Page 6 of Spoiled by Daddy's 4 Dirty Friends

“I didn’t have to, baby. You are in every second thought I have. You chased my nightmares away with a hug and soft words when we started and now … now I get the pleasure of taking care of your restless nights the same way. I constantly felt like a burden when we met like I was holding you back, unable to change and it was your willingness to listen, to love me for who I am without everdemandingI do more, without ever telling me that Ishoulddo more that led to me wanting to be better. For you, myself, and my friends.”

“Hold.” She reaches up and cups my face. A shiver flows down my spine and I have to close my eyes for a second.

“I want to give you the world, but more than that, I want to give you a life that is worth all the whispers we’ve dealt with, all the stress, all the looks on the street, and second glances. You have made me more than a ghost of myself and I promise you, swear, Sophie, that I will never cage myself again.”

She looks up at me from under her lashes and it nearly does me in. “I will never make you endure anything alone. I will distract you constantly when we work together – even now that Miles knows. I will cuddle with you through horror movies and squeeze you tighter on the jump scares. I’ll take you to the zoo, to Greece, to anywhere your passion carries you. And I promise to never let you forget how important you are toallof us every single day.”

Sophie lets out a sob, looking down and giving up on talking for a moment. I stroke up her arms and pull her close, rubbing her shoulders as I hug her. I look at the crowd. “I wouldn’t have been able to get all of that out a year ago, to be here in front of so many people, or do any of this.”

Gunner and Nick both rub my shoulder and we give Sophie a minute to collect herself. She takes a deep breath and holds my face in her hands. “What the hell am I supposed to say to that?”

“Your vows.” Gunner reminds her with a wink.

She sniffs. “I’ve loved you the whole time, Holden. The more you’ve let me in, the more there has been to love. I would happily spend every day whittling information out of you, but I am so proud of the man you are becoming on your own. I …” She looks up and shakes her head. “Need to stop crying.” She laughs.

I laugh and wipe at my nose before her hands tighten on me.

“I can’t wait to have our future – all of us together – no matter what. Spending time with just you as we talk, secrets, silly moments, and comforting each other by being at our most vulnerable. I’m looking forward to all the inside jokes you explain to me so I’m not missing out on game night. And I love – absolutely love – that we never miss out on breakfast together. You have made me love myself, love you, and love all of you so much more than I ever thought possible and I am so excited to finally break these hellish rules keeping me from you so I can drown you in kisses and never let you question how much you mean to me.”

“That sounds pretty damn good, so … Holden, do you take Sophie through the good and the bad, through every potential problem and success, as long as you both shall live?” Gunner asks.

“I do.” I slide the ring onto her finger.

“Sophie do-”

“I do!” She cries, shoving the ring on my finger. I love how excited she is to get her hands on me, the way she’s beaming despite the tears on her face, and the fact that no other person exists in the world when she looks at me like that. “Gun, you better say it.”

“You may now kiss your husband.” He says through a chuckle.

She pulls me down and kisses me so deeply, that I feel faint. I don’t know if it’s the lack of oxygen. She makes me dizzy as she teases me with her tongue, then sucks it. I dip her back, like when we dance and kiss her again. She giggles and laughs too much for our mouths to do anything more than bump against each other clumsily.

I pull her up as she giggles and her veil falls to the ground. Valerie picks it up and she rolls her eyes.

The crowd cheers and I see my brother throw his fist into the air for me. He always said if I ever got married, I had to do the Breakfast Club movie salute – the thing that said no matter what happens, I’ve learned, grown, and will be better.

I put my fist up in the air and kiss Sophie’s cheek.

She wraps herself around me until I adjust her on my back and carry her down the aisle, making her giggle while she kisses my throat. “I love you so much, Hold. All of that was …amazing.”

When I set her down at the beginning of the aisle, I hold her face between my hands and kiss her forehead. “I am thrilled that my best friends are involved in our marriage, in our life. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Everyone keeps thinking you’re the lucky one or the greedy one getting four men, but that’s not it at all.”

“I know.” She stands on her toes as far as she can to kiss my chin.

“We love each other too and that’s going to make our relationship so much stronger than anyone can ever understand. I promise you, Sophie, you are never going to want for anything, except maybe some time alone so we stop suffocating you and start annoying each other.”

She kisses me again and again. “I will never want time away, Hold. Six days of not really being able to kiss you guys, to share a room with you guys, toloveyou properly has nearly driven me insane. Never do it to me again, promise”

“I promise.”

She looks at her messy dress, tries to adjust her veil, and nearly ruins her hair. I calm her hands and Valerie comes back to help me put her back in order. Miles looks at me and shakes his head. “What’s Roman going to do? Just whisper shit in her ear until she’s crying like a baby? I think the three of you covered every possible thing to say.”

I smirk. Roman hasnothingplanned. Not a damn thing. He ripped up his speech saying it wasn’t good enough, didn’t get anything to the officiant, and has hit the level of stress that he’s calm. But I know he’ll pull it together for Sophie.

“One last surprise, baby. Can you handle it?”

“Don’t forget you all have to handle the hours of pictures as retribution.” She winks and her father groans as the music plays. She loops his arm and motions for me to hurry up. “Don’t worry, Daddy. I’m never getting married again.”

“Just wait until you renew your vows,” Miles says and that sounds more like approval than anything I’ve heard so far.

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