Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts starts to play, and everyone turns to where Jordan and Kelsie will be walking down the aisle. Jordan’s first, and she looks so adorable in a light blue princess-style dress. She’s tossing flowers all over the ground and giggling as she does it.
When she gets to me, she dumps whatever she has left in the basket and grins up at me. “I threw them all.”
“Good job.” I kneel in front of her. “You look beautiful, like a real princess.”
Her smile widens. “Thank you. Mommy looks like a princess, too.”
She turns around to stand with me and a few seconds later, Kelsie appears, looking beyond gorgeous in her white, sparkly dress. My dad lifts his arm, and she smiles softly up at him, hooking her arm in his elbow.
Thanks to her parents being too stubborn to admit they fucked up and are missing out on both their daughter’s and granddaughter’s lives, Kelsie was set to walk down the aisle alone. Only the second my dad heard, he insisted on walking her, saying that she’s family and he would be honored to give her away. Her parents might’ve disowned her, but she has a family here who love her.
When they get to me, I shake my dad’s hand then lean in and kiss the corner of Kelsie’s mouth. “You look beautiful.”
She smiles a watery smile, and I wonder, not for the first time, how I got lucky enough to share my life with this woman.
We decided to say our own vows, so I go first. Resting my hand on the side of her face, I recite the words I wrote about our love.
“Kelsie, since the moment I met you, I knew you were the one for me. The first time I met you, you were down on your luck, but your strength showed me the type of person you are: strong, courageous, and determined. Since then, I’ve gotten to meet the many parts that make you who you are: the mother, the friend, the lover… and I’ve fallen in love with every part of you.
“You once asked what you could possibly bring to the table, worried that our relationship would be one-sided, but what you didn’t realize is that you’ve already given me the two greatest gifts I could ask for: you and Jordan.”
I glance down at the beautiful little girl beaming up at me. “I’m not sure there’s anything in the world I could give you that would equal what you’ve given me. But I promise to love and cherish you both every day.
“My promise to you, as your husband, is to love you for who you are. When you are happy, I will be happy with you. When you are sad, I will make you smile. I will encourage you to grow as an individual, and I will be there by your side every step of the way. I promise to love and honor you and to respect you every day as we follow our dreams and grow old together.”
I take her hand and push the wedding ring onto her finger, then place the engagement one back onto the same finger. She sniffles back her emotions, and I catch a falling tear, wiping it carefully so her makeup doesn’t get smudged.
“Pierce, it wasn’t until you that I got to experience true love,” she begins, grinning up at me with a watery smile. “Before you, every person in my life loved selfishly, with terms and conditions and stipulations. Everyone always had an agenda. But then you came along and showed me that it’s possible to love someone unconditionally. You accept me and love me the way I am, and I promise to always do the same. I promise to love you during the good times and bad, happy and sad, and to always be by your side. I promise to love you selflessly and unconditionally as we go through this journey of life together.”
She takes the ring from Allison, slides it onto my ring finger, then raises it to her lips and kisses it. “I love you, Pierce.”
Allison announces us husband and wife, and then I take my wife into my arms and kiss her with every ounce of love I have in me.
When we separate, instead of walking down the aisle, I turn toward Jordan, who’s smiling at her mom and me. “Before we celebrate, I have one more vow to make.”
I kneel in front of Jordan, and Allison hands me the box I asked her to hold. “Since the moment I met you and your mom, I knew you two were meant to be my family. The first time you called me Daddy, my heart felt like it would burst in my chest because I was so happy. I vow to take care of you, to guide and protect you, and to be there for you every day for the rest of our lives. You might not have my blood flowing through your veins, but you own my heart, and you are and will always be my daughter.”