Page 136 of Exile and Embrace

Ava’s hands shake as she slides mine on, grinning up at me with tears in her eyes.

I slide her ring on her finger, my heart pounding in my chest.

“You may now kiss the bride.”

I pull her into my arms and dip her low, capturing her mouth in a searing kiss.

Ava grips my collar, holding me tight to her.

When we stand, the crowd is clapping and cheering.

I take Ava’s hand and walk with her down the aisle and back into Christian’s house.

The moment the door is closed behind us and the curtains drawn, she throws herself into my arms.

Laughing, I hold her close and kiss her until we’re both out of breath.

She pulls away and takes a step back. “I have a surprise for you before we have to go back out there and entertain our guests.”

Ava disappears into one of the other rooms, leaving me standing in the kitchen.

When she comes back, she’s holding a giant canvas.

Ava gives me a tentative smile before turning the canvas around.

My jaw drops as my oldest brother stares back at me from within the brushstrokes of a painting.

In the painting, I stand in my tux in the middle of Cormac and Ava.

She’s in her wedding dress, and the greenery of the backyard is blurred behind us.

Tears make the edges of my vision fuzzy. “How did you get this?”

“I found some old photos of Cormac in your things. I got Brooklyn to do the painting. I thought it would be nice to have a picture of the three of us on our wedding day.”

She holds out the canvas, and I take it, looking at the detail in it.

Brooklyn did an amazing job, but Ava did even better.

This woman never fails to amaze me.

I set the painting to the side before pulling her into a tight hug.

The lump in my throat keeps me from speaking as I hold her tight.

Ava nestles her head against my chest, hugging me until I let her go first.

“Thank you, Aves. This is the best gift you ever could have gotten. Cormac would’ve hated missing this.” I kiss the top of her head before taking the canvas and putting it back in one of the other rooms.

When I come back, Zoe and Camila are swarming around Ava, bustling her wedding dress so she can dance later.

As I look at my wife, I know that Cormac would have loved Ava.

He would have been proud to see me standing at an altar to marry the woman of my dreams.

Once Ava is bustled and ready to go, we join the rest of our friends and family outside.

Dawson has the music blasting as caterers start to deliver food to the tables.

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