Page 77 of Clean Hack
Clean
She said yes. To a life with me. To a life where I got to walk by her side.
To me.
That was only a couple of months ago.
And here I was standing in a new button-up shirt that was identical to the ones I wore to a job. And new black slacks as well.
She was there, somewhere, hiding from me until the right moment.
Oh, and I was ready for that moment, that was for sure.
We didn’t want to wait. It might have been fast. The whole us thing might have been insane, but I knew in my heart and in my soul that it was right. She was made for me. I think I pretty much knew from the first time I laid eyes on her that she would be the one to make me stronger, better, and more alive.
The wedding was small. Not only because we both preferred it that way, but because we didn’t have that many people we considered close enough to invite.
That didn’t mean that we were doing this alone.
“Ready?” Diesel asked as his heavy hand descended onto my shoulder.
Hell, yes, I was.
“Definitely,” I said with a smile.
Allison walked down the aisle and took her spot across from Diesel. She smiled at me and I knew that moment that I had her approval. That meant a lot to me.
Looking on, were the people we held close. The people we let in when we took a moment away from our work-driven lives. It seemed that we would rather spend our free time wrapped in one another than being social. That wasn’t to say that we kept ourselves closed off.
Allison’s mother was there, already wiping at her eyes even though we’d just barely started. She was a wonderful woman and I was glad she had returned into Lucy’s life along with Allison. Lucy’s parents were right there too, her mother holding hands with Allison’s while they both tried to hold back the tears.
Lucy’s dad hadn’t been exactly thrilled when she brought me home, but that was overshadowed by the fact that she had come home. It had been a long time since the Callahan’s had seen their daughter. By the third visit home in such a short amount of time, Mr. Callahan was shaking my hand and telling me thank you with his eyes. They were good people and I was glad to be there as Lucy regained that part of her life.
Ellie was there holding a princessesed-up Fate. Axe was standing there a little off to the side, his eyes on Allison and I had a feeling they wouldn’t move away from her the entire ceremony. Which made me smile. Neiryn was dressed up in a cute little tux and his little head rested on Axe’s shoulder like he was ready to take a nap. I liked the guy even if he wasn’t the easiest person to talk to most of the time. He made Allison happy, which made my woman happy and relaxed, and that was what mattered to me. Bocca was also there. And I didn’t mind at all. He and Lucy had that nerd-computer thing in common and I knew they helped each other out from time to time.
My eyes were locked on the end of the aisle. My lungs refused to pull in air as I waited to see her. Then she was there, smile so wide that it lit up the entire room. And my heart, of course. I knew I was smiling just as wide.
“Hi,” she whispered as she reached me and I took her hands in mine automatically. She was nervous, but not because she was unsure about this.
“Hi, sweetness,” I whispered back and gave her hands a little squeeze. “You are…”
My words trailed off because there wasn’t one perfect enough to describe her.
Her eyes twinkled up at me and I knew she got it.
We exchanged vows and promised to love one another until the end of time. That was a promise I didn’t have a problem making. I knew I’d keep it.
“I love you,” I said right before I kissed her in front of everyone.
“I love you, too,” she managed to get out after I broke away. She swayed in my arms and a low chuckle vibrated through my chest.
So damn adorable.
There was no fancy reception. Honestly, there wasn’t really enough people for there to be one. Plus I knew it would have been too much for Lucy. Instead, we chose to take the party to one of our favorite restaurants. Where, of course, Mr. Corsetti pulled out all the stops and piled the table with all of our favorites.
“Congratulations. I’m so happy for you two,” he said as he pulled Lucy in for a hug.
Later that night, I took her to bed and showed her how happy she made me. Over and over again. We spent the next day in bed and it couldn’t have been more perfect.
