Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79969 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79969 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Except for maybe Ranger.
You could dress the man up, but you couldn't make him look like he fit in with the city folk. Even as Miller tried to drag him out of his shell a little. After the ceremony, she was all but guaranteed to try to ply him with alcohol until he loosened up a bit. It wouldn't work, of course, but she would try her damnedest.
We were T-minus twenty minutes until show time, until the woman I knew was supposed to marry me the moment we met finally agreed to it.
'Finally' sounded dramatic seeing as we had only been dating a year, had only been together six months when I'd gotten on a knee and asked her.
But it felt like a long time coming.
It felt like I had waited a whole lifetime.
I wasn't nervous.
There was nothing to be nervous about.
This was right.
In every way possible.
"You ready?" Miller asked, giving me a smile as she approached in a three-piece suit.
See, we didn't want a big bridal party.
Gemma would be maid-of-honor.
And I was debating my choices for best man, Miller had barged in, informing me that since she was the only one in the office with the balls to push us together finally, she deserved the honor.
So, yeah, Miller was my best man.
"Been ready," I agreed, taking her arm, walking down the hall to the ceremony room.
It was nothing short of a fairytale, everything white and gold and gleaming magically.
Jules would have normally wanted to be married in a church, but since we chose one of the snowiest months of the year to get married, we decided a one-stop location would be our best bet. There was a hotel upstairs too with rooms for our guests should the weather not hold out, or the open bar prove too tempting.
From their location in the front row, Jules' family all beamed at me. There hadn't been any kind of adjustment period with them. They had welcomed me with open arms, pulling me into their family unit like I had always belonged there. It meant more to me than I could say. And now we were all becoming family in an official way.
Across from them were what was, essentially, my family.
Gunner, Lincoln, Smith, Finn, Ranger, and the man who brought us all together in the first place - Quin.
There were two more people to the team than there had been this time the previous year, and one more woman on the arm of one of the men.
But those were stories for another day.
This was the story for today.
The music turned on, bringing Gemma down the aisle in a dress Jules had clearly let her choose for herself since it wasn't Jules' style, but it was completely Gemma's - a gold and white skater dress with a pair of golden ballet flats on her feet. Her hair was down. Wildflowers were in her hands.
She beamed at me as she took her place.
I beamed right back.
But only for a second.
Because there was no way I would miss what came next.
Jules stepping into the doorway on the arm of her father.
In my chest, my heart felt like it would break the confines of my rib cage it was so full.
They paused there for a second, Jules giving me a slow, sure smile, the lights catching on her red hair that she had left down to flow around her shoulders, like she knew I liked.
This dress was different than the previous one. The prep dress, if you will. Sleeveless, tight around the chest and down the center and thighs, only flaring out around her knees in layers of light fabric.
Beautiful.
More beautiful than I had ever seen her before.
They moved toward me in what felt like slow motion.
I barely remembered to shake my father-in-law's hand and thank him in my rush to get Jules' hands in mine.
One ring already gleamed on her finger.
Real.
Pear-shaped.
In just a moment, there would be another one there.
Mine.
She was finally, finally mine.
"Alright you two," Miller declared, walking up after most of the others at the reception had already filed out to find rooms or head home. She'd loosened her tie. Her suit jacket was open. And her eyes were heavy with exhaustion and liquor. "We wanted to give you your wedding present before we head out."
"You all chipped in?" I asked, brows drawing low. What could they have gotten us that they all needed to chip in on?
"Yep," Lincoln agreed as Quin moved forward to hand Jules a small white box wrapped in a golden bow.
"Open it," Gunner demanded when Jules didn't immediately go to do so, it not being proper etiquette to open wedding gifts in front of guests.
But with permission, her fingers tore at the bow, ripped open the top box, eager for our first gift as a married couple.
Inside was a small white notecard.