She let out a long, shaky breath. Her fingers tightened around mine before she lifted her chin and met my gaze head on. “I don’t have anything prepared either. Not even half a speech I was working on in my head. Mostly because I didn’t think I’d ever be standing here, or uh, standing in front of you like this at all.”
A few tears fell when she blinked again, but she let them track down her cheeks like she wasn’t even aware of the fact that they were there. “If there’s one thing I do know, it’s that you’ve changed what I thought was possible, Jesse Westwood. You walked into my life like a storm I didn’t see coming, and you stayed. You proved to me that the impossible wasn’t just possible. It could be easy. As long as you have the right person by your side and that person, for me, is you. I love you,” she said, her voice catching just slightly. “Even when you’re reckless or when you make decisions that surprise the heck out of me, loudly, in the middle of a crowded room, I still love you. I choose you too, unashamedly and unapologetically, and I promise to keep choosing you. Even when it scares me. I won’t ever be too scared to love you again, and I won’t ever doubt that you are the one true mate of my soul.”
In that moment, something in my chest settled, like everything I’d never even known was restlessly rattling around inside with nowhere to go had finally clicked into place. I squeezed her hands, stepping just a fraction closer. “You’re stuck with me now, Jacque.”
She smiled, tipping her head back in an attempt to hold back more tears before just giving up and letting them flow freely again. “Likewise.”
The officiant gave us a beat before he grinned. “Excellent. That was beautiful and uh, that’s also about it. I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
I didn’t even think about it before one of my hands wrapped around the nape of her neck and the other slid around her waist. She was still smiling up at me when I leaned forward and planted a good, sound kiss on her lips, sweeping her off her feet in front of half of Chicago.
At some point, before I’d even managed to break away from her, the entire tone of the night changed from polished eleganceto absolute chaos. The good kind, though. I’d always been better at loud parties than controlled string quartets and murmured conversations.
When I lifted my head away from hers, I caught a glimpse of Will speaking to a guy I was relatively sure was a DJ. I was also pretty sure he’d been hired to play some classical music after dinner, once the string quartet was gone, but a minute later, Will grinned and shot me a thumbs-up.
Out of all the songs in the world he could’ve chosen, the next thing I knew,Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yoursby Stevie Wonder started playing and I laughed. My heart swelled to twenty times its usual size as I straightened up, taking Jacque’s hand again and spinning her into me.
Deafening cheers rang out through the crowd, and when I started dancing with Jacque right there on the little stage, jackets came off and ties were loosened all around. Will and Eliza were the first to start dancing with us, finding an open space between tables in front of the stage.
Nate grabbed Kate too, and I saw her laugh before she looped her arms around his neck. I glanced at Alex next, seeking him out in the crowd to check whether I was going to have my ass handed to me for ruining his perfectly uptight gala, but when I found him, he was smiling.
He was already holding Jane’s hand, looking relaxed as he pulled her away from a group she’d been with and dragged her to the closest open space with him. Something loosened in my chest when I saw him pull her close, dancing right along with the rest of us.
I smiled, genuinely happy that he wasn’t letting himself be crushed under the weight of expectation in that moment. It looked like he’d finally realized that just because he was the leader of the pack, it didn’t have to mean that he had to become our father, replicating everything he’d done to a T.
“Hey,” Jacque’s voice pulled me back, warm and amused as she stared up at me. “You disappeared into your own head for a second there.”
I looked down at her—mywife—and…Fuck. “You married me.”
“I did.” She rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. “You made it very hard not to.”
“Public declarations help.” I shrugged, vaguely aware of the venue staff moving tables out of the way to create a makeshift dance floor much bigger than the one they’d originally left space for. “Let’s go. If we’re going to scandalize the first annual Westwood gala in almost twenty years, we might as well commit.”
She laughed and followed me down the few steps until we’d joined the others, all of whom had now moved toward the space that’d been cleared. Her body fitted against mine like it’d been designed to when I spun her back into me, breathing in the sweet scent of her and still trying to believe that she was my wife now.
As the night wore on, we started dancing closer, my hands holding her more firmly and keeping her exactly where I wanted her. Her body followed, every movement deliberate and every shift of her weight sending something electric up my spine.
Song after song, drink after drink, and moment after moment, the night became something I’d never even dreamed of but was better than I ever could’ve imagined. By the time we finally left the gala-turned-wedding, the cool air outside lifted the haze of disbelief a little, but not so much that I could actually believe we’d just gottenmarried.
“Where are we going?” I asked, squeezing her fingers that were laced through mine like she had no intention of letting go anytime soon.
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright in a way that had nothing to do with the champagne. “My place.”
“Cool. I’m in,” I said without hesitation. “Because of Hubert, right? God, we need to get that dog a yard.”
She laughed. “One thing at a time,husband. We don’t even have rings yet. Let’s give it at least a day before we start putting together a list of stuff we need in a house.”
“You can’t blame me for getting excited. That was the first time I’ve ever detonated the decorum of a black-tie gala, hijacked it, and then walked out with a wife.”
“Fair enough.” She smiled as we climbed into the waiting car, not letting go of my hand until we stopped in front of her door.
After rummaging around her purse for a beat, she unlocked the door and I’d barely shut it behind me before Hubert crashed into my legs like a furry missile, his entire body vibrating with excitement as he barked, circled, and demanded attention.
Jacque laughed, dropping her clutch on a table near the door before she bent slightly, her hand pushing into his coat. “Hi, baby.”
She scratched behind his ears before she straightened up, smiling at me in a way that hit me straight in the chest.God, I’m so gone for her.
I didn’t think I’d stopped smiling all night long, and I sure as hell didn’t when I reached for her and tugged her back to me. “The headlines are going to be insane tomorrow. We might have to hunker down for a couple days. Stay here. Preferably in bed.”