Page 133 of Mr. Almost

“I am so glad Mommy and Daddy are finally getting married,” Ari pipes in, making everyone laugh.

Mason hands me Ari before he turns to Max, accepting two rings. My confusion quickly turns to tears when I see the first one he holds up.

“Arianna, my baby girl. Even though I’m marrying your mommy today, I want to take the time and honor a promise that I made to you not that long ago. I promised you that I would never leave you. This ring symbolizes that I will never leave you and that I promise to love you forever and always. Will you accept this ring?”

“You got me a ring? Is it real?” She looks down at her finger as he places it on hers. “Oh wow. It’s so pretty. I love it, Daddy.”

She hugs him tightly before settling back into my arms. She is so busy looking at her finger that she doesn’t notice when Chloe steps from her spot beside me to take her from me. She discreetly slips the ring I picked out for Mason into my hand.

“For you, my darling Livvy. The love of my life. This ringsymbolizes the fact that you will never be alone again. When we have battles, we will fight them together. Nothing is stronger than the love we hold for one another.”

He slips the ring on my finger before brushing my tears away. Holding up his ring, I slip it on his hand.

“With this ring.” I choke on a sob. “I can’t even talk. Why did you do this to me?”

He laughs, his own eyes watering. “Because I love you.”

“I love you.” I suck in a breath, trying to calm down. “With this ring, I commit myself to you for the rest of my life. You are everything to me. I am honored to have you as a husband.”

The minister steps forward then.

“By the power vested in me by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

He smiles down at me as he kisses me.

In that moment, I knew I had a perfectly imperfect life.

I wouldn’t trade Mason Williamson for the world.

MASON

Today I married the woman of my dreams.

I couldn’t be happier. I have my wife, and I have my daughter. How could life get any better? I have the American dream with the family and a house with a fence. The only thing missing is the dog, but I already have the dog Ari wants on hold with the breeder. Soon, our little family will be complete. The exact picture Olivia once told me about one night after sex.

The wedding was perfect. She looked so pretty in her white dress. Having Ari there and committing to her was so important to me. I’m glad that it all went smoothly. Despite making her bawl her eyes out, she still looked gorgeous.

Knowing she’s my wife now is overwhelming in the best possible way. On Monday, she will go and start the process of changing her name. While she contemplated keeping her maiden name to keep her coworkers from looking at her differently, she ultimately decided she wanted to be a Williamson. What she doesn’t realize, though, is that her coworkers are already scared of her. We haven’t hidden our relationship from them, and we never will. Once her name change has gone through, we can start working on changing Arianna’s last name as well. Then it will be as it always should have been.

“Why are we at work?” Olivia asks as soon as we pull in.

The reception was amazing. Everyone had a great time. Brantley drove Chloe and Ari back to her place early in the evening and promised to stay and take care of them. Chloe hated it, but Ari was so excited she didn’t tell him anything different.

As soon as everyone else started leaving, we dipped out. Eli and Max will handle breaking the place down. Besides, Iris hooked me up. She made sure everything would be ready when we arrived.

“I have a surprise for you.”

She laughs. “It’s our suite, isn’t it?”

I nod. “It is. I felt like it was appropriate.”

“Well, show me the way, then.”

It doesn’t take long for us to get to the room. Everyone congratulates us along the way, but thankfully no one wants to chat. When we get to the door, I hand her the key.

“You do the honors, Mrs. Williamson.”

Her eyes flare at the new name.

---