woman is mine. “You—the girl who was right in front of me my whole life and I took forever to see, wasting my life and not living fully—are the first day of the rest of my life. And I swear, I will never ever love anyone the way I love you.”
When a tear rolls down her cheek, I want to scream out in victory. “Ha, I made you cry.”
“Shut up,” she says, laughing before wiping her face. She takes my hand once more, right where she belongs, as Ross says, “See? Told you, true love.” He reaches over, taking Shelli’s shoulder in his hand. “Never in my life have I met a couple like you two. So please, Shelli, share your heart.”
Shelli takes a deep breath, her eyes locking with mine once more. “It’s no secret that I’ve been in love with you my whole life. You were made for me, made for me to love, and it’s also no secret that I express myself best through music. So, let’s see if I can make it through this without crying.”
To my surprise, the pianist behind us starts to play, and Shelli takes in a deep breath. Then her incredible voice fills the barn like it has filled so many theaters. I know the song; Moulin Rouge is a favorite movie of hers. When “Come What May” would come on, she would sing it loudly and proudly, just like she is now. The violinists join in, and the barn becomes basically a concert hall and Shelli is the star. But she isn’t singing for anyone else but me.
Just me.
Her voice is flawless, and her eyes stay locked on mine as she sings. Each word striking me like a puck in the chest. She hits the crescendo, squeezing my hands as she promises that no matter what comes at us, she will love me until her dying day. She may have hoped she wouldn’t cry, but someone might as well stick a pacifier in my mouth because I’m bawling like a baby.
When she finishes, the room explodes in applause, and I can’t handle it. I grab her by the back of her neck and pull her in for a lusty and drawn-out kiss. Much to Ross’s dismay.
But I don’t care at all, and I’ll be damned if someone or some tradition is going to keep me from kissing her any longer.
This woman is mine.
Forever.
There is a tap on the mic, and then my brother’s voice fills the redesigned barn.
“Hello. If I can have everyone’s attention.”
I remove my mouth from Shelli’s, something I’d rather not do, but she kinda makes me, and together, with her in my arms, we look up to find Asher standing tall beside me. He really wasted that height; he should have played hockey or basketball. Nope, he does technical stuff.
Dork.
“Yes, if someone is looking for their baby, he’s right here,” he says, pointing to me, grinning from ear to ear.
“I’m gonna kick your ass,” I call to him, and he’s lucky my wife is between us.
Fuck. My wife.
Said wife laughs along with everyone as my brother thinks he’s hilarious. I love watching her laugh, the way her face moves with the action, the way her eyes glisten, and the sound. It’s heavenly. I love it. I love her.
Along with her laughter, though, is that of the whole party, and boy, what a party so far. I made the complaint that I didn’t get to see the flamethrowers or the acrobats, so Shelli had them come inside and perform while we ate. The dance floor is surrounded by two long-ass tables in a family-style setup. Shelli and Elli wanted everyone to feel like family, and one big thing Shelli remembered from growing up was the huge tables full of food on family dinner nights. We’d be at those dinners, but I’d be so wrapped up in playing hockey with Shea and the boys that I never noticed her begging for my attention.
She’ll never beg another day in her life.
I cup her cheek as Posey giggles from beside me. While there are two long tables for all our guests, there is a smaller one up on the highest stage for us and our wedding party. Beautiful flowers cover every inch before us, but my favorite part is the little Mr. and Mrs. sign that sits in front of Shelli and me. The ceremony, the pictures… Jesus, it all seems like such a dream. I can still feel the words Shelli