If Forever Comes (Take This Regret #2)(52)
Author: A.L. Jackson

He knotted our fingers together as we turned to face the minister who stood in front of the simple floral arbor.

Natalie stepped forward, kissed my cheek as she took my bouquet. My Matron of Honor stepped back behind Lizzie. Her smile was wide, as if she were fighting a grin, uncontained delight rising in her as she looked at Christian and me, as we began a new leg of the journey we’d started so many years ago.

And with my family surrounding me, the people who’d seen me through so much, I promised my life to Christian.

Our vows were simple.

I will stand by you forever.

We already knew what that meant, that there would be difficulties we would face, that there would be sorrow. But there would also be joy.

And I was going to live every day of those with Christian.

The minister pronounced us husband and wife. Christian turned to me, and for a few moments, we just stood there looking at each other. This beautiful man who had touched me, who’d changed me and shaped the person I had become.

His hold was gentle as he reached out and took my face between his hands, his fingers splayed wide as he tilted my face up to meet his penetrating gaze.

The wind gusted around us, the smell of the ocean riding on the cool, spring breeze. Errant strands of my hair blew all around us, whipping at our skin and stirring up our spirits.

Blue eyes blazed as they looked down on me. For a flash, his hold tightened, and in it, he made another promise.

I will never let you go.

Then his mouth descended on mine, his hands on my face and his grip on my soul. This kiss was slow, maddening, fire and ice, always too much and never enough. My fingers found their way into the jacket of his tux as he bent me back. Passion ripped through us before we tripped into this consuming joy. And then he was grinning at my mouth, and I was laughing and crying as I wrapped my arms around his head. He pulled me off my feet and into his arms, spinning me around.

“I love you, Elizabeth Davison.”

I leaned back so I could see his face. “I love you, Christian. Forever.”

Lizzie giggled, rushed to our side as Christian set me back on my feet. He hoisted her up in his arms. Today, she didn’t seem to complain, but just grinned as she wrapped herself around his neck, Christian’s grip firm around my waist.

I stood there swaying in the arms of my little family. Cheers rose up from the small gathering, those who were there because they loved us, because they wished the best for our lives, as they showered us with their blessings, supported our hopes and these undying dreams.

And I was happy. Intensely. Wholly.

Giggles rolled up my throat as I buried my fingers in Christian’s hair. I lifted my face to the mirrored ceiling, his mouth at my neck. He had me pressed up against the elevator wall as it lifted and sped toward the top floor of the hotel.

“Mmm…you smell so good.” A brush of his mouth, a nip of his teeth.

I moaned as I tightened my hold.

A groan rumbled in his chest, and he kissed along my collarbone.

The elevator dinged and the doors parted. Christian’s head shot up, just as fast as the smirk shot to his face. He grabbed my hand, hauling me behind him as he fumbled for the keycard, as if he couldn’t make it to our room fast enough.

He suddenly swung me around in front of him and whisked me into his arms. I yelped before I snuggled into the perfection of his hold, winding my arms around his neck.

He maneuvered so he could slide the keycard into the slot, and then kicked the door open wide.

“Aren’t you supposed to carry me over the threshold of our house, not our hotel room?” I flashed a teasing grin up at him, my mouth curved with the force of this love.

He angled to the side so we could fit through the door. Amusement sparked in his eyes, glinted with his joy. “Well, I’d be happy to do that, too. But tonight, I’m carrying my wife through this door, and once I get her behind it, I’m going to make love to her again and again. You don’t have a problem with that, do you, Mrs. Davison?”

I laughed a little more, not able to comprehend this bliss, the way I felt, a buzz of energy burning below my skin as Christian carried me into the suite at the highest point of Downtown San Diego.

He brought us into the expansive suite. Candles glowed all around the living area, flickering as they jumped and twinkled against the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the bay. Black waters rippled and danced in the moonlight that hung low in the darkened sky.

“Who did this?” I whispered.

“I might have had a little help from your sisters and Natalie. That’s why they left the reception a little early.”

I bit my lip to bite back my awe, turned my red face into the collar of his white button-up and breathed in this magnificent man. Hours ago, he’d rid himself of the stuffy jacket and pulled off his tie.

I still couldn’t decide if I liked him better in a tux or in his low-slung jeans.

His dress shoes echoed on the marble floor as he crossed the living area into the bedroom. Here, too, candles sat on every surface. Flames flickered and danced, casting shadows across the large bed covered in plush, white linens, the bedding turned down and waiting for us, and a mass of floral bouquets filled the space.

In the background, our song played.

“I didn’t need all of this,” I whispered into the calm of the room.

“No, but I can give it to you, so why would I not?” His expression shifted, his jaw held taut. The playfulness that had followed us all the way from our reception party, into the limo, and here to our suite faded away. In its place was a distinct intensity, his expression severe. Lines deepened on his brow. A dense weight filled the room, and, in the short flickers of the flames, I watched the emotion gather on his face.

Slowly he lowered me to my feet.

A thick knot formed in my throat when Christian stepped back, his brazen gaze caressing my body.

The hair piled high on my head was beginning to fall apart with the play of this evening, the dancing and the kisses and the hands that Christian couldn’t seem to keep out of the intricate twist. Pieces hung loose, brushing down over my bare shoulders and tumbling to the top of my strapless gown.

It was the same dress that had hung in a garment bag in the back of my closet for many months, the one I’d been so eager to stand before Christian in as I promised him my life. It had to be altered, the dress originally made to accommodate my swollen belly, but this dress had always been for him.

I felt beautiful wearing it in front of him now.

He trailed his fingertips down my jaw, let them linger at the hollow of my neck. “You are the most exquisite woman, Elizabeth. No one compares to you. Not a single soul.”