Page 109 of Wilde In His Arms

“Nick had to go and bring the first grandchild into the family,” Lincoln complained with a note of lightheartedness to it.“Lyric and Layla are delivering two more soon.Mom and Dad are just hoping for some grandbabies of their own.”

Nick grinned.“Not my fault, boys.I fell in love with the kid the way I did Aria.Best thing to ever happen to me, those two.”

“She’s here,” Aria’s mother, Robin, announced as she stepped into the room.

“It’s time.”Lincoln gave him a nudge toward the front.

Mason walked up with him to their position and gave him a hearty pat on the back.“No going back now.”

“I only want the future I know I’ll have with her.”

Judge Kerrich stood beside them, ready to perform the ceremony.“It starts right now.”

“Thank you for doing this for us, Judge.I appreciate you taking the time.”

“This is one of the nicer things I get to do in this job.I like making families, especially for good people like you and the Wildes.”

Judge Kerrich was a good friend of Aria’s father.They’d known each other since grade school.The judge was kind enough to preside over their wedding and sign off on the adoption after he’d had a conversation with Stacy earlier in the day.

Was he getting special treatment because he was an FBI agent and he had this family connection?Yes.But the judge had made it clear, too, that Stacy had been through enough in her short life and if the one thing she wanted was for him and Aria to be her mom and dad, then the judge was going to make that happen so that she could move forward with her life as a Gunn.

She and Aria would belong to him now.

He couldn’t wait.

And he didn’t have to, because Jax escorted Robin to her seat in the front row beside Layla.Melody and Fox sat behind them.Several of Aria’s friends filled out the rest of that side.

His parents were right up front on his side, along with his aunt and uncle behind them, with his cousins.He’d invited several of his buddies from work with their partners, too.

These were the people who mattered most in their lives.

“Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Kina Grannis from the movieCrazy Rich Asians, one of Aria’s favorite movies and love songs, started playing and Nick fell into the sultry tune and beautiful lyrics.

It was the perfect song for them, because neither of them had been able to help falling in love with the other.It was inevitable and meant to be and all those things Nick had always thought were too sappy for him until he felt it all.

She made him feel, like he’d never felt before.

The song eased him into taking in this moment and what it meant to marry the woman he loved.She was everything.His whole world.Today was the luckiest day of his life.

For more than one reason.

His sweet little Stacy walked up the steps at the back in her pretty pink dress, a joyous smile on her face, carrying a white basket filled with pink rose petals.She walked into the room and called out, “Hi, Dad,” lighting up his heart.

She walked forward in the patent leather sandals with a little heel that she’d loved so much because they were so grown up and tossed handfuls of the petals out in front of her as she walked up the aisle to him.

His heart melted.“Good job, sprite.”

Stacy beamed and took her position opposite him.

He and Aria wanted her to be part of the ceremony, because today they became a family of three.

Lyric stepped into the room in her beautiful pink dress, looking radiant with her baby bump.She held a bouquet of pink roses and smiled as she walked down the aisle, timing the end of her walk to the music.

Mason whispered behind him, “That’s my beautiful angel.”He called her “angel” all the time.And even though they’d been married for some time now, you’d think they were still newlyweds.

Lyric took her place beside Stacy and then the music changed to the traditional wedding march.

Nick held his breath, waiting to see her.

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