Page 99 of The Player
“And whenIsaid there’s someone for everyone out there, I’d always thought that for you it was a psychiatrist.” She shrugged. “Or a cell mate. But now, I think you might be right. This”—she waggled her finger, pointing between the two of us, and her smile softened as she gazed up at me—“it works.”
“Of course it does,” I replied, giving her a cocky smile. “You have impeccable taste and I’m irresistible. I knew I’d wear you down eventually.”
I winked and led her into the building where our friends and family were waiting for us.
We hadn’t invited many people to our wedding. Just my brothers, Adam, Colton, Devon, Tyler, my mum, and my brother, Frankie, who I’d gotten closer to since everything that’d happened. Bee had her sisters, Shelley and Kate, plus her mum, her aunt Rosie, and some family friend called Paula.
Apparently, Paula had done a reading for Bee a few weeks ago and told her a wedding was in her future. Bee thought she’d meant for her sister, Shelley, but I knew better. I liked surprising her and putting a smile on her face.
I’d already booked the registry office when she went for that reading. I’d sorted the invites, the flowers. I booked it all. All Bee had to do was say yes, buy a dress, and turn up on the day. Lucky for me, she had. And once we’d made it official today, and she was Mrs Stokes, we were throwing a huge party at The Sanctuary to celebrate.
I’d made it my life’s mission to be better at surprising her, and today certainly beat my previous efforts. There wasn’t a duck pond, a Baywatch lifebuoy or a pair of red swimming shorts in sight. From now on, my surprises would be tailored to her needs. Everything was for her.
We walked through the lobby and down the wood panelled hallway to where Colton and Shelley were waiting for us outside the room I’d booked for us to get married in. They were our witnesses for the ceremony, along with the other two special guests on the leads they were currently holding. I’d had the crazy idea of letting Tyson and Tiny carry the rings for us. To some people, it might look corny, but I didn’t care. We loved those dogs, and I wanted them to be a part of our day.
“Are you ready, sis?” Shelley asked, giving Bee a pointed stare.
“It’s your last chance to back out and see if David Hasselhoff is still single. I know how much you love a red swimsuit,” Colton butted in, winking at her.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Bee replied. “Except in there.” And she nodded at the door and gave my arm a squeeze. Then she turned to me and smiled, making my chest constrict. “So, what do you think, pretty boy? Are you ready to get hitched?”
“I’m ready to fling you over my shoulder and show you who you belong to.” I smirked. “But I’ll do the whole vows and rings thing first, just to make sure it’s official.”
“So bossy,” Bee quipped as the double doors opened to the room with our guests inside, waiting for us, all dressed in suits and dresses. There were blue flowers attached to the back of each chair, and a small aisle ready for us to walk down.
“I call it aggressively assertive. But bossy works too,” I whispered. “Now get your ass down that aisle, so I can start calling you Mrs Stokes.”
She grinned back at me, and we walked the small distance past our loved ones, to stand in front of the registrar. Tyson behaved perfectly and sat at Colton’s feet. Tiny tried to jump up at Bee and me, so Shelley picked her up to calm her down.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming here today to celebrate the wedding of William and Bryony,” the registrar announced. “My name is Abigail and I’ll be conducting the ceremony for you today.”
The registrar gave a speech about love, marriage, and making promises. Then she smiled and turned to us, telling us it was our turn to say the vows we’d written for each other.
“Bryony, would you like to go first?” the registrar asked, and Bee nodded, taking a breath to calm her nerves. Then she looked right in my eyes as she started to speak.
“Will, I promise to love you today and every day for the rest of my life. I’ll let you tell your jokes, and sometimes, I might even laugh. I’ll support you in everything you do, and I promise not to watch the next episode of whatever Netflix show we’re bingeing unless I’m with you. But… if I slip up, I’ll watch it again and pretend I haven’t seen it, just for you.
“I promise that I won’t be annoying when we argue and keep score… because we both know I always win.”
“I always let you win,” I butted in, to a ripple of quiet laughter.
“You do.” She grinned back at me. “And I love you for it. I also promise to wear your ring to show everyone that you have me wrapped around your finger.”
“I think it’s the other way around,” I added, and she cocked her head at me.
“We’ll see.” She paused for a moment, then her eyes welled up as she said, “I can’t believe I’m marrying my best friend. That I get to wake up every day with you and be with you, forever. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I can’t wait to grow old disgracefully with you. I love you, Will. Never change, please, because I love you just the way you are. And that includes your non-stop talking.”
I chuckled, then leaned across to kiss her, hearing Colton joke, “We haven’t got to that part yet.”
I took a step back, wiped my sweaty palms down the front of my trousers and took a deep breath, ready to say my vows and hope I didn’t fuck them up.
“Bryony, I’ve never been a very good talker.”
“Bullshit, you never shut up,” Colton whisper-yelled, and I smirked. So did Bee.
“But today, I want to shout from the rooftops how much I love you. How proud I am of you. That I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, Mrs Stokes.
“I promise to give you a head rub or a foot massage whenever you need one. I know the little things count, and I do have magic hands.”
