A sudden, intense wave of panic hit me. Even though this had been my idea, I wasn’t sure I could do this. I mean, telling Trent how I felt about him in private was one thing, but standing in front of our family and friends?
“Chloe?” Rebecca said, nodding at me.
Trent gave my hands a reassuring squeeze.
I licked my lips. “When I first moved here, I hated it,” I said. “I was a mess. I’d just lost my mom, and I was forced to move in with practical strangers. Then, I arrived at school that first day, terrified and miserable, and I punched the hottest guy in the face.”
Soft chuckles filtered through the air, and Trent smiled, his dimple making a rare appearance.
“I was so embarrassed, and so lost in my grief, and I was positive my life couldn’t possibly get any worse. And I was right. It didn’t get worse. It got better. Because of you,” I said, my voice starting to tremble. “Because of you, I didn’t feel like I was drowning anymore. I didn’t feel like there was this crater sized hole in my chest that wouldn’t ever go away. For the first time since my mom’s death, I felt like I was going to be okay, and I actually believed I would be.”
Tears glistened in Trent’s eyes. If he started crying, I’d start crying, and then I’d be doomed, because there was no way I’d ever be able to speak coherently through my tears.
I drew in a shaky breath and shifted on my feet. “Someone very smart once told me that “I love you” doesn’t seem like enough, and it’s not. It doesn’t even come close to expressing the depth of my feelings for you. So, I’m totally stealing a line from your favorite movie,” I said with a teasing smile. “You complete me.”
He laughed, the sound wrapping around me like it had the first time I’d ever heard it.
“Thank you,” I said, my throat clogged with emotion. “Thank you for picking me. For rescuing me from myself. For loving me. For always being there when I need you. I love you so much, and I’m yours, Trent. For eternity.”
I kept my gaze focused on him, knowing if I so much as saw anyone else crying, I’d lose the tenuous hold I had on my own emotions.
“Trent?” Rebecca said.
He grazed my knuckles with this thumbs again, then took a step closer. My breath hitched at his nearness.
“You are, hands down, the most stunning woman I have ever met,” he said. “You’re beautiful, inside and out, and no matter how many times I look at you, it’s like the first time all over again. You constantly steal my breath and make me wonder what I did right to deserve someone as amazing as you.”
That’s all it took for the tears to start spilling down my cheeks. I pressed my lips together, hoping I wouldn’t start sobbing like a baby. I powerless against the tears, though. Behind me, I heard Abby swoon.
“God knows you drive me crazy at times.” His eyes twinkled. “But you always make me smile, too. You’ve made my life brighter in so many ways, and I can’t begin to tell you how much that means to me. How much you mean to me.”
His eyes darkened the slightest bit. “But I can promise you that this”—he flattened my palms over his heart, keeping his hands over mine—”this beats for you, Chloe. Only you. I’m yours. Mind, heart, body, and soul. Always and forever.”
He took another step closer, cradled my face in his hands, and tenderly wiped away my tears with the pads of this thumbs. “For eternity.”
I released a pent up breath, my tears falling fast and without mercy. “You really weren’t kidding when you said you weren’t going to go easy on me, were you?”
Tear-filled laughter floated around me. Easing my hands from his chest, I gingerly wiped under my eyes, careful not to smudge my makeup, though it was probably too late for that.
Trent once again took my hands in his and mouthed, “I love you.”
Rebecca finished the ceremony, but I barely registered the words Trent and I recited to one another—I was still too lost in the vows he’d written. They were perfect. Not that I expected anything less from him.
Trent slipped the wedding band on my finger—my mother’s wedding ring—and a fresh wave of tears cascaded down my face. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking, and I was thankful he was holding them so firmly.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Rebecca said. “You may kiss the bride.”
His mouth was on mine before I even fully registered what was happening. He parted my lips with ease, his tongue twisting and turning around mine with expert precision. Applause erupted, but I was too lost in his kiss to care.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, tangling my fingers in his hair, and he rewarded me with a groan so raw and full of need I thought for sure we’d both combust right there. Reluctantly, he tore himself away from my mouth, but not before nipping at my bottom lip, a clear promise of what was to come later. Desire, hot and thick, pooled in my belly.
Trent laced our fingers, and we turned to face our family and friends for the first time as husband and wife.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN:
A Celebration of Love
AFTER THE CEREMONY, WHITNEY WHISKED ME away to fix my makeup, and then came all the pictures. We took more than I could count with our family and the wedding party, until they’d finally had enough. Then it was just me and Trent in front of the camera.
By the time we made it to his backyard, the reception was already underway. But as we as we approached, the chatter died down, and we were, once again, the center of attention.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Trenton Halstead,” the
