He smirks. “You’re hilarious. Give me a kiss.”

“No way.”

“Why?”

“Because the next time I kiss you will be when you’re officially my husband.”

I hear the clicking sound of heels as Reese argues my reasoning with a scowl. Juls grabs his shoulder. “Get the hell out of here! Are you insane?”

“You’re the one who’s making us wait. She’s ready. I’m ready. Let’s fucking go.”

Juls shoves him in the direction of The Great Hall. “Go. We’ll be there in a minute.”

He looks past her, connecting with me. “If you make me wait, I’ll be hauling you down that aisle over my shoulder.”

“I’m right behind you,” I reply as Juls pushes her way into the room.

My mother walks over to us, disapproval stamped on her features. “I’m not saying a word.”

I shrug before turning to Juls. “Can I please get married now?”

Juls waves my dad over who has remained in his chair. “Are you ready to give your daughter away, Mr. Sparks?”

He looks at her then at me before standing and tugging at his suit jacket. Reserved and poised, he walks over and takes my hand, looping it through his arm. He tilts his head down, giving me an endearing look. “I will never be ready to give my daughter away. But if I had to pick one man to take care of her in my place, it would be Reese.”

I blink rapidly, trying to stop the tears from forming. Juls sniffs and wipes underneath my eyes, keeping my makeup intact while Joey fans his face and my mom pulls out a handkerchief, blowing her nose into it.

My dad leads me toward the door. “Come on. You heard the man. He isn’t going to wait much longer for you.”

We walk down the side hallway which dumps into the main room of the Whitmore. It’s empty, all the guests already inside The Great Hall. I hear the soft music playing behind the closed giant double doors. My mother comes up to me and kisses my cheek before doing the same to my father. Joey moves me to the side, shielding me while Juls opens the door and allows my mother to enter the room and take her seat.

“Okay,” Juls says in a soft voice. “Let’s line up.” She walks over to the side table and grabs my bouquet, handing it to me and taking hers. Joey stands at the front of the line, Juls right behind him. He grabs the door handles, glancing back over his shoulder.

“Ready, cupcake?”

Juls gives me a quick wink and I nod, shifting my weight on my feet.

God, yes. Come on already.

The doors open and the music becomes noticeably louder. I move forward once Joey begins his walk, gripping my bouquet tightly. As Juls makes her way between the rows of chairs, my father takes a few more steps with me. I look around the room, smiling at the familiar faces of family and friends who have joined us today. And then I can’t stand it any longer. I give into the biggest temptation of my life and let my eyes find Reese.

I see his reaction to me immediately. And even though I know this ceremony is being videoed, I won’t need any help remembering the look on his face right now. I know without a doubt I will never forget this moment and the mix of emotion in his eyes.

My dad turns me toward him. “Are you sure I can’t walk you down the aisle, sweetheart? It’s my only job today.”

I smile and look back up at Reese, because it physically pains me to not look at him at this point. “No,” I reply, letting go of his arm. “He’ll come get me.”

My father makes his way down the aisle alone, gaining muffled reactions from the guests. No one knows why I’m standing back here by myself. No one but Reese. And as my father takes his seat next to my mom, Reese begins his walk toward me.

Actually, it’s more like a sprint.

I hear the familiar laughs of our friends from the front of the room as Reese gets to me in record timing. He cradles my face in his hands and drops his forehead to touch mine.

“Thanks for coming to get me,” I whisper for his ears only.

“I’ll always come to get you, you know that.” He leans back and looks down my body. “You have never looked this beautiful, and you always stun me, Dylan. This dress…”

“Wait ‘til you see what’s under it.” My tease gets the reaction I was hoping for out of him. I’m quickly being escorted down the aisle, almost at the same pace with which he reached me moments ago with. The hall becomes filled with everyone’s laughter as they take in my flustered fiancé. Once we reach the front of the room, I hand my bouquet to Juls who can’t seem to stop giggling. Reese positions me across from him, steadying me with his hands on my upper arms before releasing me.

He looks up at the preacher. “Hurry up.”

We run through the majority of the ceremony without any glitches. When it comes to our vow exchange, I turn around and grab a few tissues from Juls. If last night was any indication to how I’m going to react to this, and given the fact Reese has never looked sexier than he does right this moment, I’m going to need these.

I go first, with the steadiest voice I can muster, repeating after the preacher. I only shed a few tears but quickly wipe them away before my makeup is affected. Reese keeps his eyes on me the entire time, giving me the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen as I promise to love him forever.

And then I prepare myself for his turn.

The preacher doesn’t ask him to repeat anything. In fact, he doesn’t say anything after I finish reciting mine. I look up at him and then to Reese with what I can only assume to be my most perplexed expression. Reese reaches into his inner jacket pocket and pulls out the familiar brown card he’s always sending me notes on.

I crush the tissues in my hand as my breath lodges in my throat.

He steps closer to me, holding it out for me to take. “Did you really think I’d ever use someone else’s words on you?”

“Oh, my God,” Juls chokes out behind me.

I hear Joey’s annoyed reaction, too, but can’t respond to it. I have to put all my focus into taking the card from him. It’s a difficult task. My hands are shaking so bad I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop them enough to read the card. I go to unfold it when his hands cover mine.

“No, love. That’s for you to never forget the words I’m about to say. Right now, just listen.”

I bring the card against my chest, holding it there while he barely leaves an inch of space between us.

“Dylan, until today, the day you fell into my lap, the day you came back to me, the day I knew I was going to marry you, those were the best days of my life. I promise to always look at you this way. To give you every part of me, and to cherish every second I share with you. Because you have always been mine, ever since I first saw you in this room. And I will spend the rest of my life being yours.” He looks down, breaking our contact briefly as I wipe underneath my eyes. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for this day forever. I still can’t believe I’m the one who gets to marry you.” He finally lifts his eyes and I see the tears in them. “I want you in every way, Dylan. I want the woman who fell into my lap, and the one who’s slapped me across the face more times than I care to remember.”

I laugh through a cry, hearing everyone’s chuckles around me.

Reese’s lips curls into a smile. “I want the woman who dances around her bakery every Friday, and the one who lets me watch her from across the room and acts like she doesn’t know I’m doing it.” His hand tucks my hair behind my ear, and my throat suddenly feels too dry to swallow as he holds my face. “I want the woman who protected her heart when she had to. The one who gave it to me when she was ready. And the one who is now giving me the best day of my life.”