Page 123 of The One I Need
“Izzy, will you marry me? Again?”
Usually this is the part where the silence goes awkward, which means a no is coming. This time there’s silence. Well, except for Hazel crying in the doorway.
“Izzy?”
I look up at her, that devilish smirk gracing her beautiful face.
“I figured I’d make you wait a few before I said yes.”
I smile as we both stand up. “All I heard in that was yes.”
Izzy wraps her arms around my neck as I do the same around her waist. “Good. That’s all you needed to hear.”
Home. That’s what this feels like. This kiss feels like home and forever.
Exactly how it’s supposed to feel.
I break away, giving her one more kiss on the nose before I turn to look at Hazel.
“She said yes!”
Hazel laughs as I go back to kissing my fiancée. Wife. Whatever I want to call her, I know this for certain.
She’s mine. Forever.
And I’m hers. For even longer.
Chapter43
Izzy
~~Two months later~~
“Ladies and gentlemen!For the first time, well, technically…not really…is again a better word? Oh, fuck it…ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Mr. and Mrs. Oliver McCall!”
“That your doing?” Oliver says to me as we walk hand-in-hand into our reception with the song about being crazy in love playing over the speakers. I can’t help but look at Simon—who all of a sudden decided last week he wanted to DJ our reception—as we make our way to the head table. I think he thought it would get him out of flower man duty. It didn’t. I can’t hold back my laugh as we walk past him in his DJ booth. His tuxedo makes him look like the Easter bunny is going to prom.
“I believe you once said that if I agreed to stay married to you, you’d take my name. Are you going back on your word?”
Oliver twirls me around once we hit the dance floor. “Never.”
The applause gets louder as Oliver dips me low, following me for a kiss that is the perfect amount of seductive, and wedding appropriate.
“You ready to do this, Mrs. Price?”
“After you, Mr. McCall.”
Oliver brings me back up and lifts our joined hands as we find our place in the center of the dance floor. We wanted to get the first dance done soon. Well, I did. You know, just in case the panic got a little too real. But now that I’m here, in Oliver’s arms, my head resting on his shoulder as we sway back and forth to the first song we danced to all those months ago, I don’t want this to end.
Today was surreal, to say the least. And a roller coaster of emotions. All day, leading up to the vow renewal ceremony, I was admittedly nervous. Just the thought of wearing a white dress and going in front of a few hundred people sent me for a mental tailspin. Poor Whitley. She might have served as the event planner, but I don’t know if she was ready for my sudden breakdown.
But Hazel knew what to do. She went and got Oliver. Like always, he knew what I needed. Him. He’s the only one I need. When the time came to walk down the aisle toward him, there wasn’t a drop of anxiety. There wasn’t a hint of fear. I was walking toward Oliver; how could I be scared?
It helped that my mother was nowhere near this wedding. She wasn’t invited. She knew about it. My sister made sure to tell her where she was going. Her, Jimmy, and the kids all came out. My niece and nephew were both in it, with Magnolia, of course. My sister stood up with me, as did Hazel. Of course, the entire crew was flanking Oliver, including Amelia, who looked quite fashionable in her suit. Simon even wore his pink tuxedo.
He looked quite dapper.
“I finally got my dance.”
