Page 9 of Chasing Never
Fighting tears, I turn my attention back to my husband, whose head is tilted in question.
Maddox stands behind us, hands crossed in front of him, and begins to address the crew. “Traditionally, the captain is the one to officiate weddings on a ship, but given that our captain is currently indisposed”—the crew chuckles while a few of them whistle—“this solemn duty falls upon my shoulders.
“Now, I was told to keep it short,” he says, which is to my relief, as my ankles are already shaking. “But I make no promises. Because I’ve known the captain for many years now. I’ve known him through love and heartache, and I’ve watched his world burn down, and I’ve watched him rise from the ashes. But as strong, as steadfast as Captain Nolan Astor is, as much as anyone on this crew would trust him with our lives, as much as I respect him for picking himself back up, it’s been years since I saw him happy. Since I saw him surprise himself by laughing. Since I saw him hope. Until you came along, Winds. And then I got to watch a bear meet a butterfly for the first time, and be so entranced, yet so terrified of his own size. Like if he made the wrong move, he might crush it. I got to watch him learn to be soft. And I got to watch you learn to be stubborn. I watched him push when all you wanted was to be left in your cocoon. And I watched you melt him when all he wanted was to be flint. So it had to come to this, all along. There was nowhere else for your fates to take you, except to this moment. Not with how much you change each other for good.”
I glance at Maddox in surprise, shocked by his meaningful speech.
“Do the groom and bride have vows for one another?” he asks.
“I am yours, Darling,” says Nolan. “And if you’ll have me, you are mine.”
I smile, my voice shaking, as I repeat it back. “I am yours, Nolan Astor, and if you’ll have me, you are mine.”
“The rings?” says Maddox. Charlie appears behind me and hands me a golden band, a thinner one to Nolan.
He takes his, placing it on my finger gently, sliding it next to my opal ring. I go to place his on his finger, then panic, realizing there’s nowhere for it to go than his hook.
The crowd chuckles at my predicament, but Nolan just chuckles softly and says, “I think the other hand will do just fine.”
I laugh nervously, then slide the ring onto his right ring finger, my stomach growing heavy with the reality of what I’m doing.
Claiming him.
Just as he’s claimed me.
Again, Charlie appears behind us, this time with a rope. Nolan takes my hand in his, and softly, Charlie ties the rope around our wrists. As she does, Nolan curls his fingers through mine, and my heart melts.
“Before witnesses today, Captain Nolan Astor and Wendy Darling bind their lives together forever,” says Maddox. “Captain, I think you know what to do.”
And as the crowd cheers, Captain Nolan Astor grabs me by the waist, sweeps me into his arms, and kisses me.
CHAPTER 4
Below, on deck, the crew enjoys a feast.
Nolan and I enjoy ours up in the crow’s nest, where Charlie laid us out a blanket and brought us a basket full of food and drinks.
“You don’t like it?” asks Nolan, watching me as I pick at the food on my plate.
Confused, I glance up at him, still amazed at the man sitting across from me. That this man, this fae, broad-shouldered and dazzling and uncatchable, is my husband.
“No, I do,” I say, glancing down at the roasted pheasant displayed upon a bed of greens and tomatoes. There’s bread too, fresh from a bakery in the nearest port. It’s got the most pleasantly sweet aftertaste, and as much as I’m excited for Charlie to bring us a selection from the dessert table down below, I’m considering filling up on this bread instead. “It’s wonderful. I just…” I laugh, covering my mouth, embarrassed at my own silliness.
Nolan raises a teasing eyebrow. “We’ve only been wed half an hour, Darling. Surely you’re not expecting me to telepathically read the rest of your thoughts.”
“Not yet,” I say. “I just…I figure the more slowly I eat, the longer I can draw out tonight.”
“That disturbed by what I’m planning for after the wedding, are you?” says Nolan, his voice light, though there’s slight concern in the way the corners of his eyes wrinkle.
Again, I flush. “No. No, I just imagined this moment so many times when I was…away. Let myself picture it, smell the smells—the lavender is perfect, by the way—but I’ve fantasized about it so often without ever truly believing it would come to pass. I just want it to last as long as possible. I want to sit in it for a while.”
“And that plan involves eating one bite every five minutes?”
“Indeed.”
Nolan offers me a look of feigned annoyance, then says, “We’ll keep this wedding going for a fortnight if that’s what you want, Darling.”
“With breaks, though,” I say.
