Page 113 of The Broken Vows

My eyes widen, and she bursts out laughing. I can’t help but follow suit, my heart filled to the brim with pure happiness. “God, I love you,” I whisper, moments before we’re pronounced husband and wife all over again.

“I love you more,” she whispers as she rises to her tiptoes, her lips finding mine. I sigh against her mouth and kiss her deeply, desire rushing through me when she steals away the peppermint candy I’d been sucking on. When she pulls back to look at me, that same desire pools in her eyes, and I grin, just completely overcome with devotion.

“Disgusting,” Lex mutters, and I glance over to find him covering our daughter’s eyes. Celeste shakes her head as we turn toward our guests, and my hand wraps around her waist. She leans into me as everyone rises from their seats and rushes toward us to congratulate us.

It’s such a blessing how genuinely happy our family is for us, and how happy we all are collectively. “Congratulations,” Sierra says, enveloping my wife in a tight hug. Celeste rests her head on Sierra’s shoulder, Mom’s hairpin sticking out from her bun. Each year, Sierra lends it to her, and each year, Celeste returns it along with a box of cookies Grandma taught her to make. It’s the only thing she can actually make flawlessly, even after years of cooking lessons from my mother-in-law.

I glance at Sierra’s husband, who shakes his head at both women. “How are they this emotional every single year?” he asks, crossing his arms in annoyance as he watches our wives hug a little too tightly for his liking.

Sierra glares at him from over Celeste’s shoulder. “Just remember, Xavier, I loved her long before I lovedyou.”

He reaches for her and pulls her away from Celeste and into his arms. “Just remember, Mrs. Kingston,” he says. “No one will ever love you as much as I do.”

Celeste laughs as she walks up to me, and I grin back at her. We made it. Despite the odds. Despite the heartache and pain, we made it.

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