Painful, page 60
She instantly nodded. “Yes, I’m sure,” she said, no doubt in her voice.
Grinning, I kissed her. She said yes—to us, to this. I didn’t think she completely understood what I wanted, but she had no doubts about us anymore, so I couldn’t think of one reason why we couldn’t skip everything and just get married. She would understand my true desire soon enough. Because I was marrying her tonight. Nothing had ever felt more right. Hopefully, she felt the same.
Kiera wanted to kiss me longer, but I pulled back. Removing her hands from around my neck, I grabbed her right one. I pulled off her promise ring and placed it on her left ring finger. Then I repeated the movement with my ring and my left ring finger. And damn if it didn’t feel natural to have that ring on my left hand. I’d never felt so complete. Until I absorbed the matching ring on Kiera’s left hand. Now I’d never felt so complete.
Holding her left hand with mine, I brightly told her, “There, now we’re married.”
There were tears in her eyes as she shook her head at me. “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work like that, Kellan.”
“Semantics,” I said. Smiling at her, I placed her left hand on my heart, and my left hand on her heart. “We’re married…you’re my wife.” I nodded at her, holding eye contact, desperately hoping she would understand, hoping she would agree. What could a legal document give us that we didn’t already have? How could the way we felt about each other, the depth of love we had for each other, be anything other than a husband-and-wife bond? What more did we need than this?
Marry me, right now, right here. Be my wife.
Tears streaming down her face now, Kiera nodded and said, “And you’re my husband…”
Relief flooded me. She understands. She agrees. She married me. She just fucking married me! Grabbing her face, I ended our simple, heartfelt wedding with a kiss that left me reeling. We were both laughing and crying when I finally broke apart from her. I suddenly wanted witnesses, I wanted someone to know. That was when Kiera waved someone over. I wasn’t sure who was still here. When I saw it was Denny and Abby, I grinned. It should be them.
Abby’s gray eyes watered when Kiera showed her our rings and told her we’d just gotten married. Denny briefly smirked and then shook his head, knowing full-well what we’d done was in no way legally binding. But I didn’t care about it being legal right now. That wasn’t the important part. It was emotionally binding, and that was all I really needed. The rest could be worked out later; I was just too impatient to wait that long.
Content smile on his face, Denny gave me a hug. “Congratulations, mate. I’m glad I could be here for it,” he said, clapping me on the back and chuckling.
His support filled me with a tremendous amount of warmth. My eyes drifted to the floor as I laughed too. “Yeah, me too. It seems appropriate,” I said, looking back up at him.
Denny nodded, then he hugged Kiera. She was crying so hard Abby had to hand her a napkin. She better stop it, or I was gonna lose it. The lump in my throat already made it difficult to swallow properly.
Denny whispered something to Kiera that I couldn’t hear, then he pulled back and said, “But I’m happy that you did,” so I figured it was something about our slim odds during our…rough patch. I felt pretty positive that those days were long behind us.
Beaming, Kiera told him, “Thank you…so much.”
She started sobbing again, so I wrapped her in my arms and tried my best to lighten the mood. “Should we go home and celebrate?” I asked her, suggestively raising my eyebrows.
Kiera and Abby laughed. Denny shook his head again, but he was smiling. Kiera also shook her head. “No…we’re going to go rent the best hotel room in the city.” I lifted an eyebrow in surprise, and she giggled. “I am not spending my wedding night in the room right next door to my parents.”
I laughed at her comment, and at the fact that she’d said it right next to Denny. And she hadn’t felt bad about it. Neither had he…and neither had I. We’d all moved on, and we were all okay. I was so grateful for that. I started pulling Kiera away, so we could go start our life together, when another sudden thought struck me. Pausing, I looked back at Denny. He and Abby were slow dancing now. “I could probably scrounge up a couple of rings if you guys want to get married too?” I told him.
Kiera thumped my chest, but Denny laughed, amused. Abby raised an eyebrow. “Oh, no, I’m not getting married in a bar. I’m getting the whole shebang.” Denny looked over at her, and she stared him down. He just smiled and hugged her. Smart man.
Looking at them made me laugh. Hell, everything was making me laugh. I’d just had the greatest day of my life, and I’d ended it by marrying the greatest person in my life. Everything seemed possible now—even the outrageous notion that my band might actually become something one day. But ultimately, that didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered to me was the woman standing by my side.
My wife. My life. Damn, how in the hell did I get so lucky?
Acknowledgments
This one is for the fans, for everyone who begged me for more Kellan Kyle. You kept him in my thoughts, and as it turned out—I couldn’t let him go either! A huge thank you to Lori and Becky for reading through the story for me and giving me the go-ahead. And an extra thank you to Lori for all the last-minute help—you’re a lifesaver! Thank you, Madison Seidler, for fitting me into your busy editing schedule. Thank you, Hang Le, for another breathtaking cover (and for putting up with all my notes about shirtless guys). Thank you, HMG Formatting, for holding my hand and helping me through the conversion process. Thank you, Kim Loraine and Audibly Addicted, for helping me bring the audiobook to life. And thank you, Lysa Lessieur of Pegasus Designs, for making my website pretty. You guys are amazing, and I’m so happy and thankful for all your help!
A huge thank you to Tina Gephart for always checking on me and for always being there when I need some help. You’re a doll! Thank you, K.A. Linde, for always being ready with rapid-fire answers whenever I toss random questions your way. You are still the world’s greatest multitasker. Thank you, Wendy, Diksha, Amy, Jennifer, Charleen, Bel, Nicky, Mandee, Kathy, and everyone at Pete’s, for always being so excited and supportive. It means a lot. Truly.
To all my readers—you guys are the absolute best! I hope you enjoy being in Kellan’s head as much as I do. I had so much fun writing this book, and I sincerely hope you enjoy reading it. Hanging out with the boys again was such a blessing, and I’m so grateful that I’m still able to do this after all these years. And just in case you’re wondering, yes, I am working on writing Reckless through Kellan’s point of view. I’m not going to rush it, so it might take some time. Thank you in advance for being patient with me!
And lastly, thank you to my friends and family. I couldn’t do this without your never-ending love and support. I love you all!
About the Author
S.C. Stephens is a bestselling author who enjoys spending every free moment creating stories that are packed with emotion and heavy on romance. Her debut novel, Thoughtless, an angst-filled love story featuring insurmountable passion and the unforgettable Kellan Kyle, took the world of romance by storm in 2009. Stephens has been writing nonstop ever since.
In addition to writing, Stephens enjoys spending lazy afternoons in the sun reading fabulous novels, loading up her iPod with writer’s block–reducing music, heading out to the movies, and spending quality time with her friends and family. She currently resides in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her two equally beautiful children.
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You can learn more at:
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AuthorSCStephens.com
S.C. Stephens, Painful
