Page 101 of Dr. Fellow

“Ready?” the young wedding coordinator asks.

She’s fresh out of college but smart as a whip. She’s been working with Parker and me to make a few changes to the original plan, and I can honestly say that I’ve never been more thankful to someone for taking control. We didn’t know what the hell we were doing, despite my having done this once before.

When Parker and Cassidy decided they wanted to elope, he reached out to see if I wanted to take over their wedding before they cancelled the vendors. Even though it was only a few days after Morgan and I had reconciled, I knew without a doubt that I would take him up on his offer. Because the timing was so last minute, we kept the guest list relatively small—some of her local friends, our coworkers, and her family. I probably won’t know half of the people here because Cassidy handled the invitations, but if they’re important to my wife, they’re important to me.

“Ready,” I confirm, giving the coordinator a curt nod.

The soft, classical music of Ludovico Einaudi does nothing to steel my nerves as I start to walk down the aisle covered in white rose petals. I’m so keyed up that all of the guests grinning at me appear faceless, my mind lost in a tunnel of emotion.

I turn at the front and dip my chin to Parker and his sisters in the first row, silently thanking them for everything. I never expected them to become my friends, nor would I have imagined they would become my family. And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to express the gratitude I feel to them for welcoming me into their lives.

Beau walks Cassidy down the aisle next, his prideful smile forcing me to swallow back the raw emotion collecting at the back of my throat. Without him, I wouldn’t be here today, marrying the woman of my dreams. I’ve taught him how to be a surgeon, but he’s taught me so much more—about seeing the good in people, keeping life fun, and most importantly about true friendship. I love the big lunatic.

He moves to stand beside me, whispering something in my ear that I don’t hear because the music changes. An instrumental version of “Accidentally in Love” starts playing, and the guests stand for the bride.

For my bride.

As soon as the doors open and I see her, all of the emotion that I’ve been holding back finally breaks free. My hand flies to my face to stop a sob, my head shaking in disbelief because it suddenly hits me . . .I finally have something to celebrate.

Beau’s reassuring hand lands on my shoulder as I look down at my shoes to try and pull myself together. I can feel the tears sliding down my cheeks, but there’s no way in hell I can stop them at this point.

I force air into my lungs and find the strength to lift my head. Cassidy offers me a hazel-eyed wink of encouragement before I turn to face my girl.

She’s glowing with calm confidence as she holds her brother’s arm, a wide grin plastered on her flawless face. My heart feels like it’s going to explode as they join me, feeling overwhelmingly lucky that she’s mine.

I used to think that Morgan was a tornado of chaos. She swirled into my life and tormented me with her inescapable pull. She made me question everything I thought I knew about my future, and forced me to feel when I was hell-bent on never trying again.

But now I know that she’s so much more.

She’s my second chance.

She’s my greatest gamble.

She’s my little devil.

But she’s also my loving angel.

“Who gives this woman to this man?” the officiant asks, his voice booming over the outdoor speakers.

When nobody answers, Morgan elbows her brother in the side. She asked him to walk her down the aisle because they’ve always had a stronger relationship than her parents, but maybe we should have done a quick rehearsal prior to the real thing.

“Uh,” he responds with a hesitant cough. “I guess I do.”

The audience laughs as he moves to take a seat next to his parents.

Morgan doesn’t know this, but when we went to his baseball game, I asked him for her hand in marriage. I know how much he means to her, so it just felt right. She had already told him about our Vegas wedding, and while he was shocked, he couldn’t have been more supportive of a traditional ceremony. He handled everything with their family and moved hell and high water to be here today. And I couldn’t be more thankful because the joy on her face when they walked in this afternoon almost brought me to my knees.

It’s a joy that I can’t wait to witness for the rest of my life.

The officiant begins with several generic remarks on love before he informs us that we should hold hands because it’s time to proceed with the declaration of intent.

I reach out and intertwine my fingers with hers as the officiant holds the microphone up for me to repeat the traditional wedding vows. “I, Walker, take you, Morgan, to be my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold. From this day forward. For better or for worse. For richer or poorer. In sickness and in health. ‘Til death do us part.”

“Thank you, Walker,” the officiant says, nodding his head before he looks at the audience. “I believe you have something else you’d like to add?”

Morgan cocks a brow at me, her nose wrinkling with curiosity. I squeeze her hands, stepping closer because these words aren’t for anyone else, they’re just for her.

Reaching into the breast pocket of my tux, I take out the additional promises I wrote this morning while she was getting ready, and I read them.

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