Page 106 of Wish You Would

Today is an especially special day for her. Not only are we getting married, but it’s also New Year’s Eve, the day she was adopted by her stepdad. I worried it would be too much for her—an emotional anniversary, a reunion with her mom and her brother who flew in for the wedding, a wedding ceremony and reception. Plus, a very busy baby. But she promised me she’d be okay. It’s her favorite day of the year. She also wants me to love New Year’s Eve just as much asher, so she refused to back down on the date. Briar has managed to change my mind on December 31stas well as a list of other things over the last 12 months.

It blows my mind to think that a couple of years ago I thought I might not want children. Becoming a dad is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I smile every time I think about the day Briar told me she was pregnant. It seems imaginable to me that I ever thought I could live this life without Hayes and my girl. When I think back to my life before my little man, it feels incomplete. There’s no other way to explain it. Hayes is my future. And soon, I hope to give him a brother or a sister.

I’ve learnt to relax a little. I’m no longer the wound-tight neat freak that I was before Briar moved in. The house feels like a home now, with Hayes’ play-mat in the center of the living room and the highchair next to the kitchen table. There are toys spilling out of baskets beside the couch. Bottles drying on a rack next to the kitchen sink. Sure, it feels a little chaotic sometimes, but every room I walk into reminds me that our house is full of love and life.

The only thing missing is to make Briar my wife.

I proposed to her the night we brought Hayes home from the hospital. We were sitting at the coffee table eating Thai food. I had Hayes in my arms, rocking him to sleep so she could finish her dinner. The proposal wasn’t fancy or a big, grand gesture like she probably reads about in her romance books, but we had shared so many memorable moments around that little wooden table, divulged so many secrets, that it felt right. The second I got down on one knee, Briar started to cry. When I slid the oval solitaire ring on her finger, she gasped. Nothing had ever felt so right.

Hayes giggles and hides his face in my neck as we walk downstairs to the terrace where the ceremony is takingplace. He missed his nap, which means he’ll either fall asleep after dinner or throw a fit. I’m praying he goes with the first option. When it gets to be bedtime, Barb offered to take him back to their house so that Briar and I can enjoy the rest of the night.

I take my place at the alter with Tucker and the guys on my left and wait for Briar, my heart bursting. I look down the aisle, lined with candles in glass cylinders and fresh orchids, for my first glimpse of my bride. When the violinist starts to play Pachelbel's Canon, and she comes into view.

My eyes are glued to her as she walks down the aisle on the arm of her brother wearing a simple white dress, elegant and flowy. Briar is breathtaking. She puts all other brides to shame. Her long, blonde hair is swept back over one shoulder with a glittery clip, and in her hands is a bouquet of white and soft pink roses.

She strides towards me, a confidence in her step that is so perfectly Briar. She knows who she is. She knows I have eyes for no one else but her. I am hers. Till the day I die.

The moment Hayes sees his mom, he lets out a squeal, his bright smile showing all four of his teeth. When he smiles, he looks just like his mom. A tear escapes before I can wipe it away when he reaches for Briar. If he could walk, he’d be off like a rocket.

I adjust Hayes on my hip, remembering to breathe, as Briar makes her last few steps towards me and our son. She looks at me like I’m the only other beating heart in the room and mouths the words,I love you. I mouth them back to her, understanding exactly what I have and how lucky I am. Love runs through my veins like a river.

When Briar reaches Hayes, she takes his hand in hers and brings it to her lips, kissing his chubby palm. We’re both a crying mess when I hand Hayes over to her brother.

Briar places her hands in mine, and our eyes lock. Everyone else in the room fades away.

“Your boys missed you this morning,” I whisper.

My heart pangs when she vows her love for me. Briar cries when I repeat the same vows back to her. My hands are in hers as the minister talks about commitment and love and growing old together. Then we’re slipping rings onto each other’s fingers and we’re pronounced man and wife.

Everyone cheers when I take Briar in my arms and kiss the life out of her. We only break the kiss to come up for air. I’m always trying to catch my breath around this woman.

“I love you, Mrs. Briar Banks,” I tell her.

She smiles. It ruins me.

“I know, baby,” she says softly. “I love you too.”

My lips meet hers in a long and lingering kiss, and when I pull back, she looks up at me, eyes glistening. It feels like in this moment the entire universe conspired to bring us together.

“I want more babies with you, Bee.”

“We can have five or six,” she says.

I take her hand and the two of us face our friends and family ready to begin our new life together.

Forever begins now.

I like the sound of that.

I kickoff my shoes and then take off my tie and dress shirt, tossing them on the chair. I find Briar in the bathroom in a plush, white hotel robe, leaning towards the mirror taking off her makeup.

I step behind her, smoothing my hand down her neck. Itonly takes a gentle press of my fingers to make her head fall to the side, making room for my mouth to suck on her skin.

“Holden,” she whispers. “I’m almost done. The hair stylist must have used a can of hairspray. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to brush it all out.”

Even as she objects, she pushes her ass into my already hard cock. Her breathing is shallow, lust in her eyes when they meet mine in the mirror.

“Here, let me.” I motion to her hairbrush on the bathroom counter. She hands it to me and then removes the diamond barrette in her hair.

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