We both laugh when I almost fumble the ring.Damn.Dropping it in the sand could have been a disaster.
But the hand-carved wooden band finds its home on my wife’s hand.
“Ms. Brewer, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
The officiant uses Allison’s real last name, not Westerly now that all of her past has been tainted by the other man’s name.
“I do!” She does a little dance as she slides the dark gray silicone ring on my finger.
It’s perfect.
She’s perfect.
Our life together is perfect. A little unconventional. Just like our rings.
We both knew that gold and silver or even platinum rings weren’t made for a life of digging in archeological sites and being on ops with my team.
It didn’t mean we loved each other any less. When we retire, I’ll deck her in diamonds and shiny rings of any kind that she wants.
“You may now kiss your bride.”
“Oh, the good part.” Allison tosses her flowers down and laughs wildly as she launches at me.
My heart expands to the size of a planet.
Axle lets out a loud whistle as I pick Allison up for a long, probably too graphic, kiss.
The sweet sound of my brother’s laughter and her mom’s hoots barely even register.
When we’re done, the entire three-person wedding party—the officiant and Axle and her mom—is strolling back to the hotel. Leaving us alone.
I set her on her bare feet in the soft, dark Vandemora sand. “God, you’re so pretty, I just want to devour you.”
A sheepish grin curls up her just-kissed lips. “Come on. We can do that later.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
We walk the beach, hand in hand, picking up seashells as the sunlight falls. When we reach the far end of the cove, a flickering light catches my eye. “What is that?”
“You up for a swim?”
“It’s about time I got in the water, my gills are getting dry.”
My eyes pop as she shimmies her wedding dress up over her hips. Farther up over her pretty tits, and off over her head.
Well, good god.
“That kind of swim…okay. You don’t have to bribe me to skinny dip with my hot wife.”
Wearing only a pair of lace panties and a delicate lace thing that can hardly qualify as a bra, Allison beckons me toward the water. “That’s our honeymoon suite.”
“The boat?”
“Yep.” She laughs at my expression. “Only this one has been inspected to make sure it’s going to float all night.”
“You little she-devil.” I grab her, thrashing into the water as I carry her. “I love it.”