“What was I thinking?” I gasp, doubt rushing through me.
“Brooke.” My mom’s stern voice cuts through my racing thoughts. “You’re stunning. I can’t believe my little princess is all grown up!” she wails. Catching a glimpse of Bailey in the mirror, I watch as she rolls her eyes at Mom’s dramatics. I can’t contain my laughter, and soon we’re both laughing so hard we have tears in our eyes.
“Seriously, enough with the tears now. I’ve fixed your mascara three times already.”
The room starts to fill with people as they fix me up for the last time. First to arrive are my brothers. Jude follows after Dad and not just in his dark, handsome looks. He broods just like him too. We lucked out having him back stateside from another tour with the Army in time for him to be here today. “If he hurts you, I’ll kill him.” I’m sure he forgets that I'm almost seven years older than him sometimes.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I try to keep the smile off my face, but he looks so damn serious.
Zeke is next to take me in his arms. He’s got Dad’s looks and build, but he’s all Mom. Soft blond hair and laughing eyes make him the gentle giant to Jude’s much more intimidating giant. He shocked all of us when he opted to join the police force and stay here in Savannah instead of joining the Army with Jude.
“Dad said we’re kidnapping you and running away. Let's go!” Zeke yells, picking me up and pretending to start for the door.
“Put her down, you oaf,” Mom yells, swatting at his arm. “You’ll crease her dress.”
“You look beautiful,” my brother tells me as he plants me on my feet and gives my shoulders a soft squeeze.
Looking around at my family, I realize how utterly blessed I am. All those years I felt alone without Tucker, but I had these guys at my back.
“Let’s go get you married then,” Duke announces, taking my arm and leading me out the door.
The wedding is being held at an old mansion in Savannah. We discussed having the ceremony at home in California, but we finally decided it made more sense to do it here where all my family is. The house is huge with more than enough rooms for us all to stay for a few days, but it is the pavilion hidden away in the massive gardens that I had fallen in love with. As soon as I saw the wooden structure nestled between the huge pine trees, I had a vision of us saying our vows right there. I knew without a doubt that this was the place I wanted to marry Tucker.
We decided that it would just be family and close friends with us today, and there was a part of me that worried Tucker would be affected by having no family to invite. I seriously underestimated how close he had grown to the guys at Team Donavan. I might have a room full of siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins, but he's matched that in the family he’s built for himself. Zander is here with Getty, Colton and Rylee along with their son, and even Becks and Haddie made it. Not to mention the countless others that are too many to name. I’ve gotten to know them all as I’ve traveled with the team more and more over the last year, and they truly are like a family.
Butterflies swarm in my belly as the wedding march starts. My bridesmaids have already walked, and now it’s my turn. I’m not nervous. It's excitement that fills me as my dad guides me down the rose-petal aisle toward the man of my dreams.
The second he sees me, Tucker’s eyes slide closed. He squeezes his lips together, and I know he’s trying to keep it together. I give up the fight immediately, and the tears coat my cheeks before he even takes my hand in his.
“Proud of you, kid.” Duke pulls him in for one of those man hugs with his hand wrapped around his neck, and it ends in them slapping one another on the back.
“You looking fucking stunning,” Tucker whispers when we’re finally facing each other, gaining a disapproving look from the guy who’s marrying us.
The ceremony passes in a blur. We exchange vows of love and devotion without taking our eyes off one another; the rest of the room fades away until it’s just us here in this moment.
Tucker slides a slim diamond-studded band onto my finger, and I press a wide titanium one to his.
Before I know it, he’s wrapping his hands around my face and kissing me breathless as we’re declared man and wife.
“Thank you for making me the happiest man on this earth, Mrs. Neal,” he says against my lips as the crowd around us stands and cheers.
Pressing my hand to my belly, I can’t help but think this day is only going to get better when I finally share the secret I’ve been keeping for the last few weeks.
We’ve talked about having kids, and we decided I’d stop taking my pill after the wedding. I didn’t want to wait, considering how long I’ve been on it, so I secretly stopped a few months ago. Not in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be staring at a positive pregnancy test just over two months later.
I somehow manage to stop myself from blurting it out while we pose for what feels like an endless stream of photographs. I love my
