Page 98 of Tangled Up In You
“I’d be lying if I said I liked you when we first met,” Hunter started. The crowd laughed at that, as did I. “You stole my crayon and it caused our first ever fight. But even then, even when we were five, I knew there was something special about you. You became my best friend and from that, we fell in love. You’ve loved me at my best, and you’ve loved me at my worst, and I want you to keep on loving me…as I have always loved you.”
“Not sure I can top that,” I said when it was my turn, which caused another laugh from our friends. “Guess now is a weird time to tell you that the reason I stole your crayon in kindergarten was because you were wearing a dinosaur shirt, and I thought you were cool.” Hunter chuckled and wiped tears from his eyes. “You’re my best friend and always have been. Sorry, Austin.”
Austin gave me a shit-eating grin and called out, “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”
I looked back at Hunter, gaining strength from the warmth in his eyes. “Through epic battles through Middle Earth to destroy the one ring, journeys across the high seas as pirate lords in search of lost treasure, and with every shared laugh, I have fallen madly and stupidly in love with you, Hunter Walsh. I want nothing more than to be yours. Forever.”
“Repeat after me,” the officiator said before starting the end of the vows.
Hunter asked me to be his, and I saidI do. He slid the ring on my finger, and more tears streamed down my face. Fuck, I hated crying in front of people, but I was happy and overcome with that happiness.
Then, I asked him to be mine. And as dumb as it was, my breath hitched in my throat as I waited for him to say those two incredible words.
“I do,” Hunter said, slightly trembling as I slid the ring on his finger.
“By the power vested in me by the state of Arkansas, I now pronounce you husband and husband,” the pastor said and smiled as he stepped back. “You may now kiss your husband.”
Hunter and I locked gazes before I slid my arm around his lower back and pulled him to me.
It was throwing tradition out the window, but I had something to say before sealing the deal. I’d researched Shakespeare quotes the night before, since Hunter and I liked to recite random shit to each other all the time, and I found one that was fucking perfect for this exact moment.
I stroked his freshly shaved jaw and quoted from the playCymbeline, “I can express no kinder sign of love, than this kind kiss.”
And then I kissed him.
***
“Great job today, guys!” I said after football practice that Wednesday afternoon. “We’re goin’ to kick Charleston’s ass on Friday.”
“Hell yeah!” Ian jumped up and chest bumped another kid named Reese.
The guys went to their lockers and started changing out of their pads and jerseys. I was still getting used to being on that side of the line; the coach instead of the player. But damn if I didn’t love it nearly as much. Seeing the excitement on the boys’ faces and seeing their growth as not only athletes but as great kids was just incredible.
There was even a girl on the team named Hannah, who was badass.
“Thanks for everything, Coach Taylor,” she said once I’d walked out of the boy’s locker room. She was nearly six feet tall and had more muscle than some of the guys. “Did you and Mr. Walsh have a good honeymoon?”
“The best,” I answered with a smile. My ass was still a bit sore from it, but I was keeping that detail to myself. “Great job out there today, Hannah. Keep throwing like that and you might make quarterback next season.”
“Really?” she asked with disbelief.
“Definitely.”
Hannah smiled and threw her arms around me. “You’re amazing!”
I pat her arm, grinning. She had no trouble keeping up with the boys on the field, and off the field she was energetic and kind of a girly-girl.
After saying bye to her, I went to my office to get my gym bag before walking out to the parking lot. Hunter had already gone home, since I’d had to stay for after school football practice, and I was eager to get home to him.
I wondered if it’d always be like that—that never-ending desire to have him with me. Probably. I’d heard newlyweds went through that phase, where they constantly fucked and couldn’t get enough of each other, but I believed it was less of a newlywed thing and more of a Hunter one.
It was just him.
It’d always been him.
When I pulled up to the house, I saw him through the kitchen window. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but it looked like he was wearing an apron. My sexy little chef. When I first came back to Willow, I would’ve never thought we’d be here. Happily married and falling more in love each day. But we were.
Veronica and Raoul were staying with us while Veronica had a break in her modeling schedule, and I saw them walking hand-in-hand down the small stone path I’d built a few months ago that led from the sunroom and to the terrace in the backyard.
