Page 13 of The Next Chapters

“I have vows, too,” she cut in, feeling absolutely, utterly certain. “And I want to say them.”

No, she didn’t have anything pre-planned. And no, she did not like public speaking.

But, at this moment, none of that mattered.

“Gianna No-Middle-Name Mäkinen,” Riley began, feeling her heart flutter in her chest. Not from nerves but excitement. “I don’t need to spend days or weeks or even hours trying to figure out my feelings for you or how to say them. That’s never been the issue between us.”

She paused, taking a second to look at Gianna. To take in this moment.

“At the beginning of our… journey… last year,” she referenced, feeling a small bubble of laughter climb out of her throat. “You told me that I should never be less picky, in relationships. I should only be with someone I want to talk to after a long day, not just someone I want to want.”

For some reason, even though she hadn’t at all pictured Gianna romantically at that time, Riley could hear those words as clear as day.

“No one fits that description more than you, and I hope you know it. I know you’ve been with me through every twist and turn in relationships throughout our adult lives, and you always – always – implored that I–” Riley cut herself off, shaking her head with another laugh. “Sorry, not implored. You always demanded that I never settle for anyone who makes me feel any less than the best thing that’s ever happened to them.”

“Damn right,” Gianna whispered, a sexy, self-satisfied smirk on her lips.

Riley found herself smiling back, waiting a few seconds before she seriously confessed, “Your words were something I wanted to believe I could find but didn’t actually think was possible. I’m just… an ordinary person. Somewhat of a workaholic. Maybe too interested in reality dating shows. And, if past relationships were anything to go by, a little too honest about my thoughts and expectations.”

Her blood rushed through her ears as all semblance of laughter fell away, and she was left with this whole-body love for the woman in front of her.

“You are the person I needed. And every day, I’m so glad that I could finally open my eyes and see it. To see you. See you as not only my best friend who has a beautiful heart and my favorite sense of humor, with whom I align so perfectly, but as the partner I didn’t think was a reality.”

The power of that, how strongly she felt those words, almost made her weak in the knees. Like all the blood in her circulation was concentrated so strongly in her heart, as if it got bigger every second she stood at the altar.

And she could see it reflected in Gianna’s eyes. In those beautiful, deep blue eyes that were slightly watery after Riley finished speaking.

“Riley Jane Beckett,” Gianna started, and her smile dimmed. It didn’t disappear, but that blinding, charismatic aspect she often wore around most people – even their friends – melted away, leaving only the small, sweet, genuine smile. One she wore during their laundry nights or when they drank their coffee together in the morning.

Riley felt it right down to her toes.

“Sometimes, I don’t know what I could say to you about how I feel about you that I haven’t said already. But, then, every day, I find more words to express how much I love you.” She stroked her thumbs softly over Riley’s knuckles. “And it brings me back to when we became really close, so long ago. I’d never had a friend like you in my life. Never had a person like you in my life. Someone who just wanted to… spend time with me.”

The vulnerability that edged into Gianna’s tone tugged at something deep inside of Riley, and she was the one who squeezed Gianna’s hands then. She needed to make sure she knew Riley was here, at this moment, as her anchor.

“Sometimes, back then, I’d think – is today going to be the day that Riley and I don’t have anything to talk about anymore? It’s not like we were doing things all of the time, you know? Most of those days were just us… living life,” Gianna’s voice got quiet, thoughtful, as she looked down at their feet for a moment. When she looked back up, her blue eyes were so clear and so deep as they intently captured Riley’s. “But we never ran out of things to talk about. Doing laundry with you, watching television with you, having late-night talks… going out, staying in – I realized that it didn’t matter what we did. That we could do absolutely nothing, but as long as I was doing it with you, it was what I wanted to be doing.”

Riley didn’t know when the tears sprung into her eyes, but she had to blink them back. She didn’t know when her heart started pounding so hard in her chest.

Somehow, she hadn’t realized that it would feel like a big deal when she'd suggested they get married. Conceptually, sure, marriage was “a big deal.”

But it hadn’t felt like it earlier. Getting married to Gianna had simply felt like the easy, no-brainer next step.

And it was.

But right now, as she grasped tightly at Gianna’s hands in her own, she felt the gravity of it all.

“And I’ve known it every day since. Living life with you has been my dream. I just never knew it would get to come true like this. A literal dream come true,” Gianna finished with a murmur, her eyes searching Riley’s.

The raw honesty in them reached somewhere deep inside Riley, grabbed, and held tightly. She didn’t think that hold would ever loosen.

And she didn’t want it to.

Part

Three

THEN COMES BABY

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