Page 29 of In the Light of Day

Porter moves from where we’re standing, meeting Charlie with a passionate kiss, taking their place in front of us. As Mila and Henry approach, Dante too leaves my side to join his family, standing before us to witness our wedding. The intensity of the music picks up and my eyes lock onto the most angelic sight.

She is breathtaking.

Nova stands at the barn doors, her arm nestled firmly in the crook of Seth’s. She is a vision, and as she walks toward me, her smile is full and happy. My palms are sweating. My neck is sweating. Can your eyes sweat because that's happening too? I can feel the water spill over and run down my cheeks.

Using the decorative cloth in my jacket pocket, I wipe my eyes. Not wanting to miss a second of her with my vision blurring as she walks toward me. I'm fairly confident that the birds have stopped chirping because the beat of my heart is so loud with every step she takes toward me.

She's marrying me.

Seth kisses her on the cheek before he takes his place behind the archway. A bonus of having the sheriff become your father-in-law is that he can marry you. Shaking his hand quickly, I reach out to Novas, guiding her to stand in front of me, witnessed by our friends,our family, the beginning of us.

“Hold on a second,” I say, my voice raw despite barely talking. I quickly retrieve the footstool I was keeping hidden, knowing I wanted us to be at eye level when we did this.

“Ace,” she chuckles, “you didn't.” Her laughter releases any worry I was holding on to. This is going to happen, she's choosing me.

Helping her to the top of the step ladder, I get my first full look at the woman who is about to become my wife. Her platinum hair is loose, with just a few strands clipped back by some small light blue flowers. Her dress is tight at the waist. A hint of her small breasts peeking out from the deep V cut in the middle before it flows to the ground. Simple, elegant, and unapologetically, Nova.

Looking into her eyes, I see everything I've ever wanted looking back at me.

“Before we start, I want you to know that this can all be for show. I know Seth talked with you and that he probably told you to run while you can,” I say, quickly looking at him while he gruffs at my words. “What I'm trying to say is that before we go through with this I need you to know that I love you. Ilove, love you. More than guns, more than secret compartments and gadgets. I love you more than anything I've ever had in my life and if you want this to be the start of us, for this to become a real marriage, then I want that too. I desperately want it, Nova. However our future looks, I just need to know that we’re in it together.”

There’s a lump in my throat the size of Texas and she grasps onto my hands so tightly I’m almost worried about a lack of blood flow. Looking at her now, knowing her past and the woman she's fought to become. It's important she knows my truth and I have to be okay with where the cards may fall. Her chest heaves as she takes deep breaths, looking over to Charlie and Porter, then Mila and Dante with Henry fast asleep in his dad's arms. They all nod in encouragement, not certain of the traumas of her past but wanting her to make the most of her future.

Tears fall down her face and she looks over to Seth, “Pop,” she gasps, quickly stretching out her hand to take his. Finding strength in his hold just as much as mine.

“If you're going to fall, baby. Let him be the man to catch you.” His frown deepens slightly as he wills the tears in his eyes not to spill over, ever the stoic father figure before he moves her hand back into mine. Looking up at me, her doe eyes wide with fear and hope, she says the words we share all the time with each other, but this time it’s different. This time the meaning behind them has changed and there’s no more avoiding the idea of us being something more.

“Ace ... James. Ilove, love you too. And if you'd like to, I want to get married. I want to be your wife.”

Chapter 24 - Nova

I get to love you - Ruelle ?

After a quick hug from Charlie and Mila, I take hold of Pop's arm and we motion to leave the barn. Soft music rings out from speakers I can't see, and little Henry is clearly getting distracted by the beauty all around us.

I’m speechless.

It's almost ethereal the way everything glows and moves in the breeze. It's a space that you see brought to life in the movies, except this is reality,my reality.

Guiding me forward, I can see all of the most important people in the world to me. My friends,my family, and waiting down the end of a makeshift aisle is a man I've only ever dreamed of. He is kind, caring, protective and annoying all wrapped in one extra large package.

Since my feelings for Ace changed all those years ago so did how my body responds to him. I never understood how things were meant to feel when you were intimate with someone. My only sexual encounters had been filled with violence and control. I did a lot of internet scouring and found several toys that help scratch that itch when it creeps up on me, but Ace gives me butterflies. Ones I never thought I would experience after everything that happened. I know I'm safe with him,my body knows. Looking at him now though, standing in a navy suit, his sandy brown hair perfectly styled as he waits for me. I feel my breath hitch and my arousal stir all at the same time.

I want him and he wants me. And I can't control the smile on my face as I walk toward him.

Helping me to the top of the footstool, I have to control the urge to climb him like a tree. Wrap my legs around his waist, surrounded in perfect safety. But when he confesses his love for me, that's when I truly understand what this could be for us. I needed to hear those words, to know that when I asked to be his wife, he understood that I was right there with him.

Listening to Pop talk through the formalities of the ceremony, Ace moves his hand to his pocket, retrieving a small black velvet bag, passing me his ring before we repeat our vows. I'm so caught up in everything, I barely register when Pop puts the paperwork he was reading from down on the ground, clearing his throat to get our attention as he retrieves something from his pocket.

“I know this is a little unorthodox, but to be fair this whole thing has been. Before I announce your new marriage I want to offer something to you.”

Holding his hand out, he opens it, the gold of Martha's engagement ring shining in the light. Gasping at the sight, I stumble a little at the top of the footstool, blown away by the gesture my Pop is offering. Ace steadies me, lifting me down effortlessly so there is no risk of toppling over and I look into the eyes of the only man I ever wanted to call dad.

“I still have your Ma’s wedding ring close to my heart, and it will stay there until I join her up there,” he says, gesturing to the sky above us. “But I would like to ...wewould like to give you her ring to wear. If you want to, that is.”

He suddenly looks a little nervous, like I would reject this special thing he’s bestowing.

“You are the daughter we never had, baby girl. The child we were never blessed with despite how much we wanted it. Every day we struggled was worth it because we got to love you like you deserved. Like you were our own. Your Ma’s ring is a symbol of the love we shared. A love I see between you two that has grown and changed over the years. One your Ma saw straight away but took me a little longer to catch up. So if you would do us the honour of wearing it alongside the ring that Ace gave you, it would make an old man feel really happy.”

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