I smile up at him and watch him look at me as though I hung the moon.
The service begins, and the minister is so great that his banter, mixed with his solemn tone when it's called for, makes the service perfect. Lighthearted but serious.
Throughout the service, Dec never takes his eyes off me.
“Okay, now is the time for the vows. Sophie, I understand you haven’t had much time to prepare, so no pressure, but you have thirty seconds to come up with something, or you can repeat after me.”
Shit. I hadn’t even thought of this. What should I do? I look at Dec and know. I need to do my own.
“I’ll do my own,” I say to the minister.
“Good girl – fire away.”
“So Dec, when I first met you, I thought you were a bit of an a-hole.” The crowd laughs, and Dec’s eyes crinkle. He knows when I’m talking about, only him, Mia and me know about that night.
“But as I got to know you, I found out that you....well, you are the best man I know. You struggle with your integrity when you are the kindest, most thoughtful and sweetest guy I have ever met. I'm sorry that some of your past has had more downs than ups, but I can tell you this, in front of everyone, that right now, I promise you, your future will be all ups. I'm going to make you so happy, Declan Cutler. You will smile every day and forget the time you lived your life in the dark. I love you, forever.”
The room is silent. I glance at Robyn, who is dabbing her eyes with a tissue, and then I feel someone at my side. Jack. He leans over and kisses me on the cheek and whispers in my ear. “Fuckin’ love you, Soph, fuckin love you for my brother.” He clears his throat and walks back to where he was.
I look back at Dec. His eyes are shining.
“well...,” the minister says, “no pressure to you, Declan, but she just did that off the top of her head. Your turn.”
Declan grabs both of my hands.
“I wasn’t living when I met you. I was surviving. You came into my life, and suddenly instead of just being content to survive, I found I was looking for reasons to be near you, be with you, but I didn’t understand why. You taught me how to live again. I feel like the luckiest bastard on the face of the earth right now that I didn’t royally fuck up beyond all repair. Your heart, your big heart full of light, consumed me, and I hope to fucking god it consumes me every single day. Sophie, don’t think for one second in my future that I will ever forget how lucky I am that you are standing here right now. You are mine. I am yours. Your light has blinded my dark, and I am thankful for that every day. Our love, it's built on something different. You never gave up on me, you know what I’ve been through, you know things no one else knows, and you still love me. For me. So, Sophie, I love you, down to my fucking bones I love you, and I will until the day I die.”
I can't help but release a sob as I go into his arms. They wrap around me, right where they should be. I will never forget those words.
The minister speaks. “Well, in that case, guys. You are now man and wife. You can get down to the kissing. Congratulations!”
I look up at Dec as his mouth falls on mine in a firm kiss. I wind my arms around his neck and kiss him back for all I'm worth. I'm his now and it feels bloody brilliant.
All our friends erupt in whistles and applause and stand up whooping.
The best moment of my life.
