Page 87 of Lucky Star

Chapter Thirty-Four

Sarah

As the first chords of the processional struck, all of my nerves floated away. Everything we had been through had brought us to this moment. And despite the sleepless nights and all the tears I’d shed along the way, I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

At the wedding coordinator’s signal, I took a deep breath and then put one foot in front of the other. The notes of the piano ringing in my ears, I focused on Cameron standing below. When I’d almost reached the bottom step, his right hand swiped away an errant tear. Capturing his gaze with mine, I smiled, joy infusing my features, and he returned the gesture, his lips kicking up and his deep baby blues twinkling with happiness and warmth.

Breaking protocol, when I reached his side, he turned and braced his hands gently on either side of my face. And then, looking deep into my questioning eyes, he leaned down and placed a feather light kiss on my brow before dropping his forehead to rest against mine. Distantly, I heard our guests sigh as he slid his hands from my face and stepped away. Out of my peripheral vision, I watched Carly discreetly wipe away a tear with the handkerchief she’d told me she’d carry in case I needed it. Smiling wryly, I handed her my bouquet and placed my small hands in Cameron’s larger ones.

“Welcome friends, family, and honored guests. We are gathered here at the dawn of a new year to celebrate the love of Sarah Anne Travers and Cameron Samuel Scott. The greatest gift bestowed upon humans is the gift of love freely given between two persons. Sarah and Cameron stand here today ready to pledge their love for one another, surrounded by those who mean the most to them,” Stewart’s voice rang out over the candle-lit room.

“Marriage is a promise between two individuals who love one another, and trust in that love to see them through all the days of their lives,” he continued. “It is a bold step into an unknown future. It takes who we once were as individuals and asks us to look to the future and imagine who we could be, together.”

I listened, my eyes never leaving Cameron’s face, as Stewart shared a passage from Edmund O’Neill’s A Promise of Love. “Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller; memories are fresher; commitment is stronger; even anger is felt more strongly and passes away more quickly. Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, and new ways of expressing love through the seasons of life. When two people pledge to love and care for each other in marriage, they create a spirit unique to themselves, which binds them closer than any spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise, a potential, made in the hearts of two people who love, which takes a lifetime to fulfill.”

“I love you,” Cameron mouthed as Stewart recited the remainder of the passage.

“Forever,” I mouthed back.

Before I knew it, we were exchanging I do’s.

“Sarah, do you come here this evening, freely and without reservation, to give yourself to Cameron in marriage?”

“I do.”

Cameron squeezed my hands in his.

“Cameron, do you stand here in front of your family and friends, to give yourself to Sarah in marriage freely and without reservation?”

“I do.”

I squeezed back, and then slid my hand free to wipe away a stray tear that had broken free. I wanted desperately to fast forward to the part where I could step forward and gather Cameron in my arms, but it was time to say the vows we’d written. We’d purposely kept them a secret from each other so that we’d be surprised. Now, I hoped I could hold it together long enough to get my words out, much less when Cameron recited his vows to me.

I took in a lungful of air and expelled it slowly. There was no need for me to pull out a piece of paper because I’d memorized what I wanted to say, the thoughts and feelings I wanted to express. Inside, everything was silent, while outside the winter waves pounded the sand and rolled ashore.

“Cameron, you are my best friend and my greatest love. I promise to stand by your side during good times and bad, to celebrate life’s victories with you, and to wash away the tears of defeat. I pledge to honor, listen, and support you as you trust me with your thoughts, fears, and dreams. To create a home with you that celebrates love, laughter, and respect. To honor you both as an individual and as my equal, my partner in crime and my biggest champion. I vow to love you deeply and honestly until I take my last breath.”

As I finished speaking, a single tear streaked down his cheek and fell onto the lapel of his suit. I dragged my eyes from his chest and met his teary gaze.

“Sarah, you are my best friend and my heart’s desire. I have loved you for so long and am so humbled that you feel the same, that you took a chance on me when I didn’t deserve it. I promise to never let you down.”

When his voice broke on that last word, he looked down at our twined hands, took another deep breath and tried to speak … but his voice failed again. He closed his eyes, and I saw the rigid tension in his body as he tried to hold back his emotions. I wanted nothing more than to have a moment alone with him where we could share our vows privately to the exclusion of all others. More than anything though, I wanted to hold him in my arms.

Screw it, I thought. Cameron had already broken protocol when he’d kissed me when I’d arrived at the makeshift altar. I stepped forward and wrapped him in my arms and held tight and leaned my cheek against the soft wool of his suit.

After several seconds, I felt him inhale and then slowly exhale. I took a slight step back and gazed up at the love of my life. He stared down at me with a look of love, devotion, and adoration.

He nodded, and having gathered his emotions, began again. “I love you for so many reasons, not the least of which is because you are the absolute best, most giving, and humble person I know. When I close my eyes at night, it’s your face that I see, and when I wake up in the morning, yours is the only voice I want to hear. I cannot imagine a world without you by my side. I vow never to stop showing you how much I love you. I will honor and cherish you every day for the rest of my life.”

I didn’t know how much longer I could wait to get him alone, but there were still a handful of minutes left in the ceremony. Slowly, I became aware of our guests sitting in front of us, many of them sniffling into handkerchiefs and wiping away tears of their own.

Stewart let out a shaky laugh and coughed to clear his throat. “Your wedding rings are the outward and visible sign of the inward and invisible bond that unites your two hearts in love. Mike, please hand Cameron the ring.” Mike dropped the antique platinum band into Cameron’s palm.

“Cameron,” Stewart intoned. “Place the ring on Sarah’s finger and repeat after me.”

In a clear voice that filled the room, Cameron echoed Stewart’s words as he slid the ring on my finger. “With this ring, I thee wed. With my body, I thee worship.” His mouth hitched up in a sly smile, and I could only imagine what he was thinking. “With my heart, I thee love.”

Carly handed me Cameron’s ring, and I repeated back the same words as I slid a plain, platinum band on the ring finger of his left hand.

“And now, by the power vested in me, it is my honor and privilege to declare Cameron and Sarah husband and wife. Cameron, you may now kiss your bride.”

Cameron’s strong arms came around me, as his lips captured mine in a kiss that merged our souls. Vaguely, I heard hooting and hollering, but it sounded a million miles away. When he finally stepped back, I couldn’t stand on my own, such was the power of that kiss.

“Ladies and gentleman, may I present to you for the very first time, Cameron and Sarah Scott.”

As I looked out at our gathered friends and family, I had never been happier or felt more complete.

Cameron and I walked hand-in-hand down the aisle to the sounds of Ben Harper’s “Forever” and straight out the door and down the fern-lined path to the sand, our path lit by a full silver moon. When we reached the quiet solitude of the beach, he pulled me into his arms and captured my mouth with hungry urgency, kissing me deeper than he had a few minutes before. That kiss had been designed to show me how much he loved me, how profoundly moved he was by the vows we’d shared. This kiss was designed to steal my breath, to melt by bones, to absorb the very essence of me into his cells.

“Hello Mrs. Scott,” he said before diving in for more.

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