Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 95307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“You ready?” Chase asks, standing behind me.
“Is that a real question?” I ask him.
He laughs and reaches for Sophia. “Come to Uncle Chase,” he coos. I have to say my best friend is quite enamored with my daughter. Then again, we all are.
“Get your own,” I tell him, just as the music starts, and I see Gabby appear on the back porch. Chase turns his head, and his hands fall to his sides. “You’re drooling.” I chuckle under my breath. He doesn’t respond. I don’t even think he hears me as his eyes follow my sister-in-law down the aisle. She and her sister look a lot alike, but no one compares to my Winnie.
Gabby stops next to me and places a kiss on Sophia’s cheek before taking her spot across from me. Her eyes flash to Chase, and I don’t have to look over my shoulder at him to know he’s watching her. Instead, I turn my attention to the back door.
Watching.
Waiting.
“Damn,” I mutter when I see her. She’s wearing a short white dress, covered in lace. It’s not a traditional wedding gown, but she looks phenomenal in it. She’s been at the gym a lot, working on “losing the baby weight.” To me, she was perfect, but she insisted she needed to feel ready. I didn’t push her, no matter how badly I wanted to. I tried to tell her there was no need because as soon as she let me, I’d be knocking her up again. However, I could tell it was important to her, so in turn, it was important to me. With Gabby working at the gym, she helped out with Sophia, when she could wrangle her away from Chase. My wife and I worked out together. It was a couple of weeks ago when she told me she was ready. Since it’s close friends and family, here we are. I called our mothers, and it was a done deal. Nothing elaborate. Just me and my wife becoming legal in the eyes of the law.
“Look at Mommy, Soph,” I say to my daughter. I don’t bother to lower my voice. As far as I’m concerned, this is just going through the motions. She’s always been my wife. “She’s beautiful,” I tell our daughter as Winnie stops to stand in front of me. Like her sister, she leans over and kisses our daughter on the cheek. “What about me?” I ask her.
She smiles, her green eyes shimmering in the sunlight. Standing on her tiptoes, she places her lips on my cheek. Well, she intended to, but I turn my head in time and capture her lips with mine.
“Guys.” Gabby laughs. “We’re not there yet.”
“We’ve always been there,” I tell her. Everyone laughs. It’s nothing new for me to show my wife what she means to me. Why should today be any different? We’ve taken a twisted road to get here. Why should the path go back to being straight and narrow?
“I have strict instructions from the groom to make this fast.” The minister chuckles, as does everyone else. He goes through the traditional vows, then asks for the rings.
Turning, I hand Sophia to Chase, and pull our rings out of my jeans pocket. I hand mine to Winnie, and we take turns repeating our vows and sliding the rings onto our fingers. They’re new—both of them. We’re saving our originals for Sophia.
“By the power vested in me—”
I don’t hear the rest. I slide my hand behind her neck and pull her into a kiss. One that promises today, tomorrow, and forever. “I love you, Mrs. Drake,” I say, pulling back and resting my forehead against hers.
“I love you, Mr. Drake.”
Sophia squeals and we pull apart to look at her. She’s bouncing in Chase’s arms. Her little arms flying around. She has no idea what today means, or how important it was for us to have her here with us. “Is thirteen months apart far enough?” I ask Winnie.
She smiles up at me. “Let’s get her out of diapers, then we’ll talk.”
“How long is that?”
“Two and a half years or so, some longer.”
“We can afford diapers,” I tell her. Two and a half years… that’s too damn long.
“We’ll play it by ear,” she says, kissing the bottom of my chin.
“I can be very convincing.”
“Mmm.” Winnie wraps her arms around my waist. “You’ll have to show me. You know I’m a hard sell,” she says, resting her head against my chest.
“Challenge accepted,” I murmur, kissing the top of her head.
Winnie
* * *
The moment I see him standing at the end of the aisle, holding our daughter, I feel like the world tilts on its axis. Sure, he holds Sophia all the time, but today… wearing dark jeans that hug his powerful legs and an untucked, crisp white button-down shirt? Yeah, I feel the ground shift beneath my feet.