Phantom (Phoebe Reede: The Untold Story #5)
Page 29
“Promise me,” she demanded. “Promise me you won’t ever give up?.”
“Never. I promise.” I wouldn’t let her break out of our embrace after I’d made the promise. “Your turn.”
“Pheebs . . .”
I met her gaze with a level stare, warning her that I wasn’t going to back down until she’d promised as well.
“Fine.” She pouted. “I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“You know I’d do anything for you.”
“Are you ready to give me away?”
“Nope.” She brushed her fingers through my hair, tidying the ends. “I told you, I’m not letting go.”
“Me either, my Angel. You have half of my heart. Always.”
She stepped back, and this time I let her retreat. “I guess it’s time to give the other half away.”
We headed down to the Kitchen and found everyone waiting. Even Dad was there, and he’d left his phone with Veronica so she could watch from her hospital bed. When Beau saw me, he shot to his feet, and his eyes widened. Then his smile spread and my heart raced.
“See”—Angel nudged my shoulder—“I told you he’d appreciate that outfit.”
I couldn’t respond to her though because my gaze was drawn to Beau’s and I was lost in him. Angel and I headed to his side, and we sat at the table. All around us were tables of our family and friends as they watched me with caution—as though I was going to collapse again any second.
“Ya look beautiful,” Beau whispered to me. “This is the woman I fell in love with. I got lost in those seafoam eyes of yours from the first time I saw ’em.”
I met his gaze, the chocolate and amber swirling within his irises, and was lost. I rested my hand on his cheek. “And the world stopped spinning the first time I looked into yours.”
“Are ya ready to do this?”
“More than. We’ve already been delayed too long.” I pressed my lips against his.
When we broke apart, he whispered against my lips. “Let’s put ’em out of their misery, shall we?”
I sank my teeth into my bottom lip and nodded.
Beau stood and pulled me up too.
“First off, we wanna thank y’all for comin’. Secondly, we just wanna let ya know that we understand ya came all the way here for a weddin’, and it must be disappointin’ that those plans were disrupted.”
There were a few sad nods around the room.
“But I wanted to let y’all know that, well, y’all didn’t come in vain.”
Murmurs started around the room, questions of what he might have been talking about.
“There’s still going to be a wedding,” I added. “In fact, we’re having it right now.”
A round of applause burst from everyone in the room. Taking his cue, Mitch stood and rounded the table so that he had his back to the crowd. Beau and I turned to face each other as Mitch ran through the start of the proceedings.
After a moment, he told us it was time to recite our vows.
“Phoebe Castor Dawson Reede, ya came into my life and turned it upside down. From the first time I saw your pretty seafoam eyes, I was lost. My life was no longer my own because it belonged to you. That emotion only strengthened the longer I spent at your side. Even durin’ our darkest times I ain’t ever wanted anything from ya but everythin’ you could give me. I want to live my life by your side. I want to celebrate with you in the good times, and hold ya through the bad. In sickness and in health, richer or poorer, I want to share it all with you. I want to be the one ya turn to when things get rough. All I ask in return is you.”
Tears had flooded my eyes as he spoke and I wasn’t sure I would be able to get my own vows out. Regardless, I was going to try.
“When I was a little girl, I swore off love,” I started. “There was a time I was certain I would never find a relationship like the one my parents shared and I didn’t want less. If I couldn’t have it all, I didn’t want anything. My other issues gave me even less incentive to try to find someone. Then you came along, Beauregard Alex Miller, and you changed every expectation I had. You proved to me that love can be patient. That it can heal and fix the broken parts. You helped me see that love doesn’t have to come in a standard shaped box that fits the mould other people expect to see.” I grasped his hands with both of mine. “You proved time and time again that your love was something good. Pure. It helped me, and it’s the reason we’re all here today. You never wanted marriage as a way to claim ownership or prove anything to anyone but ourselves. You even won Dad over long before I let you in.”
A few people around the room chuckled.
As I prepared to make the last of my promises, I thought about what was to come.
When we finished the ceremony, we would be heading into the rest of our lives.
Whatever waited there would be exciting and scary, and we would face it all together. He’d have his career on the track, and I would have my battle for my health. We’d see each other through those obstacles and more. There wasn’t any doubt as I met Beau’s eye, held his hand and promised him everything.
“I give to you every day of my future. The good and the bad. I lay them all in your hands. I trust in you to keep me safe, to keep me sane, and to just keep me. Beau, there will never be another one for me. I will love you until the end.”
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
PHOEBE REEDE: THE UNTOLD STORY CONCLUDES IN
BEACON
PHOEBE REEDE: THE UNTOLD STORY #6
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ALSO BY MICHELLE IRWIN
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Irwin has been many things in her life: a hobbit taking a precious item to a fiery mountain; a young child stepping through the back of a wardrobe into another land; the last human stranded not-quite-alone in space three million years in the future; a young girl willing to fight for the love of a vampire; and a time-travelling madman in a box. She achieved all of these feats and many more through her voracious reading habit. Eventually, so much reading had to have an effect and the cast of characters inside her mind took over and spilled out onto the page.
Michelle lives in sunny Queensland in the land down under with her surprisingly patient husband and ever-intriguing daughter, carving out precious moments of writing and reading time around her accounts-based day job. A lover of love and overcoming the odds, she primarily writes paranormal and fantasy romance.
Comments, questions, and suggestions for improvements are always welcome. You can reach me at writeonshell@outlook.com or through my website www.michelle-irwin.com. Thanks in advance for your correspondence.
You can also connect with me online via
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