Page 170 of Restricted List

But, as strange as it may seem, I’ve always enjoyed Paramore, and they have the absolute perfect song.

So whenThe Only Exceptionstarts playing, I move to stand in the open doorway, eyes floating down the aisle and landing on my future husband.

Wow.

Cole’s gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.

He went with a simpler look, but it suits him so well. He’s in black slacks, black Oxfords, and a crisp white dress shirt, tucked in but with the top couple of buttons undone and his sleeves rolled up, showing off the tattoos I love so much. He topped all of that off by pulling his hair up into his favorite bun, giving me a perfect view of his sweet face.

And his face is so sweet right now.

I can see his breath catch the moment he lays eyes on me, mouth open in awe. I know I blush when he does.

Cole makes me feel so beautiful.

The music continues, and I slowly walk down the aisle. I see Cole take his thumb and rub it under his eye.

He’s crying.

Because he gets to marry me.

And just like that, I fall even more in love with my almost-husband.

When I reach the end of the aisle and take the few steps up to the altar, a worker grabs my bouquet, freeing my hands for Cole to immediately reach over and grab, emotion swirling all over his face.

“Hi, Starlight,” he says softly.

“Hi, Sparrow.”

He lets out a breath and lowly says, “God, you’re beautiful.”

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” I reply with a light laugh.

My only response is the bright smile Cole sports throughout the ceremony.

We follow along with the officiant, repeating after him when he asks us to. When it comes time for our vows, we both agree that we want them to be personal, so we’ll just speak from our hearts.

“Rory,” Cole says as his eyes begin to water again. “I don’t think I can put into words how incredible you are. You’ve been my friend since we met, but loving you is all I ever wanted. Most days still feel like a dream. I wake up in the morning and expect to find that none of this is real, but then I see you in my arms, and I know my realityisa dream. Becauseyouare a dream. You’remydream. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved, and I vow that you’ll remain the only one for the rest of my life. I love you more than you can even imagine, and spending my life with you makes me the luckiest man alive.”

My own tears escape at his sweet words. I have no doubt that he means each and every one of them. I’ll spend my life being treasured, and that’s the life I want to have.

The officiant moves to me now, and I take a deep breath to compose myself.

“Cole,” I say through a watery breath. “I’ve never met anyone like you. I didn’t think we’d end up here, so I resigned myself to just being your friend. But that’s never what I wanted. I wantedyou. The best thing we ever did was give in to those feelings because now we have each other, and I never plan on letting you go. You’re my love, my rock, and my best friend. Spending my life with you is everything I want and need. I vow to always love you and be the woman you deserve.”

“You already are,” he whispers, a stray tear rolling down his cheek.

The officiant finishes out the ceremony, my mind so preoccupied that I barely register what’s happening as we exchange rings and I Do’s and hardly hear another word until he says the ones we’ve both been waiting for.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

I have no time to react before Cole swoops me in, resting a hand low on my back with the other on my hip as he dips me backward, bending over the top of me and giving me the most loving kiss I’ve ever had.

Our life together starts right now, and what a life it’s going to be with Cole by my side.

fifty-two

Cole

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