Page 21 of This Woman Forever

I can’t respond, eyes still on the door.

“Jesse?”

This is it. This is the moment I’ve been praying for. Dreaming for. The moment I never thought could be mine.

“Jesse?”

She’ll be my wife. A wife I’ve asked for. A wife I love deeply. A marriage I could only dream of. A love reciprocated, a best friend, a soul mate, my absolute fucking world.

Ava.

“Jesse, for fuck’s sake,” John grumbles, taking my arm and pulling. I’m suddenly walking backward, and I frown, seeing I’ve somehow made it halfway down the aisle. The magnet. As ever, it’s powerful.

Leading me.

I jerk out of my daze, looking at John. “I think she’s pregnant,” I say quietly without thinking, and he recoils, his chest expanding.

“What?”

I blink rapidly, looking at the doors when they open.

And I see her.

Like a fucking angel, light radiating around her.

Lace.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” I whisper, the words getting caught in my throat. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

John moves in close to my side. “She’s pregnant?” he says quietly.

“Yes. No.” I shake my head, shake the daze away. “I don’t know.” I focus on Ava, straightening my shoulders and linking my hands, trying to look as perfect as a man should look while waiting at the end of the aisle.

Then she looks up.

And the world stops turning. Her chest starts to pump. She looks as nervous as I suddenly feel, and I know there is only one thing that can cure us both.

Contact.

I start toward her, making Ava stop in her tracks and the congregation gasp. I pay no attention, my eyes on my prize, and when I’m directly before her, I smooth my hand down her face, taking her in. I see all anxiety leave her, feel my own nerves melt away, and she pushes into my touch, her lips curving ever so slightly. Dipping, I get closer, hearing Elizabeth huff her disapproval. She’s in for a bigger shock than me meeting Ava halfway up the aisle.

“Give me your hand,” I order quietly as I dip into my pocket. The moment her dainty fingers brush my palm, I flip the cuff over her wrist and secure myself to her, smiling at the feel of her wide eyes on me.

Joseph laughs under his breath, relinquishing his hold and joining his distraught wife, and I watch Ava as she assesses the crowd. I don’t. All of my attention is on her.

Did she expect anything less?

“What are you doing?” she whispers, smiling nervously.

I kiss the nerves away before moving my mouth to her ear. “You look so fuckable.”

She coughs over her surprise. “Jesse, people are waiting.”

“Then they’ll wait.” I take my time, kissing her, making sure everyone here knows I will never conform to expectations, especially Ava’s mother’s expectations. “I really, really, really like this dress.” I’ve never seen so much lace. It’s apt, but it’s also a massive fucking problem. I’d love to rip it off, turn her around, and march her back upstairs.

But first...

I grunt lightly when I feel her hand slip into my hair, holding it, her smile glorious. “Mr. Ward, you’re keeping me waiting.”

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