Still Not Over You(72)
“Back?” Landon asks, looking almost lost.
“Back.” Steve echoes with a firm nod. “You’ve always been one of us.”
“And he always will be,” I say, lacing my fingers with my fiancé’s, my beloved’s, my beast’s.
My Landon.
The man I’ve always believed in.
The fire I never extinguished.
The only hero I'll ever need.
20
Something Blue (Landon)
Six Months Later
I never thought this day would come.
I also never thought my easygoing, sweetly playful Reb would turn out to be the ultimate Bridezilla, but I gotta say at least she keeps me on my toes.
She really hasn’t been that bad.
Mostly just neurotic, wanting to make sure every last detail of our wedding is perfect. I don’t know how to make her understand: we could get married in burlap sacks in a back alley, and it'd be perfect as long as she’s there.
She’s all I need. She's perfection itself. She’s everything.
Marrying this woman is several dreams come true. Pure euphoria. Bliss.
And she’s the reason why I feel so light, standing here on the sand, looking down at her with flowers tucked in her hair. The salty sea air tosses those chestnut tresses swept against her bare shoulders, drawing my eyes to places I can't let distract me.
Not fucking now.
For all her planning with the invites and scheduling, our wedding is a simple thing. Informal, fresh cut flowers scattered across the beach. Everyone we love present – and a few people we tolerate, like Milah Holly herself – perched in folding chairs. Reb's wedding dress is in the same style, a simple white sundress that suits her better than any layer cake of frills ever could.
I told her I didn't want to see a stranger caked in makeup and suffocated in Victorian layers on our big day. I want to see her, beautiful as ever without any gloss. My sweet, natural, sexy as hell Kenna, with her magic ability to ignite my blood with nothing more than a green-eyed glance.
This is us. The future. This is how it should be, and will be.
Me and my wife, doing things our own way. Finding out what works for us, just like we always have.
Sometimes, it's chaotic. Sometimes, it's peace.
But it always, always makes me happy. Because she’s changed my life several times over. She’s changed me.
And I know I wouldn’t be here without her. Hell, I'd barely be human.
I'm so deep in my own head I'm hardly listening to the priest. All the “dearly beloveds” and “we are gathered here todays” are nothing against the roar and crash of the foamy sea at our backs. Like Mother Nature herself is standing witness, saluting us – and this lovely little kitten of a woman looks up at me with a shy, dorky smile that makes me think of that girl I used to know.
That girl who brought me back. That girl who never left me, even when I left her.
That girl who's been my greatest right and wrong, and my biggest, brightest promise.
God as my witness, I’ll never, ever leave her again.
Come hell, come fire, come storm, come the world heaving itself apart...
I’ll never leave her side.
The stars are just coming out against a sky of violet and indigo twilight, looking down on us with their glittering eyes when the priest asks for our vows.
My gut knots. I’ve been holding off on figuring mine out for so long, unsure of the right thing to say.
But as I look into her eyes, I know. It's spontaneous, it's harsh, it's right.
The words just come, as if I’ve spilled them out in heart’s blood.
“Kenna,” I murmur, then grin. “Reb.” There’s a laugh from the peanut gallery, and I recognize Steve’s voice but don’t care. “I learned who I was years ago when I watched the stars with you, then lost myself when I forgot where they were. You brought the sky back to me again, and taught me how to be the kind of man I want to be. The kind of man I believed my father could be.” His ring is heavy in the pocket of my shirt, reinstated along with his reputation. “The kind of man who can cherish you. Love you. Protect you. Fight like hell for you till the day I die. And I want the stars that always drew us together knowing I'll love you. Always. Love you till their light burns out, the earth falls apart, and beyond.”
Her eyes are glistening, glittering bright as distant green starlight themselves. She lets out a shaky laugh, her cheeks flushed. “I thought I was the writer,” she whispers.
“You're the muse today,” I tell her, drilling my gaze into hers. “You draw it out of me. My best, Reb.”
She laughs, ducking her head, but clasps my hands tight in hers. “Careful. You’re going to make me forget my lines, Landon!”
I wink. “Hurry. We're waiting.”
Ass, she says with a smiling glance.
Then she trails into a sigh, those captivating green eyes so warm, so open, brimming with the emotion I’m so lucky she’s willing to trust me with.
“Landon...you were always beautiful to me,” she says, her voice thick. “Even when you thought you were at your ugliest, your worst, past the point of no return, I saw the same man. The one I fell in love with one day after school when he told me I could be myself, and take the world by the horns. Whether your heart smolders with darkness or burns with light, you were gorgeous. You were strong. You were beautiful. And you still are. So flipping beautiful I can’t help but love you, Landon, and all the wild, chaotic whirlwinds of emotion that's become us. You have a beautiful heart...and I’m so, so glad to finally call it mine.”