes wrong. The sound of ye voice, the feel of ye touches, the taste of ye lips, the feel of ye body beside mine, they are my everything. I don’t remember my life before ye, because all I can think about is my life with ye. I can’t imagine my life without ye, and God help me, I will never have to. I want us sitting on the front porch, holding hands, sitting in a rocking chair watching our grandchildren playing in the yard, our kids coming home to visit us. I want to grow old with ye lass. Ye are my croie, the one God created just for me. Ye are my beauty! I love ye, forever and always, to infinity and beyond!”
“Asshole” Pratt sniffed before she leaned in and stole a kiss from Highlander.
“Laura, are ye ready to state ye vows or is that ye vow?” The priest asked, smirking as he winked at Pratt.
“Since I didn’t know this was happening, I don’t have mine written!” Highlander winked at Pratt as the audience laughed. “My heart knows what it needs to say. Since the day I met you, I fought my feelings that were instant the moment you walked into that conference room. Despite what I felt, I never thought that someone like me could get the attention of a man like you. You were the man of my dreams. Intense, funny, determined to get what you wanted, good looking, great kisser, damn good in bed…” Pratt stopped as everyone burst into laughter.
“Most of all, you made me feel like the only woman in the world. Even when I have blood, bruises or whatever a case may bring all over me, you make me feel like I’m the most beautiful, cherished woman in the universe. You always make sure I have one of your shirts that you’ve just worn available to sleep in while you’re gone on a mission. You always take the time when you have even just a few seconds down during your deployments to let me know you’re thinking of me and missing me more than I could possibly imagine. I can’t even remember what my world was like before I met you, I don’t even want to remember my world before then, because I never want to know this world without you in it. Those days you’re gone are hard enough, but at least I know you’re coming home to me, eventually. You are the air I breathe, my heartbeat, my everything. You are my beast. I love you, forever and always, to infinity and beyond.”
