Page 163 of The Wife Situation

“You are,” I whisper, feeling like I’m drowning in his blue eyes.

It’s then that he fully captures me. All of me. And I think he knows it too.

“Easton.” I laugh, holding the paper and swallowing down my excitement. “Honest truths with you, always. I considered not spilling my heart out and writing something generic, but I’m all about the adventure, and my daddy always told me to let the truth set me free. I know I suck at first impressions, and I have the worst timing in the world.”

His head falls back with laughter, messy curls bounce, and his blue eyes meet mine.

“But,” I continue, smiling. “Somehow, you find that adorable.”

“Because it is.”

“That’s how I knew you accepted me, my humor, and who I am at my core. My essence. I was nervous about what I’d say, worried I’d say too much or too little, and then I remembered that you want me forme.”

I meet his eyes with a smile, then return to the page.

“I’m so happy to beyourperson. I want to be the one who will join you on crazy life adventures, like getting married on a whim in Fiji because we can. Or sleeping in a one-person tent with a child-sized sleeping bag when in forty-degree weather. Or watching the Milky Way rise as the crickets surround us.” I pause, remembering what else happened. I think he’s reliving it too.

“Next up is dancing at Stonehenge and ice-skating at Rockefeller Center. And I know this is happening so fast, like a whirlwind, but they say love happens when you least expect it. I wasn’t expecting you, Easton. I was avoiding you, avoiding love, avoiding living. But here you are, and I’m so grateful wefound each other. I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else. Iknowyou’re the man I’m supposed to marry. I care about you so deeply,” I whisper. “I’m honored to be your friend, lover, and soon, your wife.”

He moves forward, and the officiant doesn’t say anything as Easton grabs my cheeks and kisses me.

“I couldn’t wait. I’m sorry. I needed to kiss you so desperately.”

I laugh against his mouth. “I needed it too.”

“That was perfect,” he says, touching my forehead before pulling away and sliding his notebook from his pocket. He removes the lid from his pen.

“Alexis Lexi Matthews, my fiancée, my biggest inspiration, and my soon-to-be wife. When I look at you, I see a life that I didn’t think would ever be possible for me. A life full of laughs, love, and experiences that I couldn’t have with anyone else.” He meets my eyes, glancing back at the page.

“The moment I looked into your eyes, I knew I’d found what I’d been searching for my entire life—you. Everything changed for me that day. And I know we joke that your timing is shit, but what if it’s just right? Because those tiny little mistakes led up to this very moment, the one we’re living right now. You are the woman who’s taught me what love truly is because I know you can’t be bought. I’m in love with you, Lexi. And I already know that I’ll love you until I take my last dying breath.” He smiles at me, continuing with his pen on paper.

“One second, love,” he whispers, grinning. His voice is husky, mixed with his intense gaze that sends goose bumps flying over my skin. “Stay like that for me a little longer. You’re so fucking beautiful.”

I laugh and a few tears spill down my cheeks because I know he’s drawing this moment, right now, in his book, and everything he said was straight from his heart. He finishes,shoving the notebook into his pocket, removing the space to kiss away the happy tears. I told him to prove he’s worth spending forever with, and somehow, he has.

“Before me and yourselves, you’ve proclaimed your love. Do you have the rings?”

We nod, meeting one another’s eyes, and slide the symbols onto our fingers.

The officiant smiles. “Please seal it with a kiss from now to eternity.”

My mouth crashes against Easton’s, and I’m lost in his touch as he slowly kisses me.

“My wife,” he whispers.

“My husband,” I say. The word feels foreign on my tongue, but it also feels right, like this is how it was always supposed to be.

When we pull away, Easton takes my hand, and we turn and watch the dark red sun hang lazily on the horizon. The sky bursts in rays of orange and pink as the fading light reflects across the water. It dips below the Earth, and we hold on to one another.

As I turn around, I realize we’re alone, just the two of us, exactly how I wanted. “I don’t ever want to forget this,” I admit.

Easton smiles, pulls his notebook from his pocket, and flips it to the last page. He turns it to show me the sketch. Me, with my hair blowing in the wind, smiling with the beach and sun behind me.

“This is how you see me?”

“Yes,” he says, smiling and kissing my forehead. “Gorgeous and deviant.”

I wrap my arm around his waist, tugging him against me. “Now what?”

---