You are my now, always, forever. –Nat
Well, hell.
I fasten the watch on my left wrist and stomp back into the main room. “Let’s go. No more waiting around.”
Without waiting for an answer from anyone, I walk down the wooden boardwalk to the sandy beach where the ceremony will be held. The resort did a great job getting set up with white chairs, a small arbor with red roses, and candles lit and scattered over the sand, giving the beach a soft glow. It’s almost sunset, and I know Nat would think the lighting is perfect.
I shake hands and wave at some of our fifty or so guests who have flown here for the week-long celebration and make my way up to the arbor with Isaac and Mark right behind me. The front row is reserved for our parents, and I made sure to have the resort place lilies and sunflowers on two of the chairs in honor of Natalie’s parents.
Where is she? I see the girls, all in pink dresses. I’m relieved that my sister Sam and Nat have become friends and gotten to know each other better since I proposed. Sam happily helped plan this wedding.
Our mothers are escorted to their seats, and my heart starts to beat a little faster. Jesus, I can’t stand the suspense.
I need to see her.
Where the fuck is she?
Finally Jules, Sam and Stacy make their way toward us and take their places and the music changes. Natalie and her father come into view and the rest of the world just falls away. Her beautiful dark hair has been curled and pulled into a loose bun behind her left ear with a rose tucked in it. Her dress is long and billowy, with a beaded top and spaghetti straps, and she’s holding a large bouquet of red roses with the pearls inside. Her new diamonds sparkle at her ears and, thank God, she’s wearing our pearls.
I feel the grin spread across my face as I stare into her gorgeous green eyes and my heart calms. This is it.
“Who gives this woman to this man?”
the pastor asks.
“On behalf of her parents, I do,”
Steven responds, and places Nat’s hand in mine.
Every time I touch her I feel the hit to my gut. Every single time. I’m drawn to her in ways I never knew possible, and I will never grow tired of the feeling I get when she’s near me.
“You are stunning,” I whisper to her and grin as she smiles shyly and looks up at me through her long dark lashes.
“You’re pretty beautiful yourself,” she whispers back.
She can call me beautiful any damn time.
“Welcome, friends and family,” the pastor begins. He says a quick prayer and moves right into the ring ceremony.
“With this ring, I thee wed,” Natalie says, her eyes on mine, in her soft, sweet voice and places my ring on my finger.
“With this ring, I thee wed,” I respond and push the wedding band onto her small finger, next to her engagement ring.
The rest of the ceremony is relatively short. We decided against the unity candle ceremony and live music, wanting to focus solely on our vows to one another. We wrote our vows together, last week before we left for Tahiti.
We laughed, argued, and Nat cried, but we eventually came up with what we both want to say. Instead of each of us saying the vows in their entirety, we will say them together, alternating the lines.
“And now, Luke and Natalie will recite their vows together.” The pastor steps back and I take both of Natalie’s small hands in mine, rubbing my thumbs over her knuckles.
“Are you ready?” I whisper and take a deep breath.
“Yes,” she whispers back, her sassy smile in place. God, that smile does things to me.
I clear my throat, and looking deeply into her eyes, we begin.
“I vow to love you.”
“I vow to love you,” she responds, her voice strong.
“To respect you.”
“To be your best friend.”
“To read aloud to you.” I run my knuckle down her smooth cheek and see her eyes start to well up.
“To lead a charmed life.”
“To write you love letters.”
“To laugh at your jokes.” She winks at me and I grin.
“To always make the coffee, or have it delivered.”
“To help you cook.”
“To always believe that your newest haircut is the best you’ve ever had.” I tuck a strand of her soft hair behind her ear.
“To be patient.”
“To always support your hopes and dreams.”
“To not overshadow you with my fame,” She says, and I can’t help but laugh with everyone else.
“To be your biggest fan.” I respond.
God, I love her.
“To wake you every morning.”
“To wake you every morning. You are not a morning person.”
“To kiss you every night.”
“To hold your hand.”
“To always remember where I left my keys and phone.”
“To cherish you.” I take another deep breath.
“To believe in you.”
“To believe in us.”
“To never give up.” She clenches my hands in hers more tightly.
“To never, ever give up.”
“To forsake all others and be true to you.”
“To work every day toward being the man you deserve.”
“To work every day toward being the woman you deserve.” We both have tears in our eyes now.
“Do you vow to be my wife?”
“I do. Do you vow to be my husband?”
“I do.” Fuck, yes, I do.