Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 57216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
When my gaze slipped to Junior’s face, I saw a flash of something sweet and soft.
At what?
The mention of his parents becoming grandparents?
Well, he didn’t have to worry about that.
We were definitely going to be getting on that.
Once the cafe had some more staff.
And after he put a ring on my finger.
“Come on,” Junior said as he got up. “Let’s go home. We can clean up tomorrow morning,” he said.
I couldn’t argue with his logic.
Sure, I wanted a ring and vows and babies.
But I was loving things just as they were for a while.
Junior - 1 year
“Whose genius idea was this again?” I asked as I laced up my winter boots. With my fucking suit.
I wasn’t sure why I even needed to wear the suit when I had to put a heavy winter jacket over it.
“Barry’s,” Jackson reminded me with a smirk as he pulled on a beanie.
“And why did I let him decide on where Shale and I were going to get married again?”
“Because Shale melted at the idea,” he reminded me.
Damnit, she had.
Even if I knew her well enough to know she was cursing that sentimentality as she pulled on fleece leggings under her wedding gown.
Getting married in front of this year’s Christmas tree felt like a full-circle moment. But I couldn’t help but wonder how many of our guests—and there were a fuckton of them—were cursing us out right then.
“Hey, we got a fucking amazing, warm, lodge waiting for us once the vows are done,” Jackson said.
He was just like his old man.
Laid-back.
Not much got a rise out of him.
And since I was easy to rile, it was good to have him as my best man to keep me level.
Though, yeah, I had to technically have two best men. ‘Cause Barry would be fucking devastated if he didn’t get the honor too.
“Alright,” Jackson said, nodding. “You ready to make the best decision of your life?” he asked.
Fuck yeah, I was.
The walk was even longer than I remembered through the woods with a fresh four inches of snow crunching under our feet as we went.
I had no idea what was waiting for me at the end of the walk. Shale and I had left the aunts, cousins, and Barry to the wedding planning.
The second I saw it, I knew it had been the right decision.
Lines of white chairs were set up to the sides of a long red aisle that looked a bit like a Christmas tree skirt. Fitting.
At the front was our tree that the farm said they’d cut down for us this time when we were ready to head back home.
The thing was… Barry had decorated it.
I knew it had to be Barry.
It had him all over it. And he’d been oddly absent from our lives for the past few days.
There were lights and ornaments and a star on top.
He was waiting for us right in front of it, next to the minister, and holding Lucy’s leash. She was decked out in an all-red snow jacket that went down all her legs and had a hood to cover her ears.
“Hey, Boss man,” Barry greeted me.
“You did good, Bar,” I said, shaking my head at him.
He puffed up at that.
“You ready to do this?” he asked, nodding toward where two figures were making their way toward us.
Shale, in her white dress. With sleeves. And gloves.
And my dad, holding her arm.
Since she didn’t have a father of her own to walk her down the aisle.
I was happy to share mine.
And the rest of my family too.
Forever.
That’s what this whole thing was about.
Forever.
With the most amazing woman I’d ever met.
She looked fucking gorgeous too.
Her hair was in a blonde stage, but she’d added some red under the top layer to match the Christmas theme.
Music clicked on.
And she didn’t walk down the aisle to The Wedding March. But a harp version of Joy to the World.
Barry, again.
“This is the part where, as her father,” my dad said. “I threaten you. So, consider yourself threatened,” he said, then pressed a kiss to Shale’s cheek, and went to take his seat next to my mom.
“To avoid covering this dress with an ugly coat, I am in a full-body fleece-lined bodysuit. You’re going to have fun getting me naked later,” she said in a voice so low that only I could hear it.
She took my hands and we turned to the minister, listening and repeating the words that would make legal what we’d already decided a long time ago.
That we were together.
And we always planned to be.
We barely finished the kiss before everyone was making the mad dash back toward their cars, us included.
We cranked the heat and seat warmers up until we felt thawed enough to drive to the lodge we’d rented out for the reception, but also for all our guests to stay the night.