Page 58 of Game Day

The officiant speaks again, a monotone that has me spacing out again.

Nova’s light scent and the way she's practically vibrating and the shine in her eyes.

"It's done," I hear myself say under my breath.

The officiant stops midsentence. "Well, yes, but…"

I grab Nova’s face with one hand and bend to meet her.

Her lips part under mine, and her smile and the way she tastes and her little moans are everything I need.

The crowd erupts, and it's every bit as good as winning a championship.

No. As we walk back down the aisle, her fingers securely woven with mine, the ring heavy on my finger…

It's better.

* * *

"Picasso," Brooke insists.

"Picasso didn't do flowers," Mari counters.

"Van Gogh?"

"I'll take it."

"They look good," I say, my hand in Nova's as we come up behind them.

Nova beams. "They do, don't they?"

After the ceremony, we went for pictures. I was getting more distracted the longer we did them, especially when the photographer showed us a few.

"What's wrong?" Nova asked.

"Nothing," I lied.

Now, we eat dinner side by side. It feels right with our friends and family around us.

After, I rise.

"Shut up, everyone, Clay's going to make a speech," Miles says.

Laughter goes up, and I wait until it dies down to talk. "Thank you for being here. If you know me, you know speeches aren't my thing. But sometimes you gotta do what feels out of character."

I turn to Nova."First time I met you was at thirty thousand feet. Screw mile high, we were up in the clouds.” Her lips curve, and I feel the answering tug on mine. “I didn’t want to like you. I didn’t want to love you. You showed me that being an asshole wasn’t the only way, or even the best way, to go through life.”

Scattered chuckles sound throughout the guests.

I swallow against the tightness in my ribs.

“You showed me how to love a person, and a place. You changed everything. I promise I will try the rest of my life to make you feel the same way. And if I fuck up, anyone in this room can give me hell for it."

"We will!" Brooke hollers.

Nova's brows lift, her lower lip trembling.

She presses her mouth to mine.

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