Page 55 of Merrily Mine
Emily adjusted her hands around my neck, letting one rest on my shoulder as the other still held a bouquet of white roses, her beautiful emerald green eyes matching the pine trees behind her. God, she was a miracle to behold. A wonder I still could barely fathom.
And she was mine.
A shutter clicked. “Got it!” The photographer announced. “You two are naturals.”
“Hear that, baby?” I smirked. “Anatural.”
She groaned, dropping her forehead against my tux.
And because I couldn’t resist, I kissed my wife.
Wife.
Today was our wedding day. And while the rest of our families were sitting inside, out of the cold, we were the two crazy people taking photos in the snow.
But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“You’re insufferable.”
I grinned. “You married me, remember?” I held up my hand, showing off my titanium wedding band. “You’re mine now, wife.” She giggled as I kissed her ring, happiness shining off her face brighter than any sun.
“I think I’ve got everything photo-wise,” Ava, our photographer, said, slipping her equipment back into her camera bag. “Unless there’s anything else or any other poses you’d like?”
We’d probably taken hundreds of different photos—all sorts of angles and poses and backgrounds. But the snow really was beautiful. And my wife was resplendent.
No, she was positivelyglowing.
Emily looked up at me, biting her lip. “Do you still want to…?” Her question trailed off, but I knew exactly what she was thinking of. We’d talked about this moment for months. How we’d tell our families. We wouldn’t be able to hide it for much longer, after all.
Grinning, I let my hand rest over her stomach. You couldn’t tell thanks to her dress, but her bump was there.
“The sonogram is in my pocket,” I whispered in her ear.
We hadn’t exactly planned on it when it happened, but one or two missed pills this summer had turned into two pink lines—and we’d both been ecstatic. And now, our baby was growing inside of her.
“One more photo, Ava?” Emily asked the photographer, sliding her hand into the interior pocket of my tux jacket, pulling out the small black-and-white photo.
She let out a small gasp. “Oh.” She looked back and forth between the two of us. “You’re…?”
My wife nodded. “Yeah.” Her green eyes beamed up at me. “I’m four months along.”
Pregnant. Emily was pregnant with our baby. Some days, I still couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe what a blessing this was, after everything I’d been through to get here. That after all this time, I was getting the future I’d always dreamed of. With the girl who was everything I could have ever asked for—and more. My soulmate. The love of my life.
Ava helped pose us—one of Em holding the sonogram over my shoulder, showing off her ring and the scan, with us wrapped up in each other. Another with me holding her bump, my hands cradling the little life growing inside of her.
“These photos are so perfect,” she told us after taking one of me kissing Emily’s belly. “Gosh, y’all are just going to have the most beautiful baby.” Ava was originally from the south, andshe’d just moved up to the area this past summer. Of course, she and Emily had been fast friends.
Tears pricked at Em’s eyes. “Thank you.” She looked over at me. “We haven’t told anyone yet, though.” Once we got back from our honeymoon, we were telling them all the good news. The photos were just a part of that. And our small way of having our baby be a part of our wedding day.
“My lips are sealed,” she promised.
“I’m pretty sure some of them suspect, though,” I said, laughing as I tugged her to my side. “Your brothers kept giving me weird looks last night when I kept finishing all of your drinks.” And I could only slip her so much sparkling apple cider before I was pretty sure someone was going to catch on.
“The girls too,” Emily admitted. “They’reallgetting a little too suspicious. It probably doesn’t help that I threw up the night of the bachelorette party.” She winced. “Not my finest moment.”
Rubbing her back as we headed back towards the main lodge, I couldn’t help but think of the memory of her crawling into our bed that night. The first trimester had been hard on her, and I’d done everything I could to help make it better. To take care of her, just like I promised.
We’d decided to get married on the ranch, the place we both loved. Of course, it had snowed the night before our wedding, and we trudged through the powdery layer of snow that had settled, turning the place into the perfect winter wonderland. Just like it had been during the storm that changed our lives forever.
