“But more than anything, Logan, I promise you will always have me. All of me. Everything I have is yours. You are my family, my future and my forever.”
I wanted to kiss her. I’d never wanted to kiss her more, but before I had the chance, a throat was clearing again and it was my turn. My turn to pledge myself to this woman. For eternity, and I couldn’t wait.
“I should have gone first. I should have gone first because I can barely speak after that. I’ve forgotten everything I was going to say. You rendered me speechless and I have been in a constant state of awe since the moment I looked into these mystically green eyes. You bewitch me, captivate me, and propel me to be a better person. I was an empty shell until you showed me what love was.”
I had written vows, and memorized them. It had taken me days, and I done nothing this morning but pace my hotel room reciting them. And now, nothing. I was just a rambling, gushing mess of words. But, it wasn’t pretty speeches and memorization that made a vow. It was what came from the heart, and suddenly forgetting my page-long vows didn’t seem so bad.
“I promise to always make you pizza whenever you want. I will never leave the house without first kissing you goodbye and promising chocolate on my return. I will always put you and Maddie first in my life—you two are my life. I vow to spend every day of my life proving to you that the promises you just made to me were worth it—that we’re worth it. I promise to always play the guitar for you when you have trouble falling asleep. I will never sweat the small stuff or allow the sun to set with anger in our bed.” I gave Tom a meaningful look and he nodded. Repeating the words she said to me, I said, “You are my family, my future and my forever….and I will walk with you wherever this crazy road called life may take us.”
Her hands tightened around mine and tiny tears trickled down her cheek. I reached up and gently wiped them away.
“Now that Clare and Logan have said their vows, they will now exchange rings. Rings are a symbolic representation of the love between a husband and wife. As a ring has no beginning or end, your lives are now joined in one unbroken circle, for love that is given comes back around again. May these rings you exchange today always remind you of the vows you have taken today and of the promises that have been made.”
We had no ring bearer, so Colin and Leah served as our official keeper of the rings. Leah stepped forward and handed Clare my ring, and gave us a teary eyed wink.
Clare took the ring in her right hand and positioned it over my ring finger before saying, “With this ring, I give you my heart, soul and unending love. With this ring, I marry you.”
She slipped the cool platinum band down my ring finger, and our eyes locked. It slid into place and I felt like a missing piece of my soul had just returned.
Colin tapped my shoulder and handed me the ring that I would place on Clare’s finger. It was simple and handmade to match her antique wedding engagement ring. Repeating the same process, I took her left hand and positioned the ring and said, “ With this ring, I give you my heart, soul and unending love. With this ring, I marry you.”
Her eyes followed my movements as I slid her wedding ring down her slim finger.
“Now that they have recited vows and exchanged rings, I only have one thing left to do,” the minister said and I grinned.
“You have made lifelong promises of love and faithfulness today, sealing yourselves to each other for all the days of your life. By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
Turning to me, who was no doubt grinning like a fool, he said, “You may now kiss your bride.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I closed the small gap that separated us and kissed my wife. Our lips met and, like every time I kissed Clare, it felt like the first time. I wove my fingers into her hair and deepened our kiss, forgetting that there were about fifteen people around us, including my brand new mother- and father-in-law.
Better save some of that for later.
I reluctantly pulled away, just enough that our foreheads still touched, and I could feel her damp cheeks against mine.
Laughing slightly, our minister said, “May I introduce, for the first time, Mr. And Mrs. Logan Matthews!”
I liked the sound of that.
Chapter Eleven
~Clare~
I was really starting to regret the idea of a reception.
I loved my family and friends, but honestly…I wanted them all gone. Now.
Logan and I were married. Finally.
I wanted nothing more than just him and me and an endless amount of time to spend naked in a bed.
But I was the one who wanted a reception. Logan had said he didn’t want anything after we said I do except me. Naked. I’d told him we needed to respect our family who’d flown out for the event, so he grumbled and agreed. We’d planned a small reception, opting out of many of the traditional things done at a larger wedding. Just a meal and cake was on the schedule for tonight, but I knew it would still be forever before we got out of here.
I hated that he was right all the time.
I didn’t have a watch, but I was assuming it would be at least three hours before we could get out of here. After that, we had an entire week of vacation. We weren’t calling it a honeymoon, because we had decided to include Maddie. The grandparents had all offered to take her for a week, but this had originally been our vacation, until we switched into our wedding celebration. We didn’t want to kick her out of her own vacation. Plus, we were a new family and Logan was a new father. We not only needed time as a couple, but time as a family.
So, we were having a honeymoon, plus one. We could have a real honeymoon later. We still had our own bedroom and had activities planned for Maddie so we could have alone time when we needed it, but this felt right. We didn’t know what our lives would be like in the next few months, and spending as much time together as possible sounded like the best option.
“I was right, wasn’t I?” Logan whispered into my ear, returning with a glass of champagne from the bar.
“About what, dear husband?” I asked innocently.
“Mmm…say it again,” he growled.
“Husband?”
“Yes.” He wrapped his arms around my hips and pulled me forward. “I like that. A lot.”
“I can tell,” I said, sliding my hand down his backside.
“Clare…,” he warned.
“Yes, husband?”
“That’s it. Meet me in the hallway, just over there,” he said, pointing to my right, “In three minutes. Three minutes Clare.”