Page 30 of A Wilder Wedding

I lowered my head and took her lips with mine.

She sank into me, and we both groaned. I just held her,needingto hold her.

Knowing I could have lost everything without even knowing I had it in my hands.

“I promise I’ll never take this for granted again.”

“Same. I should have told you. Just like you should have told me. Maybe if we weren’t so lost in our heads, afraid of what could have happened, we would have been here together long before this.”

“We had to wait for the Wilders to get their heads on first. Now we’re following suit.”

“I don’t want to go. I don’t want to leave my family.”

“Same. So we’ll stay. We’ll figure out the next phases together. Because I love you. And I love watching these Wilders have these weddings with you.” I laughed at our familiar refrain before I kissed her again and she sank into me, mine. Always.

This moment had always been on the brink. We’d always been the ones on the sidelines, the backbone of this retreat.

And we had lost so much time, but we wouldn’t lose anymore.

“I’m going to spend the rest of my days proving I’m worthy.”

“As long as you let me do the same,” she whispered, and I held her, and knew that the days weren’t going to be easy. We would make mistakes, and we would still have to deal with the trauma of everything that had happened.

But in the end, it didn’t matter.

The only thing that did was me holding her in my arms.

I finally realized what I should have long ago.

That I loved her, and I needed her.

We needed each other. Every step in every way.

Even if we fought along the way. Because the making up was always the best part.

CHAPTERNINE

Naomi

AWilder wedding was full of cake, wine, spirits, and cheese. Of course, I figured the cheese had to do with the Montgomerys that were visiting thanks to Ridge’s cousin Eliza.

Amos had his arms around me, and I leaned against him, feeling like I was coming home for the first time in a long while. Eli met my gaze across the dance floor and I smiled at him. Because after our talk that morning, even though none of us were supposed to be working, I knew that Iwashome.

I wouldn’t be going off to spread my wings anywhere else, instead I would do that right here. With my family, and without having to deal with moving.

I didn’t know how much longer I would be the innkeeper of the Wilder Retreat, but soon I would be moving into an executive position. They needed me and they trusted me. And I would hire and train my replacement.

That meant I could finally have a place of my own outside of the retreat, and Amos would be right there with me.

While it had taken us years to get to this point, everything now was coming at a fast pace.

I was getting not only a promotion, but I’d be finding a home with the love of my life.

There was no going back now.

“Your mind is going a thousand miles per hour,” Amos whispered before he kissed my neck.

I’d been so afraid that he was going to leave me behind, I hadn’t realized I’d been doing it as well.

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