Page 156 of Reconciling With the Rival

I hear her feet pad across the floor and, a few seconds later, I feel her press a kiss to my back before she retreats again. When the girls are gone, I turn back around to the three men staring at me. Grant looks enchanted at me—bit weird, but normal for him—and Henry and Oliver have normal expressions on their faces.

“Why don’t you shower and then we can eat?” Henry says.

“Sounds good, mates,” I say, and as I walk toward the other bathroom in the suite, I hear them whispering.

“He’s totally going to flip out. We should place bets on what it’ll be about now,” Grant says. I don’t stick around to hear what they say before I hop into the shower and prepare myself to marry the love of my life.

A Few Hours Later

As we all standin the beautiful red rock canyon, the sun just starting to set in the sky, I can’t help but feel a bit nervous.

Those fuckers have officially gotten into my head, and I can’t help but turn to them as we wait for the ceremony to start. The girls are around the corner, waiting for the music to play.

I know elopements are usually spur-of-the-moment, but nothing about this is screaming elopement. This entire day was planned out by us over these past few months, but now, it all feels wrong. My suit feels itchy, and all I want to do is grab Ella and make her my fucking wife. I’m restless, and I can’t bear another second of Ella not being my wife.

“Dude, are you good?” Oliver asks me, and I shake my head.

“She didn't run away, did she? Is she still around the corner?”

“Here’s the freakout.” Grant smiles. “Hads just texted me that she’s scared as hell you won’t be here when she turns the corner. God, you two are perfect for one another.”

“I just want to see my wife,” I tell them.

“Slow your roll there, dude. She’s not your wife yet,” Oliver says as I pin him with a glare.

“Can we just get this going?” I ask as Grant looks at the photographer. She signals for the music to start playing, and Isuddenly feel better when I see the girls walking toward me a few moments later in what Ella picked out for them.

She didn't want to tip anyone off about our elopement, so we got all their measurements and picked out dresses they would all like. I did the same for the guys with suits. They offered to pay me back, but if they saw the price tags, they would take that kind sentiment back.

Plus, everyone needs at least one nice, expensive suit they can wear for things like this. I was basically doing them all a favor.

Then, the music switches to a song Ella and I both love—the instrumental version, of course—and I swear, my heart stops beating for a moment as I see her turn the corner and start to walk toward me.

She looks absolutely alluring, and I swear I have a hard time looking at her without thinking of the life we’re going to create as husband and wife.

This girl holds the key to my heart, our future, and everything in between, and I cannot believe I get to call her mine.

Her dress is fucking gorgeous. It’s a midi-dress, corseted in typical Ella fashion, sheer on top. The sleeves drape over her shoulders, her veil falling over her curly hair as she walks toward me, looking more beautiful than I could ever describe.

By the time she reaches me, I feel like I’m going to cry. I’m not an emotional person, but something about the scene in front of me, something about her, is making me emotional.

“Hi, darling,” I say to her, and she smiles.

“Hi, Leo. Are you ready for this?”

“As ready as you are.” I smile as I grab her hands in mine, needing to touch her. She grounds me in every moment when I feel overwhelmed, and today’s no different.

The officiant goes through all the usual shit before he asks us to say our vows, and I go before Ella, since I know she loves having the last word—she has always been like that.

I grab mine from Grant before I clear my throat. “My darling Ella,” I say as I try to make my voice less shaky.Why the fuck am I so nervous?

“I don’t think I could love you more than I do now. I’m going to spend every second of our marriage proving to you that the easiest thing I’ve done in my life is love you.”

A single tear falls from her eyes, and I already feel myself getting emotional as well.

“I know you worry about who you are sometimes, so I’ve decided to gather my own promises to you to go along with the usual ones—'til death do us part and all of that.” I take a deep breath before speaking again. “I promise you’ll never be too much for me. I promise you could never sparkle too much around me. In fact, I promise to pull more of that shine out of you when we’re married. But I want you to think back to this moment when you feel like you’re being too much.”

She sniffles in front of me, tears falling from her beautiful eyes.

---