I swallowed awkwardly. “My hands are sweating, what if I drop the ring?” My voice came out a little squeaky because of the lack of saliva problem I was currently suffering with. I wiped my hands roughly on my pants leg, trying to dry them.
He grinned and put both hands on my shoulders, turning me to look at him. His eyes met mine and his assuredness seemed to calm me down a little. I stood there, waiting for the words of wisdom that would come from my best friend; the words that would make me stop worrying and make my heart rate slow down. This was Ashton, my best friend for the last nine years, my surrogate brother even, he would help me. He would know exactly what to say to stop my freak out.
He squeezed my shoulders supportively as he spoke. “Peters, you’re behaving like a girl. Stop this shit before I have to run to the store and buy you a box of tampons and ten candy bars so you can really complete the transformation,” he stated, his mouth pulling into a smirk.
I shrugged him off. “Wow, you know, you could totally moonlight as a motivational speaker,” I grumbled.
“I do that at weekends,” he joked, getting me in a headlock and moving his hand up to mess up my hair.
“Dude! Not the hair!” I cried, panicked because it had taken me ages to get it looking perfect for today. He laughed and let me go, so I breathed a sigh of relief and straightened my suit jacket.
I could do this. I could make it through one ceremony without cocking it up and saying something slutty, couldn’t I? Sure I could, I was Nate Peters. A little wedding ceremony was nothing compared to some of the things I’d seen. In just under an hour I would have myself a little wife that I loved to pieces and a son that I adored. I kept them in mind as I made my way to the front of the church, greeting guests that were already there. When my mom started bawling her eyes out, telling me that she never thought she’d see the day that I would get married, I made a quick exit to the room at the back. I was already scared; I didn’t need her telling me that this was the most important day of my life. I sat on the bench with my head in my hands, running through the lines I was supposed to say so that I didn’t forget them or say the wrong thing when the time came.
Twenty minutes later, the vicar called us out saying it was time. Ashton patted me on the back as we walked out, and I actually looked in the church for the first time. When we’d arrived earlier, I had been too panic-stricken to actually look around, but now that I took the time to do that, I realised that it looked incredible. It looked exactly how Rosie had described her dream wedding. She was going to seriously love this. There were flowers at the ends of each row – pink roses tied with white silk and lace. There were these little sash things of the same silk and lace, all looped and tied, following the line of the aisle. A white carpet ran the length of the church where she would walk. And, at the end where I was standing, there was a white wooden arch in front of the steps, it was tied with ribbon and had flowers woven around it. Everything was beautiful.
The vicar stood at the front in his ceremonial robes, talking quietly to Ashton. I just couldn’t take it in, I felt like I was in a dream. Nate Peters, the guy who never wanted to settle down, was standing at the front of the church waiting for a girl to come and marry him. I never thought this would happen in a million years.
The door creaked at the back, and the murmurs died down as people turned in their seats to see if it was her. The music started up, but I couldn’t hear it over the beat of my heart. All I could hear was the steady thumping that was actually way too loud and way too fast for my liking – it wasn’t helping with the hangover that’s for sure.
I watched as the bridesmaids came in one at a time, all of them wearing a pretty pale pink dress that matched the flowers Rosie had chosen. I couldn’t stand still, I kept shifting from one foot to the other trying to stay calm and not pass out through lack of oxygen. DJ came in next. He was grinning from ear to ear as he carried a small satin pillow with the rings tied to it. As he walked up the aisle towards me, he was smiling proudly and waved at my mom enthusiastically as he passed her. He looked adorable in his tux; it fitted him perfectly. When he spotted me, he practically jogged the rest of the way to my side.
“Did you see me? I did it just right, and I didn’t talked or anything!” he boasted.
I smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “You did a great job, Kid. You gonna watch Momma come in?” I asked, offering my hand out to him. I knew he should go and stand by the bridesmaids but, for some reason, it felt right having him included and waiting for his mom to walk to the pair of us. We were, after all, a family; today wasn’t just about me and her. He gripped my hand tightly, and we both watched the door for Rosie to step in. Nothing happened for a few seconds, and my heart stopped because, for one god-awful second, I thought she’d changed her mind.
Then she stepped into the room. The minute I saw her, my nerves faded.
She looked simply breathtaking, and I actually had no words to describe the beautiful creature that smiled up at me nervously as she clutched her dad’s arm for support. The dress was elegant but managed to look sexy at the same time. It was strapless; the top was fitted to her body and covered in what looked like lace. There was a pink ribbon, the same pink as the bridesmaids dresses, tied around her waist, drawing attention to her sexy little figure. The skirt was ruffled and had lots of layers of silk and lace on it, without being too over the top. Her hair was pulled up at the back with little curls escaping around her face. She looked stunning, and I really felt like I had died and gone to heaven because visions like that just didn’t walk around on earth.
I couldn’t look away from her as she walked up the aisle; I squeezed DJ’s hand lightly, just wondering how on earth I had got so lucky. Time seemed to stand still as she walked. I smiled at her proudly. I’d never really considered marriage but now the thought of calling this incomparable woman Mrs Rosie Peters; well, the sound of that made a shiver run down my spine. I could barely wait to get my ring on her finger and finally claim her as mine.
Finally, she stopped at my side and kissed her dad on the cheek. He had tears in his eyes as he smiled down at her proudly, then he turned to me and sighed before nodding just once, giving me his blessing all over again – even though he’d drunkenly done it over and over last night at my bachelor party. Rosie didn’t look at me as she bent down and kissed DJ, making him squirm on the spot because he was getting to that age where he didn’t like being kissed in public by his mom.
“Thanks for doing a great job, Baby. Go stand with Grandad now, okay?” she instructed, motioning towards her dad. DJ nodded and skipped off after practically throwing the pillow with the rings on to Ashton.
When Rosie looked up at me, I was dazzled by the emotion in her eyes. She looked so happy, her whole face just seemed to radiate with it. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, but I knew that would be because she didn’t like to be centre of attention and people were staring at her. She chewed on her lip and looked at me through her eyelashes; I could almost feel the sexual tension crackling in the air. Rosie always did think I looked hot in a tux; I didn’t have to be a mind reader to know that she was thinking about taking me out of it, the same as I couldn’t stop thinking about how beautiful that dress would look if it were thrown randomly over a bedside lamp or something.
I had no idea what to say. I wasn’t even sure if I could remember how to speak. “Fuck me, you look hot,” I whispered in her ear.
She gave a tinkering laugh that made my hand itch to stroke the side of her face. I could tell just by her expression that she knew the power she had over me. “Nice choice of words.”
Oops, yeah, not too romantic! “Sorry, I meant, wow, you look beautiful,” I corrected sheepishly.
She grinned. “I preferred the first one.”
I stepped closer to her and ran my hand down her back, feeling the silky material of her dress under my fingertips. Just as I was about to slip my hand down onto her ass, someone cleared their throat, and I suddenly remembered where we were. We were in a ch
urch, people were standing there watching, and I was just about to grope my soon-to-be wife.
I was going to hell.
I looked back up to the vicar at the front. “Are we ready to start?” he asked, his voice not sounding very amused.
I nodded sheepishly. “Yeah. Sorry, my soon-to-be wife just can’t keep her mouth in check,” I joked, which earned me an elbow to the side from Rosie as she blushed. I turned back to her and smiled. “You sure you want to marry me?” I asked, giving her one last chance to go and find someone that was more worthy of her.
She ran her hand down my arm until she got to my hand, interlacing our fingers. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” she replied.
“I love you,” I whispered, dipping my head to kiss her.
The vicar cleared his throat loudly again, making me stop short of her lips. I guess, traditionally, I was supposed to wait until after the ceremony before I was allowed to kiss her.
Rosie nodded towards the front. “Marry me and then you can do that all night long.”
She stepped forward, tugging on my hand, bringing me forward with her. Ashton was chuckling to himself on my right, so I tried my best to keep my composure and not do anything else wrong.
Throughout the long ceremony I could barely concentrate because every time Rosie moved a waft of her perfume made my mouth water, every time her hand brushed mine, I got the little prickles of excitement rush over my body. All I wanted was for this to be over; I wanted the ‘I now pronounce you husband and wife’ part, so I could press my lips against hers and finally taste her because I hadn’t done that since yesterday lunchtime.
When we had to kneel to get the blessing and say the prayer, murmurs and chuckles erupted behind me but I just ignored it and did my thing, determined not to screw anything else up.
I remembered all of my words, I didn’t stumble over her name, I didn’t even drop the ring like I was worried about. The rest of the ceremony passed without a hitch.
Finally, after what felt like hours of staring at Rosie and dying to kiss her, the vicar said the words I had been waiting to hear for the last half an hour. We were married. As soon as he started to say, “You may now kiss your bride” I was already kissing her.
The feel of her lips on mine, the way her arms went up to loop around my neck, the way her body crushed against mine as I pulled her closer, all of it made my heart race in my chest. I was married. Married to the most thoughtful, incredible, funny, smart and beautiful girl on the planet.
I pulled her impossibly closer as everyone else seemed to disappear around me; all that mattered was the taste of her tongue and the feel of her hand gripped into the back of my hair. When she made a little whimper into my mouth, I almost lost it completely. I needed her and couldn’t seem to get her close enough to me. My arms tightened around her, lifting her off her feet and spinning in a little circle which made her giggle against my lips.
“I love you, Mrs Peters,” I whispered, looking into her eyes. My whole future was mapped out before me. It didn’t matter what happened from here on out, as long as I had this girl in my arms every single day I could cope with anything.
Instead of replying, she just crashed her lips back to mine again in a scorching hot kiss that was seriously inappropriate for people to be watching, especially standing at the front of the church. The vicar obviously thought so too.
“I think your guests are getting impatient,” he said tersely. Rosie broke the kiss immediately and stiffened, as if she forgot where we were and that we weren’t on our own. She blushed and hid her face in the side of my neck as I wrapped my arm around her tightly.
“We’re just starting as we mean to go on,” I joked, winking at the vicar.
Rosie pinched my stomach playfully as she giggled against my neck. That was a typical Nate and Rosie moment. In my eyes, if the wedding had gone beautifully, then it wouldn’t be fitting for the pair of us. I smiled down at her and pressed my lips to hers again, just for a second before we turned around to clapping from the guests.
George looked like he was having trouble restraining DJ because he was fighting to come to the front with us again. I smiled and motioned for him to come over with us. Immediately, George let him go, and DJ skipped to our sides with a huge grin on his face. “So we’re all Peters now?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yep. We’re officially a family,” I confirmed, leaning down and picking him up, smiling as the cameras flashed everywhere around us.
“If I could just get you to sign the register,” the vicar said behind us.
I smiled over to Ashton and Anna, who were acting as our witnesses today. Anna skipped over, beaming from ear to ear. “Didn’t I tell you years ago that I would help you find a girl?” she teased, kissing my cheek.
I couldn’t help but laugh as I remembered the first time I had ever met Anna in the kitchen of my apartment where she’d been making coffee for Ashton. She’d promised to help me find a girl; of course, she’d only meant for the night.
I nodded. “It’s just a shame you didn’t let me meet her years ago.”
She shook her head. “You wouldn’t have been ready years ago; you would have run a mile at the first mention of commitment.”
I would never know how I would have reacted to Rosie back then. My guess would be that she would have charmed me then, the same as she charmed me now. I was destined to fall for her; she was the one for me – five years ago or this year, we still would have ended up together.
We took our time signing the register, making it all official. I made sure every single thing was correct and clear. By the time we had finished, people were assembling outside the church ready to take photos and throw their confetti.
As we stepped out of the church doors, the crowd erupted into cheers and a rainstorm of coloured paper and rice fell over our heads. Rosie laughed and looked up at me with eyes that were so loving that it almost brought me to my knees. I hoped she never stopped looking at me like that. I led her down to the car, confetti still being thrown from all angles. Once she was in, I headed around to my side of the old-fashioned car that she’d chosen for us for today. DJ was riding with George and Tracy, and we’d been told not to worry about him all day and night because the two sets of grandparents wouldn’t let him out of their sight.
As soon as we were on our own, she looked at me and we both just burst out laughing for no apparent reason. “I’m pretty sure I have more confetti in my bra than what landed on the floor,” she stated, trying to dig it out from the top of her dress.
I smiled and leant over, holding her hand still. “Leave it in there; I’ll get that out later. Hopefully some of the guests chose edible paper,” I flirted, brushing my nose along her jaw. She looped her arm around my neck, pulling me closer to her. “You look so incredible, Stripes. I just don’t have the words for you right now.”
She laughed quietly. “I have a word for you in your tux,” she replied, running one hand along the edge of my lapel.
I raised one eyebrow curiously, wondering what her word was going to be.
“Overdressed,” she whispered. Her lips crashed onto mine, and we made the most of there being blacked out windows and an opaque barrier between us and the driver as we sped to the reception venue.
The afternoon and night passed quickly and, if I was honest, I wouldn’t remember much after a couple of hours. I spoke to so many people that, by the end of the night, I could barely remember who I had thanked for coming and who I hadn’t. Dinner, speeches and first dances all passed in a blur.
By the time the party finished, I was more than ready to take my new bride up to our room and make this marriage binding. As people started to leave, George came over with a sleepy DJ in his arms.
“We’re going. Congratulations again. And you look after my little girl, you hear me?” George said, looking at me sternly as he shook my hand.
“You don’t need to worry about that, George,” I confirmed, nodding confidently.
I he
ld out my arms for DJ, who immediately manoeuvred himself into my arms, hugging me tightly.
“So, we won’t see you until we get back from our honeymoon. You be good for Nanna and Grandad, okay?” I whispered, kissing the side of his head.
He nodded, hugging me tighter. “I will. I’ll miss you, but we can talk on the phone, right?” he asked, pulling back and pouting at me.
“We’ll call you everyday, I promise.”
Rosie came over then, taking DJ from my arms and whispering to him. He nodded along with what she was saying, hugging her and kissing her cheek.
“We’d better go, Stripes,” I suggested, nodding at the practically empty hall. The cleaning staff were already sweeping the floors and discarding the last of the buffet food. I smiled down at DJ. “I love you, Kid,” I told him.
He yawned. “I love you too, Daddy.”
I smiled, still loving my new title. At some point during the thirteen weeks since the fire, DJ had officially started calling me ‘Daddy’. It melted my heart every single time. He’d renamed Josh as ‘Daddy Josh’ whenever he spoke about him. I knew I wasn’t supposed to be smug about his little demotion, but I couldn’t help but be a little proud about it.
George stepped in then, taking DJ. After one last goodbye and an awful lot of instructions on how to look after DJ, Rosie and I were finally alone.
The predatory smile crept onto my face as I dragged my eyes over her. Time to see if anyone bought edible confetti!
“You’ve been a bad girl, Mrs Peters. Go to our room,” I ordered.
She giggled and took my hand, practically dragged me out of the function room and into the elevator. As soon as the steel doors closed, I pressed her against the wall making her squeal with excitement as I claimed her lips with mine. By the time we got to our floor, my shirt was undone, as was my belt, and I’d unfastened half of her dress. It appeared neither of us were in the mood for going slow tonight.
We staggered down the hallway towards our honeymoon suite, bumping into things as we walked because we were too busy making out to look where we were going. When we reached our desired destination, I fumbled with the key card, trying to get the stupid electronic door lock to open while still ravaging her mouth with mine.
Rosie took the card from my hand, pulling away and shoving it