Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 119476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 597(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 597(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
“Whatever. Hand him to me and go fix your face.”
I pass James to her, not missing the way she melts when my toddler snuggles into her. “Ma'am, yes, ma'am,” I say, complete with a mock salute.
“Such a smartass.”
“Learned it from you,” I fire back, swiping my index finger beneath my bottom lip to gather any stray gloss as I check my reflection one last time.
“Okay, my not-so-little jellybean, are you ready to go see Dada?”
“Dada!” He claps his hands together and squeals. You always hear the saying mama's boy, and while he was for the first ten or so months of his life, for the last two months James Wilder Morgan has been all about Atlas. Not that I don't see the appeal—I'm all about the man, too.
Scarlet sets him down, and he immediately tries to take off, but her hand on his shoulder holds him in place.
“Wait for the music,” I murmur. “And then straight to Dada.”
“Dada!” The song starts, and Scarlet lets him go. And go he does—like a rocket, screaming Dada over and over, until finally, he's right in front of Atlas, with his arms straight in the air, waiting for his daddy to pick him up.
“He made it down the aisle before the chorus.” Scarlet is doubled over, cackling.
“All the practice in the world wasn't slowing him down.” I sigh and then laugh myself. He's the cutest kid on the planet, that's for sure.
“Should I go now or wait for the next song?”
“Um.” I'm not sure what the right call is, but luckily, the DJ pivots and cues up Scarlet's song. “Well, there's your answer.”
She reaches over and gives my hand a squeeze. “See you in a few!”
Before I know it, the opening notes of the song Atlas and I selected together fill the venue. I wait a beat, and then with my simple sunflower bouquet clutched to my chest, I step around the curtain and start down the aisle toward my forever.
The sight of Atlas standing at the altar, dressed in his brown and tan wool plaid suit, has me weak in the knees. He looks so handsome, and our son dressed to match on his hip only adds to his appeal.
Honestly, it's unfair how good-looking he is, but I guess I'm okay with it, since he's all mine.
We’ve technically been married—on paper—since before James was born, but there's something about the thought of committing ourselves to one another in front of all the people we love and who love us that just feels different. But in a good way. Like we’re on the precipice of something truly epic.
“Mama!” James babbles as I get closer, pointing and waving and clapping.
“Hi, baby,” I whisper, glancing from him to the three empty chairs reserved in remembrance of my parents and Atlas’s mother. I'd give anything to have them here with us as we exchange our vows.
I'm not quite sure what I believe happens after death, but it makes me feel better to think they're somewhere together looking down on us, so that's what I'm going with for now.
I shake off the melancholy and close the distance between me and my guys, pausing to press a kiss on James's mysteriously sticky cheek.
Paul—one of Atlas’s co-workers and our officiant—kicks off the ceremony as I take my place across from my husband. “Welcome friends and loved ones. We’re gathered here today to celebrate the wedding of Atlas and Nora Morgan, to share in the promise they are making to one another, to offer your love and support toward their union, and to help Atlas and Nora to start this new chapter of their lives surrounded by the people they love most.”
My gaze settles on Atlas, his eyes meeting mine like a magnet to metal, watching him as he watches me. We’re surrounded by everyone we love, and yet, everything falls away and it’s like it’s just the two of us.
I can hear Paul in the background saying something about our love being our strength, but I’m essentially on autopilot as I attempt to catalog every detail of Atlas holding our son as he stares at me like I’m the single most precious thing he’s ever seen.
Day in and day out he shows me just how much he loves me—how much he loves us. And while it’s been a hell of a ride to get here, I can’t help but feel like I ended up exactly where I’m meant to be.
“As I understand it, the couple have prepared their own vows. Atlas?”
I snap back to the present as my groom slides a small index card from his pocket. “Nora, I can say with one-hundred-and-ten percent certainty that you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Each and every single day with you is better than the last. Before you, I was drifting, content to spend each day just going through the motions—no offense, Scar.”