Page 67 of Secret Twins for the Orc

He turns us on our side, and we both lay there for some time, watching the fairies floating around us like pale, colored stars.

“Marry me.”

I turn to look at him and find that his gaze is already on me. Maybe it never even left. And my answer is simple, I don’t even have to think. “Okay.”

He takes in a deep, slow breath, and when he pulls me close to brush his lips against me, it feels like another I love you.

Then he drops his forehead to mine and closes his eyes. “Next weekend good?”

“We don’t need to rush,” I whisper with a smile, running my fingers over his jaw. “We’ve got the rest of our lives together to figure everything out.”

“Promise?” He nips at my finger, and I grin.

“Promise.”

Epilogue

Rhokar

Three months later…

Standing beneath the old trees of the Elder Grove, I feel the air stir with magic around us. Ella is beside me dressed in a softly flowing white gown, the twins fidgeting in their own little white outfits just a few steps to our left, and somehow, despite our plans to keep this whole affair small and private, half the town stands behind us to see us married.

“Do you, Ella Davis, take this man as yours, to cherish and to love, to stand beside for all time, until Fate sees fit to welcome you back into her embrace?”

Ismelda speaks with gravitas as our officiant, but her blue eyes spark with joy as she finishes the ceremony with what’s become a traditional fae closing.

Ella’s fingers find their way to mine, and she squeezes. “I do.”

“And do you, Rhokar Strongarm, take this woman as yours; to cherish and to love, to stand beside for all time, until Fate sees fit to welcome you back into her embrace?”

“I do.”

I thread my fingers through Ella’s and pull her towards me, as Ismelda says something about husband and wife kissing, but I find I’m not listening anymore. All I can focus on is the woman in my arms as I press her body against mine, and smile.

“There’s no escape now,” I murmur for her ears only, as I lean down to claim my first kiss as husband.

“No refunds or returns,” she whispers back, but before I quite manage to make it to her, a tiny body wriggles its way between us.

“Mamma!” I look down to see Rylah standing on my toes, raising her little arms up. “Mamma, up! Up!”

I chuckle as Ella sighs through her smile, and I release her as she bends down to lift our daughter before anyone can come forward and herd the little girl away. “Why do you always get so jealous whenever daddy kisses me?”

“Lah-Lah kiss.” Rylah, who’s been getting better at speaking these last few months and has taken to calling herself Lah-Lah, turns her chubby cheek towards her mother. “Lah-Lah kiss!”

“Looks like the groom’s got himself some competition,” Ismelda says to the crowd, and a round of chuckles spreads around us.

I flick a quick glance over the gathering, taking in the colorful array before me. I’ve always thought of myself as something of a loner, but as I look out into the sea of familiar faces, I realize I’m surrounded by people I’ve known all my life, people who care enough to offer support as I celebrate one of the happiest days I’ve known, and with my new family at my side, I feel like I’ll never be alone again.

My mother and father are on one side of the aisle, standing beside—and utterly dwarfing—the small figures of Ella’s parents. But I noticed them chatting to each other a few times throughout the ceremony, and the sight warmed me. Our families seem to be doing a good job blending together already. Even Lucas, Grace’s little blonde son, seems drawn to my side of the family, currently sitting on my father’s shoulders and tugging happily on his gray topknot.

Olistaire seems rather drawn to Grace, too, if I’m not mistaking that particular expression of his as he leans over to mutter something in her ear, and she smothers a giggle. As Man and Maid of Honor, weren’t they supposed to be standing on either side of Ella and I, rather than together?

I smother a grin of my own. Interesting.

“Alright, I think we still need a kiss here, you two,” Ismelda says with a chuckle, as Ella continues to pepper a giggling Rylah with kisses. I draw my attention back as she continues to speak. “Rhokar, Ella, if you will? And then we can get the drinks flowing.”

“Alright, baby,” Ella says, and moves as if to put Rylah down. “Mommy has to—”

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