Page 137 of Stables

The preacher takes his place in front of the arch and gestures us towards him. “If you’d come up here please?”

If I don’t faint, I’ll surely puke on my new heels.

That would be a tragedy.

“Are you the witnesses?” he asks over my head.

Blue slides his arm to the small of Libby’s back. “Yep, sir.” He pulls her to just behind us.

The preacher’s head bobs with a smile. “Very good, let’s begin.”

Chapter 40

Dixon

The hum of theworld falls silent.

All that exists isher.

My one.

The soft pink of her dress matches the flush in her cheeks as she looks up at me with shiny sapphire eyes.

Scarred, but stronger than when I met her.

Her chin tilts up and her jaw sets, not quite covering the quiver of her red lower lip.

Fighting her tears, she slides the platinum ring over my knuckle and follows along with the words from the preacher until I hear the two I’ve longed for. “I do.”

My chest aches. I swear my heart is pounding through my ribcage. I want to grab her, kiss her, ravage her at the pulpit for giving herself to me.

Every moment I’ve spent with her plays on a reel through my mind, while every dream of the future runs through an unlimited playbook of hopes for the life we’ll have together.

“Dixon?” Her fingers light on my wrist, sparking me back into the present.

“Sorry. You’re so beautiful I got lost watching you.” I try to smile and grit back the roar of triumph that’s threatening to escape.

I can’t hide the shake in my hand when I push the matching band with the inset diamond into place.

My voice cracks as I repeat the words. They fade before they’ve barely left my tongue.

The preacher clears his throat, reiterating a phrase I think he’s already said. “You may kiss your bride, Dixon.”

I feel no pain as I bring up both palms to cup her face. Shoulder wound be damned, I’m a new man pulling her to me.

Our noses nearly touch. Hovering so close to her our breath mingles, only one truth joins us.

“My wife.” Crashing into her, I’m reborn in the baptism of her willing kiss.

Life before this moment was a starless void.

When I finally open my eyes and pull away from her tender lips, I pause.

I want to remember this forever.

On my deathbed, I want to seek out this single memory. The look of adoration in her gaze, the soft feel of her breasts pressed against my chest, the heat of her slow exhale as the smile tugs up her cheeks framed by the long curls of her auburn hair.

A lifetime will pass, but it will always be this moment that I’ll return to. When she vowed her heart and I swore mine in return.

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