She smiled back at me, leaning into Alex with her hands wrapped around his arm, and somehow, I had a feeling that he was proud. He wasn’t looking at me, but I saw the way his chest swelled when Jesse clapped the officiant on the shoulder.
All along, I’d thought this was an impossible dream because of these people, the almighty Westwoods, but they weren’t just a last name to me anymore.
They were Alex and Jane, Nate and Kate, Will and Eliza, Zach, and so many more, and unless I was very much mistaken, all of those people actually approved of what their crazy brother was doing right now.
I tightened my grip on his hand. That crazy brother was the love of my life, and somehow, he was about to become my husband.
CHAPTER 47
JESSE
If anyone had told me when I’d woken up this morning that I’d be getting married by the end of the day, I would’ve laughed in their face.Actually, no. That’s not true.
I wouldn’t have laughed. I’d have bet against it, loudly and probably with a lot of money, but here we were, and I’d have happily lost every last cent just to keep standing where I was right now.
The officiant gestured at the small stage where a string quartet had been playing earlier, now awkwardly gathering their instruments to make space. “Right this way, kids.”
He said it as easily as if this was a completely standard Saturday night occurrence in his life. Although, since I didn’t know what the guy actually did for a living, maybe this was how he spent his Saturday nights—marrying couples in love.
Probably, he usually has a little more notice, though.
I leaned into Jacque as we followed him, unable to stop the grin practically disfiguring my face at this point. “Are you sure you’re good with this?”
Her grip tightened on mine, her touch as grounding as it was electric. “Ask me again in five minutes, but right now, yes.”
She was smiling as she said it and my heart was going crazy. Totally nuts. But I’d never been happier. I knew there was probably a lot more that she wanted to say, but ultimately, none of it mattered as long as she’dfinallyfucking realized that we should be together.
It felt surreal when we stepped up onto the stage together, but the entire room was watching, their conversations abandoned entirely in favor of watching me perform my greatest stunt yet. They probably thought I was out of my mind, but I truly, honestly didn’t give a shit.
The only thing I cared about was the woman standing in front of me, in white, looking like a dream I wasn’t convinced I deserved. But her hand was still in mine, those golden eyes bright and excited.
The officiant cleared his throat, stepping between us briefly before gesturing for us to face each other.
“We are gathered here—” he started.
“Very unexpectedly,” I muttered and Jacque let out a quiet laugh, her head dipping as she tried to hide it, and the officiant paused, blinking before he adjusted.
“We are gathered here tonight, very unexpectedly,” he corrected with a hint of amusement creeping into his tone. “To witness the union of these two individuals who have decided that waiting is not their preference.” He paused, then frowned, then glanced at me. “Do you have vows prepared?”
I lifted my eyebrows dramatically and shook my head. “Vows? Uh, nope. I didn’t even know she was going to be here ten minutes ago.”
He smiled. “Alright, well, do you want to wing it or should I just lead you through the traditional stuff?”
“I’ll wing it,” I said, reaching for Jacque’s other hand as well. As soon as I was facing her fully, both of her hands in mine and looking into those expressive eyes, I felt a part of my soulexhale that I didn’t even realize I had. “I thought I’d have a whole speech ready when this finally happened. I’ve been working on it secretly in my head. I’m sure the end result would’ve been a true work of art. It definitely would’ve made people cry.”
“Obviously,” she said softly, a smile ghosting across her lips.
“Yeah, well, I never quite finished it, but this is better,” I said. “This is me telling you that I don’t want a life that doesn’t have you in it. I tried that for, like, five minutes. Hated it.”
A soft ripple of laughter moved through the room, but I didn’t look away from her. “I love you, Jacque. I love how you challenge me and how you don’t let me get away with being anything other than myself. I love how you don’t only accept my crazy, you encourage it.”
More reactions from the crowd but I ignored it all. “I swear to you that for the rest of my life, I’m going to choose you. Even when you’re being stubborn. Even when you try to run. Even when you think you’re not enough. I choose you and I will never stop arguing, stop chasing, or stop proving that you’re more than just enough. You’re everything.”
A small, crooked smile broke through the emotion suddenly clogging up my throat. “Also, I promise to never make you sit through boring charity dinners or galas alone. I’ll be right there, wreaking havoc and shaking things up a little bit.”
“Thank God,” she whispered, smiling through the tears welling on her eyelids. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
I grinned. “Your turn.”