Page 129 of My Best Years

“I love you, Callum Pierce. My only one.”

Those are the last words Birdie says to me before we drift off to sleep hours later, naked and clinging to each other in the dead of night.

I fall asleep dreaming about all the birthdays we’re going to spend together.

I dream about our best years.

THIRTY-FIVE

Callum

One Year Later

My heart hammers against my ribcage as I try my best to stand still with my hands clasped at my front.

I can hear the gentle whooshing of ocean waves behind me. I glance up at the clear sky, inhaling the salty air and letting the breeze waft against my skin.

Even though we decided to build a life together in Gulf Shores, something about Myrtle Beach will always have our hearts. We wanted this day to be here—in the very spot where I first kissed her.

I feel an immense amount of love and gratitude when I look out into the crowd.

The first person I notice is Winnie. I never had a sister or much of a family at all. But Winnie has always felt like a little sister to me. I would protect her with my life.

Her eyes crinkle at the corners as happy tears spill down hercheeks. Next to Winnie is her mom, the woman who treated me more like a son than my own mother. Her expression is raw and vulnerable; her emotions are too big to contain. Her lips tremble in a tender smile before she tilts her head in a comforting nod.

A few rows back from where Winnie sits is a group of my buddies from law school. All my friends gave me hell for not having a bachelor party, even though we decided to forgo the whole wedding party thing. After going back and forth on who we would pick, we mutually decided that we just wanted it to be us. Selfishly, we wanted the moment to be ours and ours completely.

I force back a chuckle when I see one of my friends lift up a beer and silently mouth,“Fuck yeah!”Who knows where the hell he got the alcohol because cocktail hour doesn’t start until after the ceremony. I have a feeling he’s going to be the life of the party tonight since he’s already pregaming before the open bar.

And in the very last row is an older man who once kicked me out of a hospital parking lot for “stalking” the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. His face is lined with wrinkles of wisdom, and his sunken eyes hold memories of humor and noteworthy stories.

When he catches me staring, he cocks a brow and tosses me a look that says,“You better take care of her, or else.”

I smile and wink, letting him know I got his message, loud and clear.

I forget how to breathe when an instrumental version ofMy Girlstarts playing from the live string quartet.

An uncontainable sob cracks from my throat, and I instantly break into tears the second I see her clothed in a breathtaking white dress made of silk.

Walking down the sandy aisle with her arm looped aroundher father’s is my other half. The keeper of my soul. The most precious, stunning human in the entire world.

My best friend since I was eight years old.

My saving grace.

My beautiful bride.

And any minute now, Birdie Wren Pierce.

EPILOGUE

Callum

Eighty-Four Years Old

“Gramps,” my granddaughter, Sophia, proudly grins from the hospital bed, holding her firstborn to her chest. “Would you like to hold the baby?”

“I would love to,” I smile.

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