Page 121 of Hold Me Today

My sister plants a quick kiss on my cheek, and then she and Mina’s brother hightail it out of the room. My best man—Vince, because the bastard would let no one else have the title—claps me on the back and announces, “Let’s do this thing.”

The last time I stood at the altar waiting for my bride, I was blindsided. But Brynn wasn’t the girl for me. No, the woman of my dreams had been sitting front and center in the pews. She rescued me that night. And I like to think that even then, I knew Mina Pappas, the girl I’ve known since I was eight years old, would be the one to piece me back together again.

As I walk down the aisle, my groomsmen at my back, I look at the people in the pews who have come out to see Mina and I get married. Old classmates, including Sophia and her new husband, wave to me. She called us after our engagement, taking responsibility for our relationship in the first place because love was in the air in Maine. Mina and I let her believe it because it made her happy. I spot my mom and dad chatting it up with one of their old friends, but the second they spot me, their faces light up with such joy that I feel a rush of gratitude.

Their affection for each other showed me the kind of love I wanted more than anything, the kind of love I found with Mina.

Beside them, Sarah sits with her and Effie’s adopted daughter, Thalia. She’s three-years-old, more adorable than any little girl has the right to be, and has completely stolen the hearts of every single one of us in the family. Seeing Mina hold Thalia does all sorts of things tomyheart—namely, I can’t wait to see our own child in her arms someday soon.

My gaze bounces over the guests until I spot a familiar brunette seated in the third pew from the front. I wondered if she would come, and I’m glad that she did. I stop beside her, dropping low enough to murmur, “Mina’s gonna want to meet you later. She holds you singularly responsible for me coming to my senses and realizing she was the perfect girl for me.”

Savannah Rose tips her head back to meet my gaze. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

I nod to the dark-haired guy sitting next to her, reaching out a hand. “Good to see you, man. It’s been a while.”

His smile isn’t as wide as Savannah’s, but I don’t miss the humor in his dark gaze. “Same to you, Stamos. Now get up there and get married so I can stop reading about this shit inCelebrity Tea.”

I bark out a laugh. “Jealous I’m stealing the limelight away from you?”

The crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes crinkle, and I slap him on the back before squeezing Savannah Rose’s arm. “See you two later.”

With sure steps, I move to stand in my spot. Vince falls into place behind me, and the rest of my guys sit in the first pew. Although we could have had them stand up with us, Mina and I decided that we wanted to keep the ceremony small and intimate with Effie by her side and Vince by mine.

I scrub my hands over my pants, and keep my gaze locked on the doors leading into theecclesia. Any moment now, mynifiwill walk through them. I wait, heart in my throat, as the guests take their seats and the music begins to play. I wait, even as the doors swing open and I spot Mina’s mom walking down the aisle with the flower girls.

Her smile is hesitant, her shoulders not quite squared off, but she holds her chin up high as she keeps her gaze locked on me and the priest. The guests murmur to themselves as she passes them, and then their murmuring gains momentum when she doesn’t take a seat in the pews but steps up to my side instead.

Surprise grounds my feet to the floor.

“Everything okay?” I ask, my gaze snapping to the front doors of the church. “Is Mina—”

“She’s fine,Niko. She loves you.” She fumbles with her purse, reaching inside. “I wanted to give you something.”

Now?I bite back the question. “Of course.”

I catch a flash of gold that she presses into my palm. Harsh edges cut into my flesh, and then Mina’s mom is talking fast, in Greek. “The cross belonged to Prodromos. I’ve kept it all these years.” She reaches forward and pats my chest, pulling at the lapels of my tux. Her lips slip into a watery smile. “You are everything I wanted for my daughter. Kind, honorable. A good, Greek boy who will cherish her. Thank you,Niko, for loving my Ermione.”

My jaw tightens as I swallow. Every guest is looking our way, but I give Mina’s mother my full attention when I kiss her cheek, then kiss her other, as is the Greek way. “You don’t need to thank me for loving her,Kyria.”

She nods succinctly, like she’s on the verge of tears. With another pat of her hand on my chest, she murmurs, “Give her the cross when you give her the ring. So she knows her father is here with her.”

“I will.”

I make the promise as Mina steps inside the church, and then there’s nothing on my mind but her. She has Katya on one arm and Dimitri at the other, and Effie behind her. My heart races inside my chest, and I lose all hope of keeping my hands dry when I drag my gaze over Mina’s wedding dress. It’s lace with a low neckline and no straps, and her pink hair—that hue that I remember so damn well—is down and braided, resting on her collarbone.

The veil shields her face from me but I know, deep in my soul, that she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

The four of them walk down the aisle, and when they reach me, Katya and Dimitri kiss their sister and sit down together in the first pew with their mother. Effie hangs back, fluffing her best friend’s train, before moving to the left.

And then it’s me and Mina.

I don’t wait for thepapasto tell me to hold off or wait. Impulse guides my fingers to the gossamer veil, and I lift it up, revealing the jut of her chin, and the full, burgundy-painted lips, and the crooked nose, and those damn honey-rimmed-with-amber eyes that are my undoing. Around her neck is a copper penny hooked on a delicate rose-gold chain—a new lucky penny, given to her by my mother shortly after Jake Rhodan plead guilty in court. Only the love of my life would get more excited about a penny than the hydrotherapy room I finally put in for her a few months back.

I wouldn’t change a thing, lucky penny or not.

“Hey, you,” I murmur as I tuck the veil back.

Her mouth purses to keep from laughing out loud. “You weren’t supposed to do that yet.”