know somewhere Lex is standing watching us. I don’t know where, but I feel him. His stare is on me, and I know he won’t show his face, but if Rocky is here, then so is he. I smile because I wish that if he is looking at me right now, he can sense how much I miss him and how the next two hours seem like a lifetime away.
Behind the big oak tree, I see him, his silhouette and gaze permanently fixated on mine. I wink and watch as the silhouette of my beautiful man relaxes.
“I wish I had what you have.” Emma sighs as she stands beside me, looking at the stars.
“What’s going on, Em? Tate giving you a hard time?”
“Nope, the opposite. He doesn’t care about anything. He has his other skanks to worry about.”
I place my arm around her, trying to ease her pain. Men suck.
“I’m sorry, Em, I didn’t realize Tate was like that. Plenty more cock in the coop.”
She giggles. “Did Eric teach you that?”
“Who else?”
***
“You nervous?” Adriana asks as she fixes my train.
I’m reeling from the fact that in less than twenty minutes, I will see Lex again.
“Not a single bit.” I beam.
Adriana announces she is finally done. Standing back, she watches me. Barely above
a whisper, all I hear is, “There are no words,” as I watch her wipe a falling tear from her face.
“Mascara, Adriana,” I gently scold.
She laughs, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. “It’s showtime.”
According to Jen, the girls planned a simple wedding. No bridesmaids or groomsmen and a simple, short ceremony. The only thing I have to do, which I couldn’t have wanted any more at this moment, is to walk down the aisle with my dad.
My dad holds out his arm as he whispers, “Charlie, you sure about this?”
Without taking a single breath, I respond, “Never been so sure of anything in my entire life, Dad.”
He pats my arm, a slight build-up of tears in his eyes. I’m so ready. The violin begins to play ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love,’ the sweet melody prickling my skin with goosebumps.
On the cliff top, a place we had called ours, a new memory is about to begin. As I turn the corner, my eyes are immediately drawn to him. His emerald green eyes shine so bright, brighter than any light I have seen, and so without any hesitation, both my heart and feet walk toward him, finding their way to a place called home.
LEX
In life, we strive for perfection. Whether it’s emotional, physical, or material, and time and time again, we are reminded perfection is only momentary. Our natural instinct is to crave something greater, explore our want, our thirst, or our desire to find something superior.
As humans, our brains are programmed to think this way, but tonight at the stroke of midnight, my brain has been reprogrammed because perfection is walking down the aisle toward me like an angel of purity in all its beauty.
Charlotte’s smile radiates. A few more steps and she will finally be beside me.
Mark kisses her cheek before handing her to me and then, as I expected, as I craved, the jolt. Electrifying every single part of me, a constant reminder only she has the power to make me feel this.
I know without a single doubt she feels it too, and I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I lean in and kiss her lips, caught up in the moment.
“Charlotte, you are beautiful,” I whisper softly against her lips.
The celebrant interrupts us, and there under the pale moonlight, three minutes past midnight, I begin to say the words.
“Charlotte Olivia Mason, I promise to cherish you and love you unconditionally for the rest of our lives. I vow every breath I take and every beat of my heart belongs to you and only you.”
I slide the ring on her finger, once again kissing it before it’s her turn to speak.
“Alexander Matthew Edwards, I take you to be my constant friend and my loving partner. I promise to be faithful and devote myself to you, only you and our marriage. I give you my hand, my heart, and the air I breathe for as long as we both shall live.”
Charlotte slides the ring on my finger, again.
I don’t wait for the words, I kiss her. Five hours apart feels like a lifetime, and now in front of our family and friends, we are officially Mr. and Mrs. Edwards. There’s a roar, whistling, and clapping amongst our nearest