Hi there! I usually post my mini outtakes on the Instagram account @CamassiaSocial, but this week, the outtake got a little too long! So I’m posting it here. Enjoy. đ
If We Could Go…Get Married
âFancy running into you here.â I smiled as I reached him on the steps.
He grinned faintly and adjusted my tie. âDid you find what you were looking for?â
Nothing had been lost so much as IâdâŚmade some last-minute changes to something weâd bought together. âAll good to go.â I kissed him quickly and glanced back at the children. Jess wasnât a fan of wearing a suit one bit. âYou all look lovely.â Jaylin, on the other hand, loved her new dress. My sister had taken her shopping in Seattle.
Nate checked his watch. âWe should go. Youâre going to miss your appointment.â
Well, that was out of the question. It was an important appointment.
oOo
The nerves hit me with full force when we stepped into the office where thousands of couples had vowed eternal love and devotion before us. The place wasnât as bland as Iâd expected; nice fabrics covered the walls, and two big bouquets of flowers flanked the spot where the officiant was already speaking to us.
I should listen, if I could just hear past the rushing sound in my ears.
Then Kieran squeezed my hand, and I exhaled. This was us. Him and me. The day was finally here. This momentâhow Iâd hoped, lost hope, and hoped again that weâd stand here one day.
Oh God, we were getting married. I drew an unsteady breath and faced Kieran, and I immediately got caught in his warm, nervous, a bit amused gaze. Years had passed since Iâd first noticed his captivating eyes, the green and deep blue mingling with gray, the faint crinkles at the corners thatâd slowly appeared over time⌠He was my home.
This is it, my love. At long last.
oOo
I swallowed hard, and my vision suddenly became blurry.
âDo you, Bennett Brooks, take Kieran Marshall to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for as long as you both shall live?â
Easiest answer I could ever give. âI do.â
He grinned with a pinch of relief. I knew he hadnât been worried whatsoever, but it was still a milestone. Still a confirmation. A promise.
âDo you, Kieran Marshall, take Bennett Brooks to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for as long as you both shall live?â
The second I heard his low, rich murmur, it felt like my heart doubled in size.
âI absolutely fucking do.â
I exhaled a laugh and quickly brushed my hand under my eyes.
oOo
âYouâve prepared vows,â the officiant continued. âYou may share them now.â
Thank bloody goodness weâd agreed to keep things brief. Anything over my well-rehearsed three sentences wouldâve been lost and forgotten behind stammers and throat-clearing.
I cleared my throat and gripped his hands a little tighter. âLooking back on things today, I know with certainty that you changed something in me irrevocably the very first time I saw you on the train. I thought you were an enigma, a puzzle to solve, when in reality, you were a hidden path guiding me home. I love you with everything I am, Kieran, and I canât wait to continue building our future together.â
âAww,â I heard Jaylin whisper.
Kieran sniffled and grinned. âAnd you claim youâre not a smooth talker, baby⌠Christ.â It was his turn to clear his throat. âI could say a million things about how I fell in love with you, how you became my best friend and biggest supportâand how we ended up here today.â His gaze softened. âBut I just wanna look ahead. I wanna grow old with you. I want our home to be the place where our children and future grandchildren create memories to last a lifetimeâof holidays and sleepovers and rainy Tuesdays. Because of you, Ben, I see those images so clearly. I love you.â
I couldnât wait for a stranger to tell me it was okay to kiss Kieran. I closed the distance and cupped his jaw, then kissed him hard because it was all I had. Words failed me.
oOo
Shortly after, we exchanged rings and were declared husbands. In my darkest hours, I hadnât even believed Iâd ever find a happiness that could match the one Iâd felt with Kieran. Now, todayâŚI was high on his energy, high on what weâd just done, high on all our possibilities. Kieran wasnât the nameless enigma on the train anymore. He was my husband.
We left the city hall together and trailed down the wide steps with our children, and I couldnât let go of his hand. Even with relief and joy surging through me, I had a death grip on him as I processed all my emotions. It was unbelievableâafter everything weâd been through. Now we were going back home, back to our house, where family and friends would join us for a wedding party only an Englishman and an Irishman could put together on a school night.
Although, weâd been kind enough to let the kids skip school tomorrow.
âI feel so fucking dazed,â Kieran chuckled.
âThatâs common,â Nate said frankly. âIn fact, many couples forget the details of their weddings as the tension fades.â
I grinned and pressed a kiss to Kieranâs cheek. We could trust our eldest to have done research. It was kind of the perfect wedding for us two.
oOo
On the way back home, Kieran drove, I sat next to him and held his hand, and our kids bickered in the backseat. Nate was apparently stealing two inches of space of Jessâs seat, Jaylinâs hair was everywhere according to Nate, and Kieran and I were old, to quote Jess, because only old people were married.
âThis is the life.â Kieran sighed contentedly and brought my hand to his lips. âBy the way, what was it you forgot at home earlier?â
I smiled. âI didnât forget anything. I was picking up our rings after I put in a last-minute request.â
He furrowed his brow.
âI had them engraved,â I admitted.
He clearly couldnât wait to check out the inscription, so he pulled off his ring and kept one eye on the road. âJesus, baby,â he murmured. âI love you. You donât know how much.â
âWe get it, you love each other!â Jess groaned from the back. âIâm never getting a girlfriend.â
I snorted softly. Sure, let him think that for another year or two, and then heâd start dating and never look back.
oOo
Until next time,
Cara