Page 231 of Goodbye Note

“I told her fifteen minutes ago. I had the jeweler bring them all here to show her while you were directing the movers.” Arik’s entire face lit up with his smile. “I know how she is.”

“You guys told me not to keep secrets,” Nova muttered from behind me.

“I have one more thing to show you,” Arik said when I was done kissing him.

“Two things,” Nova said.

“Right. I almost forgot.” Arik gestured at her. “You first.”

She turned around to show me the back of her shirt. It read: I have two dads.

I was so overwhelmed with happiness, all I could do was grab Arik and kiss him again. “What’s the other?”

Arik pulled up his sleeve to reveal the empty-handed ghost tattoo, but its hands weren’t empty anymore. In its hands was a ring, and inside the ring was the word: Forever

“You… When did you get that?” How had I not noticed?

“A few days ago.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I want one too.”

“I knew you would. We’ll go together.”

“Can I get one?” Nova asked.

“I love you,” I breathed against Arik’s mouth ignoring Nova’s request.

“I love you too.”

“Hello?!” Nova poked me.

“You can get a temporary one,” I muttered into Arik’s lips.

“Good I want my ghost carrying a bomb!”

SIXTY-FIVE

ARIK

“For the first time as husbands, Mr. Arik Vesper and Mr. Varian Vesper.” Vallen announced us, and we walked through the parted crowd to cheers.

“You have a real supervillain name now,” I said softly. “I thought that the night we met, but this one suits you much better.”

“Much better than the other legacy, too. I love it.”

We lifted our clasped hands above our heads as we walked out onto the middle of the checkerboard tile in the grand hall of the castle we’d chosen for the wedding. We’d held the ceremony earlier in the day in the gardens.

Varian looked like a dream. He wore his hair pulled back in a low ponytail, simply styled. We’d gone with a smaller designer, Joshua Kane Bespoke. Every detail of our suits was unique to us.

“If Funeral March starts playing, I will never forgive you.”

“Not for our first dance. That’s for later.” Varian had been joking about it for months.

“Not funny!”

“But you have to change the lyrics now. Church bells ringing for a song you will be singing, Stardust.” Varian barely kept a straight face.

We stopped in the middle, surrounded by all the people we loved and I gave Varian a look before pulling him into my arms. Our first song started. A duet we’d written.

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