Let It Be (Butler, Vermont #6) - Marie Force Page 0,76
‘I do’?” Elmer asked.
“I am,” Ella said, smiling at Gavin.
“Hell yes,” Gavin said.
“Charley and Hannah, will you be my attendants?”
While she waited for her sisters to join her, Ella saw Amelia wiping tears.
Hannah hugged Ella, and then Charley did the same.
“Thanks for asking us,” Hannah said for both of them.
“There’s no one else I would’ve asked.”
“Will and Hunter,” Gavin said, “we’ve been friends for as long as I can remember, and since my own brother can’t be here to stand up for me, I’d appreciate if you guys would.”
Hunter put his hand on his heart as he stood to join Will and Gavin. “Honored, brother,” he said when he hugged Gavin.
“What he said,” Will added.
Ella couldn’t help but note that her handsome, smiling groom bore no resemblance whatsoever to the devastated shell of a man he’d been a few years ago. Their life together had helped to put his pieces back together, and while he’d never be the same person he’d been before he lost his brother, he was a new, stronger version of that person, and Ella loved him with her whole heart and soul.
“Ella and Gavin wanted to write their own vows, so I’m only here to tell them what to do and when to do it,” Elmer said, beaming. “Ladies first. Ella?”
She handed the baby to her mother so she could focus exclusively on the love of her life. “I’d bought a dress and was going to do something with my hair, but then Sarah arrived and it snowed and here we are, in sweats and flannels at our wedding, and somehow that’s exactly how it should be. I’m never more comfortable than I am when I’m with you, Gav. It seems only fitting that I should be at my most comfortable when I finally get to marry the man I’ve loved for so long, I can’t recall a time when I didn’t love you.”
Gavin released one of her hands to wipe his eyes.
“For a while there,” Ella said, “I didn’t think you and I were going to happen. I didn’t think we’d get our happily ever after. It took a while for you to come around…”
Gavin laughed as he contended with more tears.
“But when you did come around, when you finally saw that my way was the right way, you made me so, so happy. I can’t wait to see what’s next for us and our little family. I can’t wait to add to our family, although maybe not right away,” she said with a grimace and a laugh. “I can’t wait for everything with you. I, Ella Abbott, take you, Gavin Guthrie, to be my husband. To have and to hold from this day forward, forsaking all others, to love and honor all the days of my life.”
Elmer dabbed at his eyes and turned to Gavin. “Gav?”
“Whew,” Gavin said. “Not sure how I’m supposed to follow that.” He wiped his eyes again and made an effort to pull himself together. “To say I was in a bad place before you, Ella, is putting it rather simply. I was a wreck. An emotional disaster area. The ultimate fixer-upper. But you, my fearless, tireless, relentless love, you only saw the potential, not the mess. You stuck with me through all the hard times and led me through the darkness back into the light that shines all around you.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and caressed her face. “You are, quite simply, my lifeline. You’re the reason I get up in the morning, the reason I continue to try when I used to think it wasn’t worth the bother. You’re the reason for everything. You and our Sarah and the family we’re building together have put me back together and given me love and hope and the kind of comfort I didn’t know I needed until I had you. Thank you for never giving up on me when anyone else would’ve quit. I love you so much, Ella. I, Gavin Guthrie, take you, Ella Abbott, to be my wife. To have and to hold from this day forward, forsaking all others, to love and honor all the days of my life.”
Everyone in the room was dealing with tears by the time Elmer handed Ella’s ring to Gavin.
“I give you this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity,” he said as he put it on her finger.